TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has yanked popular Toronto radio morning show The Dean Blundell Show off the air from CFNY-FM, also known as 102.1 The Edge.
“Effective immediately, we are suspending The Dean Blundell Show”, reads a note posted on the station’s website. “This will allow us to review our internal practices to ensure that our programming is compliant with our station’s policies, as well as community and broadcast standards.”
The show, renowned for its shock-jock approach, has been repeatedly reprimanded by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for breaches to various broadcasting codes. In its most recent infraction last August, the station was given 30 days to present a plan to the CBSC outlining the measures the broadcaster will put in place to ensure that no other breaches of the private broadcasters’ codes occur on its airwaves.
An article in the Toronto Star earlier this week detailed the show’s “homophobic” jokes about a sexual assault trial for which the show’s producer and co-host, Derek Welsman, served as jury foreman. The show apologized on-air for the remarks on Wednesday, a day before the show’s suspension.
