This just in from SAREN in Skibbereen. I agree completely and am disgusted with this decision by UTV Media. I thought that this was a station that had some cultural values, apparently not. Hope they come to regret it and reverse the decision asap. At a food level, I will miss Dianne Curtin’s slot, always lively, plenty of laughs and groans of pleasure.
Locals Urged to Sign Petition to have Voices Heard
The Skibbereen and Region Economic Network (SAREN) has voiced its disappointment at UTV Media’s decision to axe the much loved West Cork Today programme hosted by David Young.
The group has described the move as arbitrary and nonsensical. SAREN has written to UTV Media and has set up an online petition on www.skibbereen.ie for people to sign and air their thoughts on the decision. This will be presented to the governing body in the coming weeks.
Speaking of the decision, Bernard O’Donovan of SAREN said “This is a blow for our region. David gave a platform to all kinds of issues from the good to the bad.
For three hours every weekday, locals were able to tap in to their locality and get up to date news on events and hotly debated topics. It is extremely short-sighted of UTV Media to just take this away from the region with no notice. Yes, times may be more difficult than we’ve experienced in the past number of years but this should not mean that organisations can treat employees in such a foul manner.
The voice of a whole region has been taken away in favour of a few extra coffers for the group. It is disheartening to think that such an organisation holds one wage extra over a whole region of dedicated listeners and what they represent.
It is only when people stand together can things improve and this is what SAREN represents. The region must fight back to have its voice heard. We should not stand by and watch our platform being stripped away from us in this way. That is why we have set up the online petition on www.skibbereen.ie for people to go there and sign it. We will then send this to UTV Media as a step to get David back on air. We urge everyone to sign the petition to show UTV Media that we still have a voice albeit slightly quietened for now.”
SAREN will hold its next meeting on Tuesday 28th April in Casey’s Hotel Baltimore at 7.30a.m where four key development projects for the advancement of the area will be announced. Projects are broken into Infrastructure, Enterprise, Marine and Tourism and Energy, with each setting out to improve the future of the region in its respective field. All interested in getting involved in the future of the region are invited to attend.
[...] Food Culture West Cork – Ivan McCutcheon: disgusted with this decision by UTV Media [...]