OP/ED – JASON SETNYK
This week, more jobs in media vanished-this time hitting close to home. Corus Entertainment’s latest round of layoffs swept through radio stations, including those in the Ottawa and Cornwall areas, cutting deeply into teams that included on-air hosts, producers, music directors, and promotions staff. These are people many of us know-colleagues, friends, neighbours-suddenly left without jobs in an industry that’s been in freefall.
It’s easy to forget the people behind the microphones-or behind the scenes-until they’re gone. But they’re the ones who’ve kept us informed during snowstorms, cheered on our community events, interviewed our local heroes, scheduled our playlists, and ensured the show goes on. In many ways, they’ve helped stitch together the fabric of life in Eastern Ontario.
The layoffs are part of a larger crisis. Corus reported nearly $770 million in losses in July 2024 and has since cut about 25% of its workforce. The impact has reached every level of its operation, and it’s not the first media company to face this kind of reckoning. Bell, Rogers, and CBC have all made similar cuts as they struggle with shrinking advertising revenue and changing business models.
But while national media may pivot to digital, local radio (along with local newsprint and local TV) has remained one of the last truly accessible and community-driven platforms. And now it’s being hollowed out.
Local radio matters. It’s where you find real-time news about your region-missing persons alerts, community fundraisers, weather warnings, election coverage. It’s where you hear your neighbours’ names on the air. It’s a mirror, and often a lifeline for a community.
The loss isn’t just job losses-it’s cultural. Every position cut, every show canceled, every newsroom shuttered chips away at our shared civic life. These stations are trusted voices in the places we live.
So the question is: what are we going to do about it? Are we prepared to let local radio die quietly, or are we ready to speak up-through policy change, public support, or investment-to keep it alive?
Because once these voices go silent, they don’t come back. And when they’re gone, we’ll realize too late what we’ve lost.
