Shaw Communications isn’t the first major media corporation to make its radio operation subservient to its TV wing.
And it won’t be the last.
But lovers of radio should still be troubled by a recent Vancouver Sun report that three broadcasters—Jeremy Lye, Jon Hall, and Tim Dickert—have lost their jobs as CKNW Radio.
This is a predictable outcome of the Shaw family–controlled Corus Entertainment taking over Shaw’s TV brands, including Global, in 2016.
Corus also owns CKNW, which is morphing into a talk-radio station that runs news reports from Global and traffic reports from AM 730.
Another former CKNW journalist, Charmaine da Silva, became news director at News 1130 last month.
Her bio still appears on the Global News website as of this writing, as does those of Lye, Hall, and Dickert.
Why does this matter?
People on the left side of the spectrum tend to dismiss all corporate media as acting on behalf of the most powerful forces in society. While there’s considerable truth to that, it’s still worth noting that radio reporters tend not to be nearly as picture-driven as TV journalists.
Lye, for example, used to prowl around the courts, coroners’ inquests, and other places where cameras aren’t always welcome. He also puts out more interesting tidbits on his Twitter feed than entire newsrooms of TV reporters.
When radio newsrooms are subsumed by TV operations, the public usually ends up getting fed an even larger diet of ephemeral, picture-driven news about traffic accidents and animals. That serves the interests of the powerful.
READ MORE HERE AT Straight.com
I wonder what the CRTC would have to say about this latest move by CORUS? I seem to remember there were regs against one company owning or controlling too many outlets in one market. The real estate move effectively cuts the news outlets in Metro Vancouver by one (CKNW). The stories delivered will emanate from the Global Newsroom. Just curious.
BTW, Three male employees… Yes, they are exercising their white male privilege.
To Shaw/Corus. “Muh diversity” does not look to include male employees… But who the Eff cares, CKNW is a shadow of its once grand self. Their main weekday talk show hosts are all leftist-liberals, full of virtue signaling, suffering from SJWism, anti-Trump, anti-USA. anti-West mind sets. They have become near caricatures of themselves and are increasingly boring to listen to as any commonsense, logical thinking listeners will often know what these host will say before they speak on most any topics. They also near all the time bring on guests who thinks/speak much like they do. Guests who do not really provoke these hosts own thinking but merely parrot them and are also often quite boring in their P.C. virtue signalling B.S.
I will give Drex a pass right now as he develops his overnight show as he does do open lines and lets others speak. Yes he is a flaming, rather blind liberal and good at virtue signalling too, but he will provoke and be provoked by others on his show and on the open lines.
Jill Bennett is the best female host they have. Michael Smyth on fill in duty is good and Michael Campbell on the topic of money, financing, economics on his Sat. show is thought provoking and good too. Adler is not same host he was in Winnipeg. Drinking Vancouver water has pushed him towards libtardism too, though he is not as diseased as such as the weekday daytime hosts are. Roy Green on the network on weekends still has much of his more commonsense, natural classic Canadian POV intact though.
But CKNW is on the downhill slide and the Shaw/Corus management are giddily greasing the rails… TOO BAD! 🙁
‘Sad Dog 98’ would be a good name for the NW news. You talk about one slow decline in the last 20 years or so. This reminds me of a great country, then the government seizes control, the brains leave or are fired, then you are left with a shell of a country. In this case, its a radio station.
Terry is likely correct about the toothless CRTC not restraining one company’s domination in a major Cdn market.
Thx to Les/Robert…you’ve nailed it…
Demographics are strong forces against AM radio & conventional television.
The CRTC was a good idea before the www. Now it is not any more useful than an egg marketing board.
Bagoverheadguy, and anyone else that knows more about radio than me, I have a question.
Why cant NW program to make its real customer base happy? An older crowd that has grown up with am radio. People my age that thought the fm band was cutting edge. I know that I have more money to spend than I did when I was in the coveted 18 to 35 age group.
I lspend more time listening to radio than I spend watching TV or surfing the net. When I surf the net I almost always tune in NW or WX on my home computer.
The baby boomers are a huge demoraphic . You would think that someone could use am radio to tap into that market and not only make money but make a lot of money
At Les H.
An excellent review of what is wrong and what has yet to be ruined at NW. I often wonder how the right and center right types can stand wading in that cesspool of SJWPC sludge.
Your analysis of Drex caused me to think about my dislike for his style and his show.
I have to admit your right. As much as I disagree with most of what Drexs spews he does allow callers to challenge him on air. Im pretty sure that Drex follows this blog so I hope he appreciates your take on his style.
I remember the other guy NW hired at the same time as Drex. He told us that he had a program on his computer that alerted him every time his name showed up on the internet. Please note I have not given him the satisfaction of seeing his name. A very “robust” guy he was.
