THIS BOOK BEGAN ALMOST four years ago as a research paper for one of my grad classes at Carleton University. I never expected it to be anything more than that. So I must thank Professor Kirsten Kozolanka for recognizing that the story of CHEK and its employee-owners would be the ideal subject for my Master of Journalism thesis.
Thank you, too, to Professor Christopher Waddell, then-director of Carletons School of Journalism and Communications, for being so intrigued by the story that he wouldnt let anyone else be my thesis supervisor. Backed by Chriss wisdom, experience, and guidance along with his sense of humourthe research paper became a thesis.
Professor Dwayne Winseck, an expert in the field of media conglomeration and consolidation, and the internal examiner on my thesis committee, gave me more encouragement than he probably knows. His quiet praise in the minutes before my oral thesis defence gave me a much-needed dose of courage and calm as I headed into one of the most nerve-wracking hours of my life.
More than anyone else at Carleton University, I thank my grad supervisor Professor Susan Harada for her academic and moral support.
To CHEK staff, management, and board members, I thank you for your patience as I interviewed you for hours on end, your honesty in sharing your story, and the trust you placed in me to document this chapter of CHEKs history. I must single out news director Rob Germain, without whose meticulous record keeping I could not have pieced this together.
Similarly, I appreciate the candour of former Canwest CEO Leonard Asper, who saved all his emails from the summer of 2009 and graciously shared them with me. Through those emails, along with a few candid interviews, he gave me Canwests side of the story.
Thank you to Konrad von Finckenstein, who played many roles in the making of this book. As former CRTC chair, he is part of the CHEK story. He was also the external examiner for my thesis defence at Carleton. I asked him to write the foreword to this book because I so value his perspective in framing the CHEK story in the big-picture Canadian broadcasting context.
On the personal side, thank you to my parents who supported me when life got in the way, when I considered giving up on this project.
Finally, thank you to Rodger Touchie and Lara Kordic at Heritage House Publishing for being patient with me as I pushed deadlines and figured out the ending.
CREDIT: CHRISTINE TRIPP
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
IN HER TWENTY-FOUR-YEAR MEDIA career, Diane Dakerss byline has appeared in most of Canadas major daily newspapers and a number of national and regional magazines and weekly publications. Her voice has been heard on local, national, and provincial radio stations, and she has been a television host, reporter, producer, and writer. Diane holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abramson, Bram Dov, and Marc Raboy. Policy Globalization and the Information Society: A View from Canada. Telecommunications Policy 23 (1999): 77591.
Ali, Christopher. A Broadcast System in Whose Interest? Tracing the Origins of Broadcast Localism in Canadian and Australian Television Policy, 19501963. International Communication Gazette, March 2012.
Arrais, Pedro. Parsons Greets CHEK Co-workers. Times Colonist, January 21, 2010: A5.
Barney, Darin. Communication Technology. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2005.
Barratt, Neil. A Framework for the Future: CanWest and the New Regulation of Canadian Broadcasting. Canadian Journal of Media Studies 3, no. 1 (2008): 10630.
Barron, Robert. Nanaimo Mills Continue Difficult Battle. Nanaimo Daily News, March 21, 2012: A1.
. The Harmac Gamble. Nanaimo Daily News, October 3, 2008: A1.
.Employee Company Takes Over at Harmac: Workers, Managers and Other Partners Meet Supreme Court Deadline. Times Colonist, August 30, 2008: B1.
Bartley, Allan. The Regulation of Cross-Media Ownership: The Life And Short Times Of PCO 2294. Canadian Journal of Communication 13, no. 2 (1988): 45-59.
Beers, David, and Charles Campbell. Creating Counterweights to Big Media: How to Open Up Canadas News Media in an Era of Corporate Concentration. The Tyee. February 2, 2005. thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2005/02/02/Creating-CounterweightsBigMedia/.
Bellaart, Darrell. CHEK Staff Not Giving Up: Employee-led Takeover of Station Slated for Closure Is Not Out of the Question, Some Say. Nanaimo Daily News, July 30, 2009: A3.
Blidook, Kelly. Choice and Content: Media Ownership and Democratic Ideals in Canada. Canadian Political Science Review 3, no. 2 (2009): 5269.
Brioux, Bill. Will Townsfolk Save the House of Frightenstein? Rallies for Local Owners Start as Corporate Debt Threatens CHCH. Toronto Star, March 15, 2009: E6.
CBC. CanWest Timeline: The Empire Izzy Asper Built, 2010. (Accessed April 22, 2012.) cbc.ca/news/business/story/2009/09/24/f-canwest-timeline.html.
Canadian Press. Canwest to Be Junior Stock after TSX Delisting Friday. Toronto Star, November 13, 2009.
. CanWest global shares fall 16% to 52-week low. Toronto Star, October 5, 2002: E2.
CanWest Global Communications. Canwest to Rebrand Its Conventional Television Station in Kelowna to Global. News release. July 22, 2009. sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158672/000115867209000038/cgccnewsrelease20090722.htm.
CHEK Media Group. CHEK Is Truly Your Islands OwnIndependent and Employee-Owned! CHEK News. 2011. Accesssed April 29, 2012. cheknews.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=85.
Collins, Leah. CHEK It Out, E!; Its All Change at CH, and a Name from the Past Returns. Times Colonist, September 7, 2007: D1.
CRTC. Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2012-385: Review of the Local Programming Improvement Fund. 2012. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-385.htm.
. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-699: CHEK-TV Victoria and Its TransmittersAcquisition of Assets. 2009. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-699.htm.
. Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-4: Regulatory PolicyDiversity of Voices. 2008. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2008/pb2008-4.htm.
. Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-5: Diversity of Voices Proceeding. 2007. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2007/n2007-5.pdf.
. Decision CRTC 2001-458: Licence Renewals for the Television Stations Controlled by Global. 2001. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2001/db2001-458.htm.
. Public Notice CRTC 1999-97: Building on SuccessA Policy Framework for Canadian Television. 1999. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1999%5CPB99-97.htm#t2.
. Decision CRTC 92-220: Global Communications Limited. 1992. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1992/DB92-220.htm.
. Public Notice CRTC 1992-28: New Flexibility With Regard to Canadian Program Expenditures by Canadian Television Stations. 1992. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1992/pb92-28.htm.
. Public Notice CRTC 1989-109: Elements Assessed by the Commission in Considering Applications for the Transfer of Ownership or Control of Broadcasting Undertakings. 1989. crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1989/PB89-109.htm.
Dakers, Diane. When the Media Mighty Fall: The Impact of CanWest Globals Demise on Select Media Outlets and the Communities They Serve. Academic paper, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, 2010.