THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410060234
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Mike and Bryan Murray of Kill Devil Hills return to the world of television in the first week of November.
Their show, to be aired in Richmond, is called GO-TV and is mostly about the Outer Banks.
This is Mike's first TV project since the demise of Beach TV-12 in l992. That program, a weekly 30-minute show highlighting life on the Outer Banks, was the area's first TV news magazine.
The Murrays covered everything from a crab race to a press conference by the governor. Mike was the producer, son Bryan was the shooter.
Mike, 53, moved to the Outer Banks in l977 after 20 years in the radio business. Since moving to the area, Mike has dabbled in real estate, magazine publishing and some radio work.
Bryan, 30, graduated from Manteo High School and went on to earn a degree in communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When Bryan finished college, Dad was looking for a cameraman for the TV show he was planning. East Coast Motions was born.
Mike and Bryan are close. But they are opposites. Mike is always in motion; ideas flow effortlessly. Bryan is laid-back. He likes to surf.
Bryan lives in Wheeling, W.Va., and works at WTRF-TV. Part of his job is shooting and producing a weekly travel series. Some of that show's segments will be used in the new show.
For the last two months, the Murrays have been sifting through the more than 500 hours of video from the Beach TV show. Most of the tapes are stacked in the living room/studio of the Murray house.
Mike says some of the ``greatest hits'' from Beach TV are mixed with the new segments to fill the 30-minute GO-TV show.
Why are the Murrays re-entering the TV game?
``I really missed TV,'' says Mike. ``We're taking the premise of Beach TV and turning it into a regional video magazine.''
GO-TV joins a wide range of business, sports, community and talk shows on the 8-year-old BLAB network, which reaches 180,000 viewers in the Richmond area. The Murrays' program airs four times a day, seven days a week.
Thirteen programs are already in the can. Richmond-area viewers will see features on Jockey's Ridge, Surfrider Foundation, The Lost Colony and the Hang Gliding Spectacular. Bryan brings features on the history of Wheeling, the NFL Hall of Fame and the Zane Grey Museum to the shows.
All shows are introduced by Mike Murray. He'll take a position on Avalon Beach for his spot.
Mike says the ``fast-paced'' show is like radio on TV.
In addition to the new show, both Bryan and Mike have videos on the market. Mike's video is ``Romancing The Storm,'' a 60-minute view of storms, shipwrecks and legendary folklore of the Outer Banks. The $29.95 video offers footage of the Halloween Monster Storm, the White Christmas of 1989 and the Bonner Bridge Disaster of l990. According to the Murrays, more than a thousand of the videos have been sold.
Bryan, who is a champion surfer, produced ``Hatteras Surf Fest.'' Bryan's footage for Beach TV, ESPN and Home Team Sports is included in the 60-minute video. Some of Bryan's work was seen on MTV during the late '80s.
For now, Bryan will stay in Wheeling. Mike is working on selling advertising for the new show. Mike is also finishing a book on his days as manager of WGOE, the legendary Richmond progressive radio station of the early '70s. Two novels are in the works. He might even sleep a few hours.
Mike and Bryan think GO-TV will work in Richmond.
``People like to see themselves on TV,'' says Mike. ``Besides, thousands of people who live in Richmond own property on the Outer Banks. They want to know what's going on.''
Pat Murray, Mike's wife and Bryan's mother, stays out of the TV business, but she works full-time in real estate and is the out-going president of the Outer Banks Cancer Support Group.
Will we see GO-TV on the Outer Banks?
``That's our goal. We'd love to bring it here.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Mike Murray of Kill Devil Hills has put together a new show, GO-TV,
which will air in Richmond, Va.
by CNB