J-Source

News axed at Montreal radio station

Montreal radio station 940 AM will lay off 18 employees and switch to an oldies/greatest hits format from an news-talk format, reports CBC, because “owner Corus Entertainment announced the station’s news format was not profitable enough to stay on air.” A response from the Canadian Media Guild demands that the CRTC “ensure that local news…

Montreal radio station 940 AM will lay off 18 employees and switch to an oldies/greatest hits format from an news-talk format, reports CBC, because “owner Corus Entertainment announced the station’s news format was not profitable enough to stay on air.”

A response from the Canadian Media Guild demands that the CRTC “ensure that local news survives … We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the CRTC must take action to ensure that local news and information programming survives the current private media trend in this country,” said guild national president Lise Lareau in a news release. “These companies still have an obligation to the public and one of the most important ways they can fulfill that obligation is to provide quality reporting about local events and issues.”

Part of the problem, I’d say, is the lack of a sufficient public appetite and appreciation for quality news, and with endless diversions in the world, that’s not a problem the CRTC can solve by itself. 

Montreal radio station 940 AM will lay off 18 employees and switch to an oldies/greatest hits format from an news-talk format, reports CBC, because “owner Corus Entertainment announced the station’s news format was not profitable enough to stay on air.”

A response from the Canadian Media Guild demands that the CRTC “ensure that local news survives … We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the CRTC must take action to ensure that local news and information programming survives the current private media trend in this country,” said guild national president Lise Lareau in a news release. “These companies still have an obligation to the public and one of the most important ways they can fulfill that obligation is to provide quality reporting about local events and issues.”

Part of the problem, I’d say, is the lack of a sufficient public appetite and appreciation for quality news, and with endless diversions in the world, that’s not a problem the CRTC can solve by itself.