I was very saddened today to learn of the closure of the two CORUS Entertainment Radio Stations, and the closure of CKWS Television with the exception of less than a handful of people to, as CORUS put it in a statement “to cover breaking news of interest to Canadians”. My heart goes out to all those affected – both the on air personalities as well as the technical staff that make the events happen. My personal thanks to all of you for your lifetime commitment to making a difference in the lives of those around you in our city and the region. We all can be saddened by the outcome while still understanding the desperate financial situation GLOBAL finds themselves in.
My next reaction was a deep concern for our community, because these businesses REALLY were making a difference every year through their driving the Clothes for Kids Campaign, the Easter Seals campaign, and telling us nightly about the larger United Way Campaign, The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle and Christmas Hamper Campaigns, and all of the fund raising walks, golf, baseball and hockey tournaments. Thank you for shining a light on those organizations. I have been involved with some of those, along with sports organizations that relied on radio, television and print media to help “get the word out”.
I then get nostalgic for the way we were as a community for so much of my life, with strong and committed sports reporters. We had the nightly presence of Max Jackson and his sign off every night of “Remember, if you can’t play a sport, be one” that became engrained in our community personality. Doug Jeffries welcoming us with his “Good Evening”, as he shone his light into the corners of the sports community, to Mike Postovit’s “and that’s your look at sports” sign off after keeping us up to date. Those voices in print and television in Kingston have been silenced, and that is sad. The features on the passing of local people in the community and in sports were featured nightly, and gave us more background on their lives. We learned about milestones in organizations, registrations, playoff wins at so many levels, in so many sports, and for so many years. The light that CKWS and the radio stations shone in the corners of our community has been extinguished.
I have seen the sports guys and the news videographers hauling the equipment around to do interviews all over the city without any real outward complaint, because I know they loved what they did. Any of us that have been on the receiving end of a story or an interview, owe all of you so very much. July 18, 2024 will be remembered by all of you directly affected as a profoundly sad day. For all of us whose lives you positively affected over the years, we are so very grateful for the joy you brought into our homes and or lives every day. You became not just a part of our routine listening and viewing. You became a part of our family, and you were the fabric that bound our community together. THANK YOU! RWB
