Corus Is Not Living Up To Their Responsibilities

Corus is a multimedia conglomerate in Canada. They own radio stations across the country, including CKNW 980 here in Vancouver. They just let go 12 staff members, some of them who had been there a long time, plus David Berner, who I consider to be the best talkshow radio host in Western Canada. And I often disagree with him!

Looking at their new schedule, it's chalk full of shows from other jurisdictions, as well as prepaid shows that are essentially multi-hour infomercials. What a slap in the face to Vancouver and our important local issues here.

I've always had this crazy notion that a company's use of the private airwaves was a privilege and one that held great responsibility. Clearly Corus is not living up to their end of the social contract. Our city is entering a time of important social and civic change, concerning the Olympics and beyond. The fact that readily available avenues for public discussion are decreasing is a great tragedy.

It would serve Corus right if another private company would approach the CRTC and demand that Corus be forced to give up the CKNW license to them, on the promise that more local programming would be broadcast. I suppose that is crazy of me to think that the CRTC would do something positive for a change!