Editorials - June 7, 2024

Sometimes a headline doesn’t do the story justice. A recent story on CBC News had the headline, “Women have been underplayed on Canadian radio for last decade, new study shows”. While concerning, it definitely wasn’t surprising. However, delving into the report definitely raised a few eyebrows when the statistics laid bold the misogyny of the country’s airwaves. 

The study was a collaboration between the University of Ottawa, the National Arts Centre and Women in Music Canada and it looked at the top 150 songs played on Canadian radio between 2013 and 2023 across six mainstream formats.

 

While Top 40 and Mainstream Adult Contemporary have low representation for women, hovering just under 30 per cent of airtime for each, Country at just 12 per cent and Alternative Rock with only eight per cent are absolutely dismal at representing female artists. The study also found that racialized women, especially in those genres, are virtually absent with only 0.7 per cent across those formats and doing only slightly better in Mainstream, Adult Contemporary and Top 40 where they averaged 6.5 per cent.

 

Radio has always been the easiest way for artists to get exposure and distribution, making it an important component of an artist’s career. Hopefully, female artists in the modern era can find their audiences through the internet, social media and music festivals, while radio, traditionally programmed by white men, becomes less relevant. – DS

The authors of these pages would be remiss if they we didn’t write about and acknowledge the absolute historic nature of the first felony conviction of a former U.S. President in American history. Donald Trump, who is also the presumptive Republican nominee for this fall’s election, was convicted on 34 counts in New York. He will be sentenced on July 11. How the rest of it shakes out is anyone’s guess.

 

Many Trump opponents are happy he’s finally facing the music, but quick to not spike the football, leery of everything from a bump in support for Trump to a Trump victory this fall to another civil war. Meanwhile, many Trump supporters see this as another attempt to derail the work of someone finally doing some political good.

 

While some Canadians no doubt support Trump, in the majority he simply inspires head-shaking. And for those who remember the politics of years gone by, it’s astonishing to think that a convicted felon is considered one of the two best options to lead the country. 

 

However, whether it be this conviction or the election still to come, all Canadians must wonder what the Trump journey will mean for them. If Trump is elected, people have speculated that the revenge tour could lead all the way to World War III in addition to a further erosion of democracy (surely after this ordeal, if he regains power, he will do everything he can to never lose it again). If he doesn’t, perhaps the civil war we discussed earlier, which, with the passion and loyalty among his supporters, is not an outlandish idea. 

 

Only time will tell, but, for now, the 45th President of the U.S. Donald Trump is a felon awaiting his sentence. That will all play out before a single vote is cast this fall. – SL 

“We’re already welcoming, we don’t need to fly a flag,” grumbles one local councillor. Another says it’s none of her business. “If we fly this flag, where does it end?” asks a third who then bemoans “all the letters” that represent those within the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

 

Hate crimes involving sexual orientation rose this year by 12 per cent over last year, according to Statistics Canada. That comes after a nearly 30 per cent jump from 2022 to 2023. So, in the last two years, there has been about a 40 per cent increase in homophobic crimes committed.

 

As Pride groups have become so audacious as to ask that their local businesses and governments consider flying Pride flags, so too have these businesses and councils exercised their right and said no. This editorial board has been outspoken in its support for those whom Pride celebrates, decrying the bigotry that lies under discussions like the somewhat-fictional one above or letters from closed-minded writers. That’s why the newspaper now flies its own version of the Pride flag on the front page in June for Pride Month. If the newspaper was telling others they should do it, the paper then too should be walking the walk.

 

As the world turns inwards both politically and ideologically, it does not go without saying that everyone is welcome in every community. Any marginalized population will confirm that prejudice, be it big or small, is part of their daily lives. Resistance to this movement is one’s right, yet, it’s delusional to not accept that resistance for what it is.

 

While this editorial board likes to think that most support the Pride movement, or are at least not actively against it, there is a vocal sect of people who hate it. And while they may be loud, they may be brash and they may be aggressive, the hope is that they are also the few. – SL