Saint John — After the Conservative Party’s successful coup of New Brunswick, securing a majority government in a snap election, some have suggested that the mere 28-day lead time did not allow for people to become properly informed about the candidates.
Chelsea Hattie, 56, disagrees.
After “staying up-to-date” by listening to her local pop radio station 97.3 The Wave, Hattie believes that the election results are “quite exciting.”
Hattie explained that she garners all of her local news from the station (one of fifteen owned by Irving subsidiary Acadia Broadcasting), as she feels it is the only news source that is truly “objective.”
“I’m so sick of all the fake news out there. It’s like that website, the…uh, ‘Dolphin,’ or ‘Beluga’ or whatever it’s called. The one that pretends to be funny,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“I like the radio because I listen to those people every morning before work. I feel like I know them, in a way. I can trust them.”
In the week leading up to the election, Hattie shared 26 news stories posted to The Wave’s Facebook page. She said she appreciated the station’s uniquely curated reporting, despite the fact that the same articles ran across all of the Acadia Broadcasting pages in New Brunswick.
“They gave really good insight into all of the local candidates,” she said. “It’s weird that no Liberals ran this year, though.”
The Manatee spoke with Chad Boone, host of the “Boone@Noon,” about Acadia’s approach to news reporting.
“Sure, we’re technically owned by Irving,” said Boone, obviously annoyed by the implication. “But it’s not like they tell us what we can and can’t post. They simply post it for us.”
As he said this, a red light appeared on his monitor.
“Oh, shoot. One second, I have to switch the song,” he said, returning the headphones to his ears.
“Heeeelllooo there, folks. That was Lady Gaga with ‘Stupid Love.’ The time is 12:15 p.m. and the temperature is 21 degrees. By the way, abortion is murder and climate change is a lie. Now, heeeeeerrreeee’s Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, still clinging to number one!”
He then proceeded to play the unlistenable, radio-friendly version of “WAP,” bobbing to the beat while simultaneously shaking his head in disapproval.
Chelsea is right, objective news is best. How could New Brunswick function the way it does without help from the Irving’s?