Lay offs at CJOB thanks to Corus

[Shawndx]

MORALE is low and the atmosphere at CJOB is “tense” and uncertain following a surprising round of layoffs at the Winnipeg radio station last week.

The Free Press has confirmed Julie Buckingham, longtime co-host of CJOB’s weekday news show with Richard Cloutier, and Tom Milroy, host of Saturday Mornings, were among the local on-air personalities impacted by a wave of Corus Entertainment cuts to AM radio stations across the country last Wednesday.

Within the last year, Corus — which owns dozens of Canadian media brands, including Global News — has eliminated 25 per cent of its national workforce, the equivalent of more than 800 full-time positions, to combat slumping revenue.

“As part of programming refresh across our AM portfolio, we have made some difficult but necessary changes to our radio teams in various markets across Canada to ensure a sustainable future for Corus,” Corus Radio communications specialist Anna Arnone said in an emailed statement last week.

Staff at CJOB were under the impression all of the impending job cuts had been delivered as of August, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, whom the Free Press has granted anonymity based on their position.

Yet over the last three months, a number of off-air employees at the station were let go, including those in technical and online production, marketing and promotions and office administration. Several others were reassigned.

The source described the recent host layoffs as “a total surprise” and a “gut punch,” particularly in the case of Buckingham, whose radio work has received local and national accolades. In 2019, she and Cloutier received a Radio Television Digital News Association award for their CJOB news show.

Buckingham could not be reached and Milroy declined to comment on the situation when contacted.

Corus executives are reportedly set to be in Winnipeg this morning for a meeting with staff at 201 Portage Ave., which is home to CJOB and Global Winnipeg.
From the Winnipeg Free press Nov 29 2024

[Just sayin']

Now they're calling it a 'programming refresh.' Here's the problem: the industry has failed to properly train a new generation of talk show hosts who are educated, well read and with life experience who have an opinion that is not forced or fake but compelling and entertaining.Thus, we're left with the tired retreads that have gone past their due date. Look at the fill in hosts at NW. Wouldn't give you 10 cents for any of them...boring, lazy and wokey at best. Zero skills at getting to and from calls, staging upcoming segments and God forbid, how to move along a contest. They ARE terrible at all of the above and more. And no one in the corner suite seems to care.

[the-real-deal]

I am not aware of ANY Canadian school of broadcasting that teaches a course on how to do a talk show. Could be that talent new to radio and television (typically, those who attend these training courses) are simply not ready to assume a talk show role and training institutes need to focus on teaching proper entry level (and presentation skills) and just finding a job for their graduates. That is currently NOT the case.

The role of the talk show producer should also not be underestimated. Some Okanagan radio stations that I worked at (notably, Pattison Kelowna) featured unproduced talk shows ("on the cheap"), talent "flying solo" (as they say) answering their own phones, screening their own callers, etc, and their shows sounded like shit, too ! If you want to do a talk show, you have to do it, properly, out of respect to your audience.

Also, where I came from, talk show roles should not be handed out like candy or dog biscuits. They have to be earned and the on air talent must be both compelling and outstanding? Again, that is currently NOT the case ! (Ben Mulroney is a good example).

Otherwise, dumb and or boring people may take over the airwaves and why the hell should we listen to them ! Kick their *sses off of the air, forthwith.

[WinnNostalgiaFan]

CJOB is not having a good year first Larry Updike passed away (even though he had long since retired) now this


I hate that Corus had to Corus