The Rural Voice, 1999-07, Page 17around their needs, in overall
agricultural awareness and food -
based information.
The response to that statement
alone has been varied but also
divided along some closely
guarded lines. In the broadcasting
world, radio is radio and television is
television and (seemingly) "never the
'twain shall meet".
For CKNX General Manager Jack
Gillespie, the retirement notice of
Murray Gaunt has served as wake-up
call; the challenge is no longer "if'
but "when" he retires and to find
someone to carry on in the same
respected manner which Gaunt
helped establish. It's not to say it
can't be done — Ontario AgRadio
Network's Dennis Guy had to adjust
when he took over for long-time
broadcaster Harold Smith when he
retired from CFCO in Chatham in
1989 — it's just not an easy task.
Even with the loss of Gaunt
(who will continue in a limited
capacity) Gillespie is confident
farm broadcasting will always
have a place on stations that are
securely anchored in the rural
districts.
"I think a radio station like
CKNX would be out of its mind
to sit where it sits and not pay
for sheep or cattle. Nowadays,
producers are interested in what's
going on generally.
To Dennis Guy, the issue isn't so
much the short-term picture of the
days following Ross Daily or Murray
Gaunt; it's what will be the next step
in broadcasting's evolution? As Farm
Director of the Ontario AgRadio
Network, Guy has seen an
evolutionary phase of his own,
starting his farm information -based
syndication service late in 1993 and
building it into a network of 16
stations across the province. Like
Gillespie, he doesn't agree with
dropping the markets from radio
broadcasting. Radio's strength
continues to be its portability,
especially on the farm.
"(With) radio, you can listen to
(market numbers) anywhere, whether
it be in your car or your combine or
attention to agriculture and not be
committed to it as well," says
Gillespie, referring also to the
station's advisory board and local
bursary and, a farm achievement
award. As broadcasters, they must
stay in tune with their audience and
the marketplace. As for the
differences between radio and
television, again, Gillespie declares
radio's reputation as the "poorer
cousin" to television might actually
be a strength to the medium.
"Radio is user friendly — you can
sit there like a sponge and absorb all
kinds of information ... without
lifting a finger," explains Gillespie.
"(It's) local, it's personal — it's all
those things that relate very well to
the farm community."
As for Daily's suggestion of
dropping the markets, Gillespie
replies that it's a little premature to
be dropping such information out of
the reach of the average producer.
Farming itself has changed and even
if one producer is raising hogs, who's
to say he's not interested in the prices
your pick-up or your tractor or
wherever," saysGuy. "It is by far, the
most portable medium."
Television, on the other hand, is
not at all portable, compared to
radio, and although some can
turn on their television and get the
markets, they can access the same (if
not more up-to-date) figures from the
DTN monitor 'or off the internet.
More to the point, those other two
means will offer more options and
greater detail on the information
provided. Television is still limited to
the amount of information that fills a
two or three minute televised
segment.
In addition to possible changes on
television, Guy believes there will be
changes from within the agri-food
industry. Producers are beginning to
realize they have a message to supply
to consumers. Gone are the days, says
Guy, when producers can be as
isolationist as they have been in past
years. They are becoming aware of
the need to explain themselves and
what they do and be accountable for
that. But they're also meeting a
segment of society that doesn't
necessarily want to know what's
happening on the farm. They don't
want to be students and they don't
want to be educated about the farm;
they just want to know what's
happening with their food.
When it comes to learning
more about the farm. Ken
Kelly of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture believes
television could play an integral part
in re -defining the farm sector's
profile in the province. Kelly, an
OFA vice president from Paisley,
may be on the outside _looking in at
broadcasting but he agrees that
educating the public is difficult; that
the perception by those being
educated that they're "obviously"
ignorant.
"There are a lot of issues in
agriculture that need a public
discussion and I think there's a
message that agriculture has to tell
and not just to themselves but to the
other 98 per cent of the population,"
explains Kelly who shares the view
of radio being the portable medium
but believes there's a very important
role for television in farming. "What
we ha'e to do is engross the public at
large by way of a discussion on the
issues of agriculture and its
importance to Ontario and Canada."
A provincially -based television
show that could provide a forum for
interviews, informed debate and
exchange of ideas is the goal for
Kelly, although he admits the search
for an organizer could prove difficult.
A program of this sort would require
significant funding, which would
eliminate the provincial government
with its current focus on fiscal
restraint, especially where
OMAFRA's budget is concerned.
Another concern is whether such a
show. could generate sufficient
interest (in other words – ratings) to
hold the attention of the general
viewing public. Kelly believes the
agri-food industry cannot carry the
load itself.
"I see it as an entrepreneurial
opportunity for someone in the
broadcast business, someone that can
syndicate or develop some type of a
very credible show that can be
replicated or duplicated across the
province," says Kelly, adding that
JULY 1999 13