Parrsboro’s community radio station has been granted a temporary, four-month licence renewal until December 31.
In a notice issued yesterday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said the short-term “administrative renewal” will give the Commission more time to consider the Parrsboro Radio Society’s application for a seven-year renewal of its broadcasting licence.
An official at the CRTC’s regional office in Dartmouth says the CRTC routinely issues four-month extensions when it is unable to deal with renewal applications before licences expire. CICR’s licence was due to expire on August 31.
Rough road to renewal
As I reported previously, CICR’s licence renewal process has not been going smoothly. On May 15, the CRTC issued a public notice pointing out that the Parrsboro Radio Society had failed to file proper financial information, program logs and tapes. It also expressed dissatisfaction with the answers it had received from PRS.
“The Commission is gravely concerned by the inadequacy of the responses provided by the licensee to its requests for information,” the notice warned. “These answers are an important indicator of whether the licensee has the required ability and knowledge to comply with the regulatory obligations in the future.”
The CRTC official in Dartmouth could not say when the Commission might issue its next decision on the fate of Parrsboro’s station.
CFTA, Cumberland County’s other community station, recently had its licence renewed for a full seven years. Its licence was also due to expire on August 31.
This week will indeed be a fateful week with a federal Election, a Blue Jay game and a decision by CRTC on Parrsboro Community Radio which could go in any number of directions! I hope that it will continue in some form to assist in the future development of Parrsboro and area and act as a true voice of the people at large in Parrsboro. It is shamefully obvious that the directions it has taken in the past few years show a need of a reset of mission and direction from the board in future. As well, any community station has to be economically viable by support of its listeners thru sponsors or donations, both of which seem from the outside to be lacking for whatever reasons. All stations require qualified technical support and to that end there is a cost to operations and as well, any station not considering adapting to changes annually and improving delivery to its listeners by stagnation will have its days and support and community involvement numbered! As one of the original founders of CICR, I am dismayed over how its history to date is not a glowing success story….barely able to keep its finacial head above water and unable to afford technical or program improvements. To rest in the radio biz is to die! Maybe this coming decision will be a wakeup call to all concerned… what happens after that will be do or die!