There is something so great in this province. So incredible. So amazing. And it’s not found anywhere else on the planet, not even in Canada..And only Albertans really know about it. Not even the overpaid nabobs in the CRTC are aware..It just involves four letters: CKUA..That’s right, CKUA, a radio station that represents everything that’s great about our province. It is my privilege to write this column, in praise of CKUA, as yet again they embark on another fundraising drive..But let’s take a step back, to COVID. Those years were difficult for Albertans, but CKUA was there for us, and we should never forget that.. Marc CarnesMarc Carnes .“All of a sudden everything shut down. People have lost their access to music and arts and culture ... no more venues, artists aren't doing anything,” said CKUA boss Marc Carnes, during an exclusive phone interview with The Western Standard..“People were saying, you know what? I don't know what's going on in the world. I'm a little scared right now, but thank God I have you. You're keeping me a little bit sane right now, and a little bit hopeful that maybe we're ... it's not all doom and gloom..“You know, especially when the news cycle was just spinning up and it was like, we're all gonna die and all that,” said Carnes. “It kind of moved beyond that. It was sort of, we got through the scared phase and we got into ‘I'm going absolutely nuts at home.’.“I've been on Zoom calls for 40 hours this week. Thank goodness you're around CKUA, because I can just crank up the tunes, have a kitchen dance party with my daughter, then get back to what I have to do. Wow.”.It goes without saying CKUA is one of the most amazing Alberta success stories..Says Carnes, the station’s reach is roughly 500,000 listeners a month with listeners on five continents. And for first time in probably a generation, it has as many people under the age of 55 listening to CKUA as over 55..That means CKUA is doing things right. And different..So what makes it so special? That’s an easy one..“We're kind of an invisible hand. We stretch across the province, we connect thousands of artists and practitioners of all stripes to listeners who are hungry to discover new music and discover what's happening in their own backyard and across campus, around the world…” said Carnes..“The outpouring from listeners during COVID was so strong and so palpable that we actually changed our mission, vision and values because of it..“What we heard from listeners … if I could actually lay out all the emails and the feedback that we got, the thousands of emails, I could almost tell you the mental state of our province day by day. Oh my God. It was incredible.”.CKUA was our bridge to sanity and Carnes felt that every day..“I think COVID was this interesting opportunity for us to really get a better understanding of our value to the listeners and to the province.".“And, you know, if you cut down the middle of everything that we heard during COVID, what really came out of it was we exist to just, to make, make our lives a little bit better. Right?.“Yes, there's a lot of bad stuff happening in the world, but you can turn into CKUA and you find respite, find a place where you can get a little bit of joy. A chance to kind of unwind and break away from the world.".“That changed our mission statement to create a better world, connected through music, arts, and culture. I mean, it's not about the medium, it's about what we do.”.And they do it, so well..But the one thing Carnes discovered, after taking the reins about five years ago, was something that surprised him..“There's always surprises when you take on a new job (but) I think the one thing that I maybe didn't have a full appreciation for, was just like the level of ownership that people have. It's such a personal thing to people.”.“I mean, it's part of our identity, right? After 95 years in business, we're still here when a lot of other media organizations have come and gone. And so I think that says a lot about us …”.The biggest thing, says Carnes, is CKUA is not government-funded, nor is it tied to a university. It is completely market driven..“Our customers pay our bills,” he says. “And we're super appreciative of the support we get. We generate more than $4 million a year from people who can listen to for free, but they appreciate and value supporting us.”.As for the economic benefit of CKUA to the province, Carnes spells it out clearly..“We're the ones that help drive demand for artists who, when they go and play at a venue, the seats get filled … and that creates jobs..“And then our listeners are the ones that, you know, they'll travel across the province, visit communities, stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, go and see those artists at a festival.”.During COVID-19 when all festivals basically got shut down, CKUA was still doing festival radio, said Carnes, still celebrating the provincial festival spirit..“That doesn’t happen in any other province,” he says, and “we're just so built into kind of championing and promoting what's going on in our province.”.Even over the last year and a half when the Alberta economy went into free-fall, CKUA’s revenue stayed steady, says Carnes. An amazing accomplishment..What goodies are coming down the pipe for CKUA listeners?.According to Carnes, technology changes are likely..“We'd love to introduce some of our podcasting, we'd love to add more video components to what we do if budget allows. One of the things we'd like to do more of is get back up to our transmitter communities,” says Carnes..“It's a costly endeavour to do, but … one of the things I think we take so proudly is we do bridge that urban rural divide … and we champion artists from across the province, not from any one city.”.“It doesn't matter if you're in Medicine Hat or Grand Prairie, you're all getting the same experience at the exact same time. And I think that's pretty powerful.”.The station introduced six new shows in 2022 alone, and “bigger things” are on the way, as the station looks to its hundredth anniversary in 2027..“The more we can do to bang the drum for Alberta, I think is really powerful,” says Carnes..“What drives us is the sense of values … that doesn't matter who you are, how much money you have, what you do for work, or how you vote..“We're all connected to this music entity, this arts entity that makes a really cool community and a great quality of life ….“We have a great story to tell, and I think more people need to hear it.”.They sure do. Long live CKUA.
