FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2013 (St. John’s, NL) – Bas Jamieson, a Newfoundland and Labrador broadcasting icon, has passed away peacefully this evening at the age of 85.
A household name to many in Newfoundland and Labrador, Jamieson started his broadcast career on Canada’s west coast in 1958 in British Columbia before moving to Windsor, Ontario where he hosted a radio talk show that had a wide audience which extended into the United States, and he was subsequently named Citizen of the Year by the City of Windsor.
Jamieson retuned to Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1970s to work at CJON Radio and Television where he hosted the daily OpenLine show and several TV programs.
CJON Radio became CJYQ radio (Q93) in the late 70’s and Bas was an icon of the station. Additionally to his duties hosting the daily OpenLine show he ran the news and current affairs area of the business.
Jamieson’s next move was to VOCM, where he was always on the other end of the phone for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for OpenLine, Backtalk, andNightline at various points during his tenure with the station. More often than not, when he answered, those callers would ask, “dat you Bas?” That phrase would become so entrenched in pop culture that subsequent hosts of the show were also met with it and it was parodied many times by the Newfoundland and Labrador comedy group CODCO.
Despite a number of attempts to retire, Jamieson returned to host VOCM’s daily talk shows at 71, answering the call of his fans to return to the airwaves.
Bas was a mentor to many over the course of his more than five decades as a broadcaster. He was recognized by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) in 2006 with a Life Time Achievement award for his many years of work in the media business.
He was also involved in politics having been elected to St. John’s City Council in an At Large position in 1990.
Bas Jamieson, the last of his siblings, leaves behind a loving wife, Lorna, their children Debbie, Lee Anne, Craig, Scott, Kent, Paul and Janet as well as a number of extended family members to mourn.
His signature sign off, and the words he himself lived by, could not be more appropriate at this time. To give Bas the final word: “Do something nice for somebody today, you’ll feel better for it. Bye bye for now and god bless.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Joshua Jamieson
jjmoxy@gmail.com
The Jamieson brothers (L-R: Donald, Bas, Hubert, and Colin)
Just Himself: the story of Don Jamieson 