A Very Sad Day For Journalism

 

This is not a good day.

BCE has laid off 4,800 employees, ripped shows off CTV and BNN, plus sold 45 radio stations. These are a lot of journalists, lives, families and journalism in disarray. You could see it coming for decades but it still hurts when it happens. My heart goes out to those who’ve been affected.

Bell says radio isn’t viable anymore. It’s probably right. TV isn’t far behind as we know it. And newspapers … what’s left of them is precious little.

In the last analysis, it’s probably CBC as the last person standing.

And oh yes, The Bulldog. Yes, The Bulldog.

As I close in on a half-century of committing journalism, one wonders how long The Bulldog can last. Still love it but the editor can only live so long. Perhaps the same editor should be preparing a succession plan. Anybody want to buy a used Bulldog? It has all its shots and is house-trained.

Anyway, we’re still going strong with no plans to disappear, save the occasional bout of the flu.

Today is a very good day to be thankful for the columnists, videographers (yes you Mike Patton), the commenters, the bloggers who make this a true team dedicated to this city, thoughtful opinion and good information. I’ll to remember that when it is three in the morning a light is still on at Bulldog World Headquarter where the proprietor is trying to solve technical woes.

It’s an honour to work with all of you. You should all be proud of what we have achieved (readers included) here at The Bulldog. Fifteen years of solid barking.

It’s a privilege to be associated with all you people who support The Bulldog. Thank you … particularly on a day like today.

Ken Gray

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7 Responses

  1. J Lalande says:

    Only the CBC is left…that is indeed a sad day…they are but a paid mouth piece of this terrible sitting government. A $Billion+ advertiser for the libs! God help us.

  2. Theresa says:

    Ken, As a recent Bulldog subscriber, I very much appreciate the updates and insights this paper provides (not the rants, however(:D) — although perhaps they help to increase my exposure to what different people are thinking). We residents have the most power to change things at the local level, but we can’t do that if we’re not informed. So THANK YOU!
    I am so saddened at the loss, over the last 10 years or so, of local newspapers in various communities around Canada, and wish there was some way to support them, because the people there are so dependent on news reporters to maintain their awareness of issues, and connect with networks of charitable and social groups. By the way, I am also very grateful for the CBC, which publicizes so much, from international events to local news items, and accommodates different viewpoints. It is a desperately needed unifier for our country, where there is so much polarization and hostility going on.

  3. Doug says:

    As sure as spring arrives, Roll up the Rim follows. Bell Let’s Talk Day occurs and sure enough, the axe falls. Those poor shareholders can’t get enough return on their investment. Now, can we talk about CTV’s love affair with the Big Bang Theory?

  4. Andrew says:

    It is a sad day for all. Community reporting and the community service these dedicated people provided is a loss to us all. I wish those affected a smooth transition into new positions or occupations.

  5. Anderson Davies says:

    Having worked for Bell this has been ongoing… I have NO (emphasis mine) empathy for a Liberal subsidized media entity. I have been laid off over and over, get a backbone!

  6. Ken Gray says:

    Theresa:

    Thank you.

    Rant? Moi? Can’t be.

    cheers

    kgray

  7. Luke Chadwick says:

    The cuts at Bell Radio stations and CTV don’t impact me much as I tend to listen to very little radio other than CBC (both the news station and the music station) and generally avoid CTV as I find it is full of fluff news on the local front and advertorials and inane social media chatter and news. To me, CTV is just really a delivery model for American network shows and most of it can be obtained elsewhere.

    It is sad that people have been let go and the journalism field seems to be a race to the bottom these days.

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