Killing Your Local TV

CHEK 6 -- it's been around forever, but has now been swallowed up by the swirling black hole that is contemporary corporate media. I must admit the news of the closure yesterday was a bit shocking, despite the writing being on the wall for some time. TV is such a constant in our lives, it feels like part of the foundation of my local society has crumbled away. But I think we have to look at this for what it is -- a symptom of a much larger problem. The shit has to fall somewhere, and once in a while, the shit will drop in your own backyard.

Having worked in the Victoria media, I know people personally who are affected by this decision. Hopefully their union has them somewhat protected, and they'll get a "fair" settlement. And I have to think the true talent will carry on as they wish. The people behind the cameras do well enough, those who are left. You may or may not be aware the studio cameras have been remotely operated from Alberta for months now, a cost cutting measure that's been resulting in way more glitches. CHEK has some good on-air staff, and some who make me cringe just about every time. All personal impact aside, I think we can do without the near-daily goon jobs at the courthouse or people's doorsteps.

I tuned into the late news last night, curious to see how they reported their own demise. It was of course the lead story, and I think they handled it with class. We got the bad news with a sombre thank you for all the support sent in throughout the day, we got streeters of Victorians saying the loss will be felt and that local coverage will suffer, and we got a not-so-subtle reminder that CHEK will go out as the news ratings leader over Eh Channel. Then, we got a shaken baby trial story that included more than one cut to a full screen still of a baby photo (the one who had died), with most of the screen blurred out. What's the use, I ask? I certainly won't miss bush league stuff like that.

They'll be doing cartwheels at 'A', at least in the boardroom -- the winners by submission. Both stations are bleeding money, both are begging for the CRTC to change the revenue goalposts, it's just Global who's thrown in the towel first. This could be the life ring that CHUM needed to see its Victoria numbers stabilize. Both have slashed back jobs in recent years to stay afloat. I really hope the Channel 12 crew keeps up their good quality news coverage. The island will be counting on them more than ever. History shows that broadcasters without competition have little interest in improving their product.