John Martin (Canadian broadcaster)

John Martin (1947 – February 23, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, credited with "almost single-handedly" creating music television in Canada.

Born in Manchester, England, Martin left school at 16 and moved to London, where he worked as a rock drummer and freelance writer. At 20, he moved to Canada, finding work as a researcher for CBC Radio, then CBC Television. On the radio side, he was the first Canadian to break the story of the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War; on the television, he produced segments for series like Weekend and Peter Gzowski's 90 Minutes Live. (Filling in once on the current affairs series Viewpoint, he hired the Cambridge University Choir to sing the Canada Elections Act in harmony.)

After the cancellation of 90 Minutes Live, Martin found himself driving a taxicab and pitching a new concept to Canadian TV broadcasters: "rock and talk," bringing a sensibility like those of Rolling Stone and the New Musical Express to bear presenting and interpreting musical culture in a documentary television newsmagazine.

The idea didn't sell to Canadian television networks of the day – at the CBC, it was caught between the departments of variety and current affairs – but Moses Znaimer, the impresario of Toronto independent station CITY-TV, took on Martin's plan, and The NewMusic launched in 1979. It was a great success, becoming Canada's most popular syndicated television series.

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