Can’t listen to NW anymore. Latest PD killed my last dying breath for the station, but I heard enough to know that Jeremy Lye is a loss for them. A bad choice for a lay off. He was one guy worth listening to on the air. The fact that Drex still had a job on NW is mind boggling to me. But maybe that’s just me…
I suppose that each and every time that CKNW comes up on almost all Blogs it attracts attention and opinions from former or now lukewarm Long Time Listeners and Media Types.
CKNW was up until fairl recently a big part of our lives, whether we be 40, 50, 60, 70, Years of age or older.
NW was listened to people of all or no Religions, Ethnicities, Genders, LGBTQ and the rest, Political Brands, and every other group you could think of.
NW HAD Balance, anything and everything was discussed and the argument, discussion, and debate was informative, educational, insightful, and the listening audience actually can
Me away from their few minutes of listening better informed and better understanding of any given topic.
Today NW is being managed by those that do not care about anything but their own Agenda, they actually believe it is their job to influence the Public into thinking like them and support the Social Engineering, SJW, Uber Liberal, PC Principles and “The Great Unwashed” is NO Longer accepting that line of Broadcasting.
People are more than willing to accept differing opinions and ideas for consideration and debate but those same people for the most part are not willing to accept being Indoctrinated from a Radio Station that has chosen the path of SJW.
To me it oooks like the Public in General are sending a message to NW.
Sure they may be 3rd in a Sea of 1’s and 2’s and that might be acceptable some but that does not work for most Listeners.
Obviously for some reason there is some concern at NW as changes are being made, the question is are those changes being made to save Money or they actually attempting to improve the product?
Personally I now only listen in the Car on my way to the office about 4:30 AM and at my desk a bit up until 10:00 AM, McComb and his Minions are difficult enough to listen to but I cannot stand the 10:00 AM Show. Then I listen to KTTH Seattle at my desk. Then back to NW for Bruce and then a bit for Steele depending on the topics on my drive home.
I once listened to that Addler Character if out in the Car at night but when he set shop up at NW he underwent Political Re-Assignment Surgery and over night he became a Baffoon.
Adler like some that Post on this Blog is only a Legend in his Own Basement.
I agree with the comment up the page about Jeremy, he seemed to be equipped to do a good job on Radio, but then again what do I know?
The problem with that TIM Character and others with McComb is they have no balance and the constant yucking it up with criticism of anything “Free Enterprise” probably drew complaints from Listeners who were fed up with the attitude. I do not like to see any person out of work so I wish them all well.
As I have stated on this Blog many times, “When will NW Advertisers Demand more from the Station, time for those Advertisers to wake up”!
The Listening Audience of B.C. Deserves much better.
BTW
I should point out that Palmer, Smyth, Jill Bennett, Campbell, Roy Green, and a few others are in my opinion “Radio Gold”.
So by Process of elimination if some balance was injected into McComb, Simi, and Addler NW could regain some Listeners and Ratings Numbers.
Hmmmmmm, seems quite simple, does it not?
BMCQ if you dont like NW just switch the dial. That said, if you read their fearless leaders twitter feed you get the idea why their programming is like it is.
https://twitter.com/Giffordtweet
Hahaha. Thx Mark. Read a portion of the Twitter feed, in which he retweets another blowhard consultant selling an online course after a ‘self-evaluation’ series of questions. These guys are all the same—snake oil salesmen.
Note to Gifford, ‘NW Program Director…some good posts here for you to ‘hear’.
Stop being a salesman telling us what you/Corus want us to ‘buy’ in a radio station…we are a small portion of listeners/former listeners who may represent a larger % of your actual/former audience. Stop talking like a salesman and listen to us.
Many, including me, speak highly of Smythe, Palmer, Campbell, Bennett, Allen, and Steele…less so of McComb, Sara, Adler…Green & Daly seem to fill a niche.
CBC have captured a good portion of the left…in ‘NW’s heyday, they leaned right. Today, ‘NW is like a weathervane, spinning around in every direction, totally direction less, not knowing what to provide listeners, because the ‘suits’
DOH!
Because the suits have stopped listening to their ‘customers’…sounds like so many once-proud retailers who didn’t listen or react to strong oncoming trends?
that Jeremy Lye was let go. He was a true reporter, very good at the details and now Janet Brown is the only credible reporter left. She is a great example of fine journalism as is Jeremy.
To keep Niki Reitmayer and release Jeremy and Jon Hall is a travesty. Jon was terrific in the evenings. There are no actual reporters left, the others just read a script like robots without having done the work of gathering the story.
I agree that Jill Bennett deserves much respect and Mike Smyth is always must listen radio.
