Home Cooked Meals: There’s this mom-and-pop store down the block. For years the little variety store has become the fabric of the community. Over the years they’ve become a bit bigger and owned a few other stores in the city. But they remained local. Intimate. It’s at the store where we picked up the newspaper to read about 9-11, The Jays World Series win. Kept up-to-date with OJ’s trial. We always picked up our birthday cards for family and friends from there. We even invite the owners into our house once in a while – just to say thank you. Thanks for being them – Small, personal. Family oriented. Home grown. In a world of high sky rises, folks trying to race to be The Apprentice and big corporate chains where your only a number to the Big Guy, it’s always nice to have a family owned business that you can support.
Always support the Little Guy.
Just got word that the mom-and-pop store is being bought by one of the biggest competitors in the city. This same company owns many other variety stores not only in the city but also in the whole of Canada. The word is that they’ll be cutting jobs to “increase focus on service” to local customers.
Cutting jobs to increase focus? Huh?
What will happen to the 191 full time employees and 90 part timers who’ve made this family owned company their home for so many years? Some of them too old to find another job and some are too young to find a gig as good as the one they once had.
Okay. You get it. I’m not really talking about a variety store.
Nah.
I’m talking about the CHUM/Bell Globemedia merger.
CHUM being the little guys. Bell Globemedia being the big dudes.
Some say that CITY-TV won’t be here in a year. Some others say that CHUM radio will be going through major facelifts throughout the next six months.
What will happen to our TV station that’s promised us to be “everywhere?”
Will they still be everywhere?
Who will be the voices and faces of the CHUM outlets in a year?
Questions. Too many. Change. For the better?
This is the media world, after all.
This is the biggest merger in northern media history, they say. It’ll take some getting used to. Change is good, sometimes. Sometimes it’s for the best. But not when the people you’re kicking out of the door is all part of one family. Your family.
I Saw this Coming: I’ve been covering radio for so long, there’s usually a bad aroma that goes around in my mind when I feel like something huge is going to happen. Not a merge or anything, but a firing. A MIX-up. A time when a loved morning man will be shown the door to be replaced by a new crew come fall. I saw this one coming. Humble Howard – local morning man in the Toronto market for two decades was given the pink slip this week at Mix99.9.
He’s still going to get a Standard cheque until the Summer of 2008.
Where does this leave Howard? Getting back with Freddie P – his long time partner who together made classic radio at CFNY, MOJO Radio and lastly at MIX? Speculations are that an old but familiar morning team will be filling the shoes of the morning stint at the MIX come fall.
Madd Dog and Billie who haven’t been heard in this market since their CHFI downfall two years ago, is said to be pairing back up to try to save MIX’s low numbers.
Will it work?
Does this whole CHUM deal with BGM have anything to do with it?
Where does this leave our listeners? Loyal ears that will miss the morning mix-up with Howard and company?
Will we ever hear how respected jock, again?
Come fall, hopefully some answers will be given. But this is radio’s favourite time to play tricks on us. Just like that guy who went away for the summer only to return to realize his number one morning team has been shown the door, Howard is basking in the sun down south – trying to fathom what will he be doing in the fall.
Dust of the resume, Howard. Clean your demo, Bud. You’ll need those.
