North's French radio withers as Canadian federal ads dry up

North's French radio withers as federal ads dry up
CBC North - Canada
WebPosted Jan 18 2005 07:57 AM MST
CBC News

http://north.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/french-radio-18012005.html

IQALUIT - French-language radio stations in the North are struggling
to cope with the financial fallout from the three-year old federal
sponsorship scandal.

The francophone radio station in Iqaluit is weathering hard times,
and its Yellowknife sister station may close as a result of an
advertising moratorium imposed last year after the scandal.

Although the moratorium ended in June, minority language stations
across Canada are still dealing with the repercussions.

Ghislain Couture, who ran Iqaluit's Radio CFRT for more than two
years, said revenues dropped in half after the moratorium was imposed.

"Federal bureaucrats are still very nervous about buying advertising,
buying media space," he said.

CFRT is the only French news source for the city's 600 francophones
and depends on federal advertising money, as its audience is too
small to drum up much local advertising.

CFRT however is luckier than other stations, as the local francophone
association has used its own federal funding to keep it on the air.

However, Yellowknife's Radio Taiga may be forced to close, along with
Fredericton's CJPN, and two other stations.

Public Works, the federal department that issues government
advertising, says it is committed to giving minority media outlets
their fair share of advertising.

But Couture says the station needs more than vague words of support.

"They've come to depend on this advertising revenue to operate and to
develop," he said.

Francophone radio stations are looking to other sources for funding,
such as the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.