One of the most common questions we’re being asked is “Why are you trying to stop a sale from taking place? If the owners want to sell you should let them sell.”
The answer to this has a couple elements. First and foremost, we are not trying to stop a sale as much as we are trying to stop a format change. Durham Radio Inc has filed two applications with the CRTC. The first was for purchase of the station (CFWC-FM). Then they filed a second application requesting a license amendment that would change the programming from Christian to Rock. This is the application we are intervening against.
Before this web site was built and before this campaign was started, a great deal of research was done. Numerous phone calls, emails and conversations took place with all kinds of people from all different walks of life. It would be irresponsible for us to try and stop a sale leaving the owners of Power 93 high and dry if we didn’t have the means to come in and buy the station. We would never do that. It’s a matter of respect and integrity.
Before we started we made sure there were viable options out there. Other Christian media companies that were offering a dollar value equal to – or in one particular case – greater than the dollar value being offered by Durham Radio. Once we were confident this was the case, we proceeded with our campaign.
Durham Radio has stated that if they can’t get the license amendment (the application we’re fighting) they would no longer be interested in purchasing Power 93. That’s their prerogative. The station was licensed by the CRTC as Christian, and we want to see it stay that way. If the amendment is denied it opens the doors for other bidders. In this case, those bidders would be the Christian media companies that have expressed an interest in purchasing the station and keeping it Christian.
There is a reason the CRTC holds public proceedings on these matters. It gives the public – those affected and impacted by local radio – the opportunity to voice their opinions. It’s much like we are given the opportunity to vote in a government election. If you don’t vote you have no right to complain. In the same way, if we didn’t express our concerns, we’d have no right to complain should we lose our local Christian radio. For that reason, we’ve chosen to speak up and invited others to join us.
Hopefully this clears up any misunderstandings. Many people have stated that we should just mind our own business and let a business deal happen that doesn’t involve us. We’re not opposed to business happening. We’re not opposed to a sale. We just want to keep our local Christian radio and the CRTC public proceeding process gives us an opportunity to try and make that happen.
If you haven’t submitted your opposition letter yet we’d encourage you to do so. The deadline is August 12, 2010. Find a copy of our sample letter here and a step-by-step guide to submitting your letter here.
