Private Radio Rumination
Since the Star got rid of its radio writer (whose allergy to fact-checking was well-known in the industry) the major newspapers have made a sport of ignoring our industry. Except for the CBC of course, which eats up more inches of newsprint than is devoted to the small colony of little people adopted by Angelina and Brad.
It’s ridiculous as it is unfair that the only radio outlets written about on a regular basis are with the Mother Corp. It almost smacks of some sort of political dogma. It’s as if the papers are government run – which they’re not – and they’re only allowed to write about the government’s point of view – which isn’t true. So why, then, do they choose this route?
The radio landscape in Toronto is changing like shifting sand ahead of ratings, which begin next week. A major player left a long-running, dominant FM morning show, breaking up the team after more than a decade. There are comings and goings and format tweaks and one station has made a wholesale change in its presentation. And yet, unless you bleed tax money you don’t get ongoing attention.
Kudos to The Star this morning for devoting Store Gazing to a radio morning show co-host. But are we, as a lot, so dull and uninteresting that there isn’t enough in the market to write about on a regular basis? Absolutely not! The last dude to allegedly devote himself to the topic was l-a-z-y. He trolled for story ideas on a fan site and consistently made major errors in his erratically published blurbs. Just because he didn’t do it well doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t.
As of November first, I’m available! I’ve got the contacts, the knowledge and the energy. I dare you to hire me as a radio columnist. Nay, I double dare you!
