Geoffrey William Stirling (March 22, 1921 – December 21, 2013) was a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadian ...
businessman and media magnate, best known for his work in his home city of St. John's,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
.
Life
Stirling was born in St. John's to Edgar Stiling and Ethel (Uphill) Stirling. He attended the
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...
, began his media career as a stringer for ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' and the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in his later years. After his brief time in American media, he spent a brief time in
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
hunting alligators for skin; he hated the job, but was inspired when he noted that ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Economic Union Party, a late-1940s political movement that sought closer ties to the United States for the Dominion of Newfoundland, which was then still independent from Canada. It was one of two organizations that unsuccessfully opposed the dominion's confederation into Canada, which eventually occurred in 1949. The leader of the confederation forces, Joey Smallwood, was an established rival of Stirling's, having doubted that Stirling's newspaper would succeed because Smallwood himself had failed. Stirling argued that Smallwood's overtly political
polemic
Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...
s had alienated readers and that a newspaper would need to appeal to a broad audience to succeed.
Media businesses
Along with other members of his family, Stirling owned several media outlets in the Canadian province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
under the corporate brand Stirling Communications International. Specifically, the properties are independent television station
CJON-DT
CJON-DT (channel 21), branded on-air as NTV (short for Newfoundland Television), is an English-language independent television station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, owned by Newfoundland Broadcasting Company Ltd. The statio ...
; radio station
CHOZ-FM
CHOZ-FM is a Canadian radio station based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its main St. John's transmitter broadcasts at 94.7 MHz, with additional transmitters located throughout the island. The station, known as ''OZFM'', is one of the ...
; and the ''
Newfoundland Herald
''The Newfoundland Herald'' was a weekly news and entertainment magazine available throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that was published in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's.
The magazine was founded in 1946 by the lat ...
'', a weekly news, gossip and
TV listings
TV listings (television listings, also sometimes called a TV guide or program/programme guide) are a printed or electronic timetable of television programs. Often intended for consumer use, these provide information concerning programming sche ...
magazine.
Stirling pioneered many television firsts in North America. CJON-TV (NTV) was the first in Newfoundland to air programs in colour. CJON-TV became the first station to broadcast 24 hours a day in 1972.
Stirling was also the founder of CKGM, an English-language radio station in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. in 1959. He owned the station until 1985.
Personal views
Stirling is regarded as an eccentric for both how he managed his businesses and for how he used his media outlets to promote a variety of personal interests such as eastern mysticism and intestinal health. For example, he devoted many hours of, often unscheduled, broadcast time to conversations with
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
s such as
Ram Dass
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been ...
and Swami Shyam and to a variety of esoteric subjects ranging from
pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
to
unidentified flying object
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...
s, a practice which continues today as the station is run by his son G. Scott Stirling. Geoff's grandson, Jesse is the host of the CJON interview program "Meetings with Remarkable People." Many of his past interviews and archives can be seen currently on CJON on Saturday mornings from 2 to 4 am Newfoundland time, under the name "Captain Atlantis Late Night." When he watched his own television station he would sometimes phone Master Control to order that a favorite tape immediately pre-empt the current broadcast or that the technician apply a particular effect to the screen.
Stirling appeared in the 1974 documentary film '' Waiting for Fidel'' about a trip he made to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
along with former Newfoundland premier Joey Smallwood and director
Michael Rubbo
Michael Dattilo Rubbo (born 31 December 1938) is an Australian documentarian/filmmaker.
Early life
Rubbo was born in Melbourne, the son of Australian microbiologist Sydney Dattilo Rubbo, and the grandson of the painter Antonio Dattilo Rubbo. ...
. The trio never met the Cuban leader. Many segments of the program involve Smallwood and Stirling discussing what they would like to ask Castro whenever the expected meeting happens. Some of the dialogue occurs while Stirling is demonstrating yoga and standing on his head while he is conversing with Smallwood.
Stirling supervised the creation of the
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
''Atlantis'' featuring the superheroes Captain Atlantis (Captain Newfoundland) and Captain Canada, drawing on elements of Canadian history as well as ancient alien astronauts mythology and
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
philosophy. Captain Canada has become a mascot for the NTV station and has appeared in television programs, commercials, and numerous public events.
Later life
In 2001, Sirling was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame; in 2009, he was awarded the
Order of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (french: Ordre du Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Instituted in 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Arthur Maxwell House granted Roya ...
. In his later years, Stirling split his time between
Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador
Torbay is a town located on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The town is located north of the capital city of St. John's and is part of the St. John's metropolitan area. Due to the Torbay's close p ...
, and his ranch in
Wickenburg, Arizona
Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010.
History
The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part ...
, where he once owned Wickenburg radio station
KSWG
KSWG (96.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Wickenburg, Arizona. It is owned by Barna Broadcasting Company and airs a classic country radio format, using the moniker "Real Country 96.3." The station is considered a rimshot br ...
. Stirling died at the age of 92 on December 21, 2013.