Page 24 - ECF-Thrive-March-Spring-2025-flipbook

The Sky
is Falling
KEEPING CKUA ON AIR
By CAROLINE BARLOTT
Illustration SCOTT CARMICHAEL
ack in 2022, it was a normal
day at the CKUA office for
CEO Marc Carnes until he
opened a newly arrived letter.
It warned that the company’s satellite
was experiencing fuel loss and would
eventually fall out of orbit.
CKUA is an Alberta-wide radio
station that relies on its satellite network
to broadcast music, arts and culture
programming across the province.
“I honestly just laughed,” says Carnes.
“Of course, it’s falling. We always joke that
nothing we do at CKUA is easy, and this is
just another example of that.”
It felt like a ‘Chicken Little’ moment…
except the problem was real. No one could
say when exactly it would fall, so it sent
Carnes and the crew into problem-solving
mode. They had to find a satellite provider
24 Together we thrive