I enjoy listening to Drex as he is on point, and always has the lines open to callers regardless of their opinion, with guests of a variety of positions and credibility. Any topic, any time, Drex is their for his listeners. I respect that and appreciate his ability to veer from planned subjects if the callers have other issues to bring up.
He knows and loves radio, his show is proof that informative and entertaining dialogue makes wonderful radio.
I remember just recently somebody said that we should feel sorry for Tim Dickerd at CKNW when he lost his job because “he has a young family” and all.
Tim was saying and braying the very social justice crappola that we hear from the usual suspects. Nope. Don’t feel sorry at all. I have a young, white male heterosexual son who I am trying to help navigate the minefield of life and all the crap that Tim was spewing goes in the direction of making it harder for my son to even be able to start a young family.
So, Dickert, Go sleep in the swill of your own making. I. Dont. Care.
OK Off topic, but germane to broadcaster spewing their crap at us. Hey. Bob Rae, if you love the Rhohinga so much, let them move in to your house and you pay for them. Otherwise, keep them the eff out of my country.
George
I did not like what Tim represented on NW, I could not stand the Yucking it Up on the McComb Show when they would criticize anything Conservative.
Tim was also ill informed and had no substance but I also understand that People have Rents and Mortgages to pay so therefore I do not like to see many of them out of work.
Now I could live and be quite happy with Jake Tapper, Stetzer, Whoopi, Lemon, PM Justin, Gregor, Meggs, Kwan, and a few others that are very dishonest and unfair Leftist SJW out of work but I would still not like to see any of them out on the street.
You mention you have a Young White Heterosexual Male.
I hope the Hosts here do not mind me attaching the following. It is something that everyone that any Parent that has a White Heterosexual Male of any age should pay very close attention to. For that matter a Young Heterosexual Male of any Ethnicity.
My Son 29 Year Old Heterosexual Male Son who happens to be a Pacific Islander and a Conservative just had a Baby and he is already going to save the attached for his Son.
Jordan Peterson is someone we should ALL Pay Attention to!
Most Educators and other SJW Hate Him but he could very well save our Culture if we pay attention to him. And guess what, He is Canadian.
Wait until the University attempts to Fire Him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68EiD_LzmWY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-33khQDG0
My Thanks to the Host for their indulgence.
Be very careful as to where your Children attend School.
BMCQ I understand the words of compassion for Tim, however, he has the same access to information as the rest of us and if he chooses to use his intelligence and efforts in a manner that ill serves society in general, well… too bad. Ironically, it very well seems that he lost the “eat me last” game. Sometimes it takes getting fired before realizing that you just got bitten by those you enabled. Hopefully, this is a red-pill moment for Tim.
With regards to Jordan Peterson… my 15 year old is way ahead of you. He has been watching his Youtubes and is regularly poring over Vox Day, Roosh, and “the chateau”.
BMCQ, I do appreciate a fellow red pilled person.
Basic common sense goes a long way.
Social Engineering SJW Mensa Members like Mayor Mumbles in Vancouver, Megs, Vision Vancouver, PM Justin, many of his Minions, and most of the EU Leadership have had their way for quite some time.
Let’s hope that “The Great Unwashed” of every Ethnicity, Skin Colour, Religion, Non Religious, Hard Working, Tax Paying, Law Abiding Citizens have finally had enough.
Angle of Incidence Equals Angle of Reflection.
Much damage has been done but hopefully it is not too late to make changes.
Indoctrination is a very dangerous thing.
“be very careful as to where your children attend school”
No Kidding. The current BCTF crop of SJWs masquerading as teachers are the reason that Tim Dickers is the way he is. He is a product of our BC public school system. Many other one dimensional types are spewed out of that system each and every June.
The BCTF should be investigated for their biased approach to education. Public sector unions have all over stepped their boundaries. Its bad enough that they are allowed to bargain for wages and benefits that are so far removed from the real private sector world that they are out of control. The BCGEU runs ads proclaiming that they will fight bullying in the workplace? WTF
Their workplace is a government run office or warehouse. If someone is bullying another employee they should be fired. Period. Full stop. No need for the BCGEUs ad campaign.
Tim Dickers, is a product of the BCTF method of teaching. Every June thousands more high school grads just like Tim hit the streets. Those that move on to University will just continue the indoctrination. Universities once the bastions of free speech and free thinking are becoming centers for left wing mind numbing, and dumbing down centers.
What are they going to do play the television audio on the radio all day? I still shake my head when I hear the Global newscast on CKNW with visuals that listeners CAN’T SEE!
I really stopped listening to NW when Coast to Coast AM was lost to a scratchy low power station. I used to listen to CKNW all day. Now rarely.