Give West Cork its voice back... today!

BOO and HISS to UTV and Cork’s 96 & 103 FM!

West Cork Today... GONE

West Cork Today is a great Talk Radio show on Cork’s C103 that addresses the issues that are important to local communities, and provides a forum for discussion, interaction and debate. Walk into any kitchen in any household around West Cork on a weekday morning, and more often than not it’s the voice of David Young on the West Cork Today programme that rises from the wireless to greet you.

Or at least it was . The popular show was inexplicably axed by C103/UTV a weeks ago.

All of this transpired while I was away on holiday. I came home to an e-mail from Mick Regan of Diaspora.ie asking West Cork bloggers to highlight the issue. I was stunned!

This came from Mick on 14/04

UTV/C103 did the dirty deed this morning and changed the schedule without any explanation to their audience!

West Cork gagged!

It’s a bit of a shock to the system when a stalwart of life in the community you call home is rudely stripped away. Ann Donnelly talks about it on her own blog, saying:

When I first moved to West Cork, there were two resources that were necessary to find out about what is going on in the area: The Southern Star weekly paper and West Cork Today, the local radio show that is on air mornings Monday to Friday. West Cork Today provides helpful and entertaining information ranging from the weekly Garda file to interviews with local experts and event organisers. I was actually a guest a couple of times as West Cork’s ‘web expert’.

I was also on talking to David a couple of times in my capacity as PRO with the Reenascreena Community Action Group — discussing issues with an unacceptable local water supply for residents and the proposed construction of a sludge reprocessing plant smack bang in the middle of our peaceful rural community. Both times the exposure we got on West Cork Today was instrumental in helping us get a better result for local residents.

The blurb from the C103 website describes the show thus:

If West Cork wants to be informed and entertained, then this is where people tune to; a show owned by its audience; and sought by interviewees. From backyard matters to bigger picture issues, the expectations are met daily. The show gives everyone their say and a fair hearing; from texter to Taoiseach, anyone can feature, and does. Eclectic and specialised, argumentative and compassionate; while Laura Hallissey produces, David Young presents a spontaneous show that is essential listening.

Essential listening indeed — only now it’s been unceremoniously silenced. (Note to C103 — when you  update your schedule, it might be an idea to update your website!)

Ann Donnelly, who’s the webmaster of Skibbereen.ie, has set up a “Petition for the Return of C103′s West Cork Today Programme” on behalf of the Skibbereen and Region Economic Network (SAREN). SAREN is asking the people of West Cork to have their voices heard again, and plan to submit the completed petition to UTV Media demanding the return of David Young and West Cork Today on C103. Please sign it and add your voice to the protest (NB. you don’t have to proceed with the “paypal donate” step at the end of the petition for your vote to register — simply ignore it).

If we make enough noise maybe they’ll consider bringing the show back… but even if not, we can at least make sure they’re aware of West Cork’s discontent! You can read more about the debacle on former Green Party candidate Quentin Gargan’s blog, over on Conor O’Neill’s blog, in the Southern Star and no doubt lots of other places online.

It may well be “West Cork Today: RIP” now — but with management decisions like that you have to question how long it will be before we’re all blogging C103′s demise!