{"id":3852,"date":"2012-06-29T05:48:13","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T09:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=3852"},"modified":"2012-06-29T05:48:13","modified_gmt":"2012-06-29T09:48:13","slug":"toronto-sun-killing-rci-was-shortsighted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/toronto-sun-killing-rci-was-shortsighted\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Sun: Killing RCI was shortsighted"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(Source: Toronto Sun<\/a>)<\/p>\n

BY\u00a0WARREN KINSELLA<\/a> ,QMI AGENCY<\/p>\n

The chipping away at Canada continues apace.<\/p>\n

Radio Canada International\u2019s shortwave service was, quite literally, Canada\u2019s voice to the world for nearly 70 years \u2014 through wars, through triumphs and disasters, through it all. It has been part of our history. And, now, it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

…[T]he service became a means by which we could subtly promote democracy, and the Canadian way of life, in far-flung corners of the world. In places like China, Russia and North Korea \u2014 where the Internet can be censored, but shortwave can\u2019t be \u2014 RCI was heard by many. In post-Communist Eastern Europe, shortwave radio receivers are still the way in which many receive news from the outside world.<\/p>\n

I know this from experience. When I was an election observer in Bosnia in 1996, billeted with a Serbian family, I was glued to my tiny shortwave radio at night. I\u2019d listen to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the news from back home, and I was always pretty grateful that RCI existed.<\/p>\n

Our allies \u2014 the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and Australia \u2014 have all expanded their national shortwave service.<\/p>\n

In Canada, meanwhile, we\u2019ve killed it.<\/p>\n

The Harper regime, which has taken a chainsaw to the CBC in recent months, is ultimately to blame for this short-sighted decision. They will say that government needs to tighten its belt, and they\u2019re mostly right about that.<\/p>\n

But getting rid of RCI\u2019s shortwave service is pennywise and pound foolish. In all, keeping RCI on-air would have cost about 35 cents a year, per Canadian. In comparative terms, it\u2019s as much as it cost taxpayers to rent a couple of panda bears from China for zoos in Toronto and Calgary. Or, it\u2019s a fifth of the cost of building gazebos in Tony Clement\u2019s riding and fake lakes for the G8\/G20 summit.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, KPMG did a study on RCI, and found it was the most efficient \u2014 that is, cost-effective \u2014 broadcaster of its type in the world.<\/p>\n

Why should you care? Does it matter? It matters. Billion-dollar fighter jets and super jails, before a pittance for a radio station that promoted democracy and decency around the world? The idiots who came up with this outrageous decision should all be fired.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you didn\u2019t notice the death of RCI because you have access to lots of media here in Canada, or because you don\u2019t ever need to tune in to shortwave radio. But to people around the world \u2014 to our men and women in uniform \u2014 the death of RCI won\u2019t go unnoticed.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full Op Ed piece in the Toronto Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: Toronto Sun) BY\u00a0WARREN KINSELLA ,QMI AGENCY The chipping away at Canada continues apace. Radio Canada International\u2019s shortwave service was, quite literally, Canada\u2019s voice to the world for nearly 70 years \u2014 through wars, through triumphs and disasters, through it all. It has been part of our history. And, now, it\u2019s gone. …[T]he service became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,3],"tags":[1041,1210,1040,1209,1039,4082],"class_list":["post-3852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-news","tag-cbc-cuts","tag-radio-canada-international-closure","tag-radio-canada-international-cuts","tag-rci-closure","tag-rci-cuts","tag-shortwave-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-108","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3445,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/the-toronto-star-publishes-my-thoughts-on-the-cuts-to-radio-canada-international\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":0},"title":"The Toronto Star publishes my thoughts on the cuts to Radio Canada International","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As many of you know, I find the downsizing of major shortwave broadcasters around the world deeply concerning, especially since so much of the world still relies on the medium as a source of news and information, and for some the only source of potentially life-saving information. The recent cuts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/TheNetwork-TheTorontoStar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3335,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/rci-listener-comments-carry-common-theme\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":1},"title":"RCI listener comments carry common theme","author":"Thomas","date":"April 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"On RCI's Listener Letters and the RCI Action committee's website, you can read listener reactions to the looming RCI cuts. To their credit, I've noticed that RCI programs (like The Link\u00a0with Marc Montgomery) are continuing \"business as usual.\" I've noticed no degradation of their content or quality.","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/TheLinkRCI.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3202,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/radio-canada-international-to-end-shortwave-broadcasts-sackville-to-be-closed\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":2},"title":"Oh, Canada: Radio Canada International to end shortwave broadcasts, Sackville to be closed","author":"Thomas","date":"April 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is another sad day for international broadcasting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has announced sweeping cuts that will eliminate 650 jobs over the course of 3 years. In a strategic plan called, Same Strategy, Different Path, they specifically outline their cuts of shortwave and satellite transmissions which will also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CBCbuilding-300x168.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3217,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/the-link-talks-about-the-cuts-at-rci\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":3},"title":"The Link talks about the cuts at RCI","author":"Thomas","date":"April 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In this interview with Levon Sevunts, producer for RCI's The Link, we get a little more insight into the impact of these cuts at Radio Canada International. One notable quote from the audio interview:\u00a0Sevunts states rather bluntly, \"RCI is getting out of radio altogether.\" RCI's last day of broadcasting will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/TheLinkRCI.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3214,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/helene-parent-two-out-of-three-rci-employees-will-lose-their-jobs-by-the-end-of-july\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":4},"title":"Helene Parent: “two out of three RCI employees will lose their jobs by the end of July”","author":"Thomas","date":"April 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It appears that the cuts at Radio Canada International will be deep and swift (see below). (Source: RCInet.ca) Spending cuts announced last week in Canada's latest federal budget have reached Radio Canada International. Speaking to employees at RCI's headquarters in Montreal on Wednesday, RCI director Helene Parent declared that two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/RCI-300x93.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3778,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/cabinet-silences-canadas-international-voice-rci-action-responds\/","url_meta":{"origin":3852,"position":5},"title":"Cabinet silences Canada’s international voice, RCI Action responds","author":"Thomas","date":"June 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, as I toured Radio Canada International's Sackville, New Brunswick transmission site, the Canadian press discovered that the Cabinet approved an order that paves the way for RCI to be dismantled. The\u00a0Metro News\u00a0reported: Heritage Minister James Moore recommended an order in council, approved on June 7, that deleted a requirement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/RCI-300x93.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}