CBC Radio 2 has been rebranded to CBC Music, aligning with the branding of the corporation’s website and digital music service. In a Q & A on the CBC Help Centre, the public broadcaster explains that “simply calling ourselves ‘Radio’ wasn’t enough to convey how everything we do is dedicated to music.” The format, programs, hosts and time slots are remaining unchanged, while sites like TuneIn, Apple Radio, Radio Player, CBC.ca/listen; and Sonos will all list Radio 2 with the new CBC Music branding.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has concluded that the 1958 song Squaws Along the Yukon by Hank Thompson, which has aired on SiriusXM channel Willie’s Roadhouse, breaches the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Equitable Portrayal Code. The CBSC says the song also breaches the Human Rights clause of the CAB Code of Ethics due to the use of the word “squaw” and the portrayal of Indigenous women in the song. SiriusXM has agreed to abide by the broadcast code, but argued that the context of the song must be taken into consideration, namely that it’s an old song played on a “classic” country station and that “older recordings may at times reflect the insensitivity and ignorance of past eras…” The CBSC English-Language Panel says the age of a song will not “save” it from breaching the codes. Read the full decision here.
Hedley fans have launched a petition to lift the Canadian radio airplay ban on the band’s music following recent sexual misconduct allegations. The petition, which has roughly 1,800 signatures, is addressed to Randy Lennox, president of Bell Media, Doug Murphy, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment, and Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. It reads in part: “These allegations are just that, allegations with no substance and or police involvement.”
The CRTC has posted 48 broadcast licence renewals. The deadline for comments on most of the applications is Mar. 26.
890 CJDC-AM Dawson Creek helped raise $17,908 for the Dawson Creek and District Hospital Foundation at last week’s Have a Heart Radiothon. The money will go toward the purchase of new beds for the hospital’s maternity ward.
