At CKLN Today

So I went to do my interview with Verlia today at CKLN. Except she wasn't there. She was in the building, downstairs in the lobby on the phone, but prevented by security from entry to the control room to do her show. Instead, there was a programmer named Jean at the board, playing calypso and fielding a ton of phone calls from listeners who were wondering why Verlia wasn't there. (Before I had gotten there, Jean told me that he had done a phoner with Verlia that station management had asked him to stop)

It was not an easy time for Jean. He clearly didn't agree with station management, he was trying to explain to the callers what was happening (not easy at the best of times), while trying to maintain a coherent radio show. He also had no idea who I was and what music I was there to promote.

But no matter, he did a great job winging our interview. I got to play Maracatu, and Pupy Pedroso, and talk about the Lula World festival which starts tomorrow night. I did the best I could to describe how we love Verlia because she is a 110% Trini soca/calypso woman she knows her Reggae, her Soul, her African and her Latin music.

And the logic of depriving listeners of her impeccable music taste as a means of resolving the crisis over who runs CKLN, this logic is totally escaping me.

Comments

[Richard]

Is this just an attempt by people with commercial radio interests to hijack an educational/community license ... make it basically a personal cash cow?

Looks like what happened at CJRT, an community license abused to be a commercial station... you can bet the expenses include healthy stipends for the instigators, and gifts for whatever authorities turn the blind eye ;-)