The Dismantling of CBC Radio · Tuesday April 1, 2008 by colin newell
CBC Radio, our country’s national treasure of classical and non-mainstream
music, has announced drastic format changes which will shift the station away
from it’s traditional roots. Moving away from classical and jazz genres, the
programming changes will move the station to more mainstream styles of music,
supposedly to reflect the changing taste of Canada.
On March 4, 2008, CBC Radio announced the complete restructuring of Radio 2.
This was the second installment of changes, the first being mid-way through
2007, albeit less drastic on that first round. Announced by Jennifer McGuire,
Executive Director of CBC Radio, the changes are meant to “provide a
dedicated range of genres, including classical, pop, jazz, and roots music.”
These changes mean a clean slate of programming and radio hosts from 6am
through to 10pm weekdays. Now, stop for a moment and think what
programs and hosts currently occupy these timeslots. First to mind is likely Tom
Allen’s ‘Music and Company’ and Jurgen Gothe’s ‘DiscDrive.’ Moving along,
other programs included here are ‘Here’s to You,’ ‘Studio Sparks,’ and
‘Tonic’ (which was recently installed in place of the long standing ‘After
Hour’s with host Andy Shepard).
The outcry to these changes has been astounding as I read the editorials in
our National newspapers and comment forums online. These radio programs are
institutional, specifically Jurgen’s ‘Disc Drive’ which is now in it’s 23rd
year. As a dedicated listener to Disc Drive and Music & Company for the
better part of a decade, I consider these two programs and their hosts to be
the jewels of CBC Radio and Television combined. Nowhere else in Canada do
you gain a more varied offering of classical and jazz music. Furthermore, the
commentary from Allen and Gothe to complement their musical choices is second
to none. Whether it is the antics and humor of Allen’s weekly ‘Cage Match’,
or Gothe’s tangents ranging from wine, gourmet recipes, and extending all the
way over to The Canadian Brass’s latest recording, these are our national
radio hosts at their finest.
Three weeks after changes to Radio 2 were revealed, the CBC has announced the
dismantling of it’s own Radio Orchestra. Originally formed in 1938 and North
America’s last existing Radio Orchestra, Vancouver’s CBC Radio Orchestra will
perform it’s last concert in November 2008. Executives at the CBC argue that
the cost to operate the orchestra (in the range of $1million annually) does
not make sense given the limited concerts performed each year.
Before our eyes, we are watching CBC dismantle itself and move towards a more
mainstream focus. The intent is to water the station down and appeal to a
larger audience with less classical music and more jazz, pop, and roots
music. Now, last time I checked, all I had to do was turn my FM radio two dials
over and I was inundated with mainstream stations. The focus of the CBC has
always been to promote music that could not be found elsewhere on the air, as
well as promoting music by Canadian artists, including orchestral works
commissioned for the Radio Orchestra.
Whichever way the folks at CBC explain the changes, these are sad days for
the CBC. They seem to go against what the CBC mandate has always been, a Public Broadcaster. Meanwhile, these changes on Radio 2 are meant to draw in an entirely new group of listeners; these changes only seem to be driving away the current audience, and attracting new listeners from an already watered-down group is not going to be an easy task. As for the Radio Orchestra, another unsubstantiated move that does not seem to really be about funding. You really have to ask if the CBC is even awake and hearing out it’s listeners?
As we draw into the final few months of solid Radio 2 programming, I do
question what will fill this hole in Canadian Radio? An institution that has
had a presence for decades, the absence of some of these programs will be
very challenging to replace. We can say goodbye starting our day with
“entertaining wit, wisdom, and a smile” from Tom Allen….right over to
finishing our afternoons with “off-the-cuff commentary and flights of fancy”
from Jurgen Gothe.
For those of us who have listened to Radio 2 and it’s varied programs, we can
say this: We are better off for taking the time out of each day to listen to
these programs, and we will truly miss them once they are gone.
Quality such as this is not easily recreated.
David Reimer is a Vancouver resident and freelance pop culture analyst – his musings will be featured on the Coffeecrew blog from time to time.
Comment [4]
The origins of blogging as a sixties photographer · Friday March 28, 2008 by colin newell
When you are between 4 and 7 years old, the siren song of the Christmas tree, the glow of its lights, glitter and glass globules can be irresistible.
And on December 24, 1966 we all opened a gift before midnight… this family ritual we observed since I learned how to talk.
The kids around the Yule would pick out a box based on its smell, or feel or how it sounded when shaken.
And there was nothing particularly fancy about the box I grabbed. It was just more of a feeling… a feeling that would appear more often as I got older… a hunch… a sense of something big on the horizon that was my life so far.
And as I peeled away the cheap wrapping paper, the ink imprinting my fingers with ghost images of a simpler time, a box was revealed… imagine my delight seeing Made in Hong Kong and then an orange box… Diana-F Camera.
My first camera was the classic sixties Diana-F complete with rolls of film, magnesium flash attachment and an instruction booklet.
The Diana’s original all-plastic lens ensured that dreamy, gorgeous, color-drenched, always-blurry, and mind-blowing results were the norm. And behind this cameras cheap viewfinder was a kid who was seeing almost everything in his World for the very first time.
At 16 shots per roll, it was entirely possible to capture valuable portions of ones childhood with a few rolls of Black and White 400ASA 120 roll film – all ironically processed via the neighborhood druggist who would out source it to the closest photo-finisher, who in turn would edit out the more bizarre compositions and often, sadly, return a roll of film with no images but a envelope of cut film – with a druggist who sheepishly explained to yours truly that, perhaps, I had left the lens cap half-off or inadvertently smudged the plastic lens with petroleum jelly.
Which is exactly what our memories look like now – when viewed through the tarnished lens of cerebral memory.
That camera survived a good 3 or 4 years of hard use, shaping and honing my skills as an active amateur photo historian in my little corner of the World on Vancouver Island. By the time I turned 12 and graduated from elementary school I was rewarded for my academic successes with a German made Zeiss Ikon 126 cartridge camera – photo above – In comparison to the all plastic Diana, the Zeiss was staggering in its ability to capture detail – gone were the surreal and impressionist interpretations of my environment… replaced with pin sharp mirror images of a boy’s life on the verge of adolescence. The sixties were over.
Roll up the rim to win in Afghanistan · Thursday March 27, 2008 by colin newell
It is said that you cannot fully appreciate a great cup of coffee if you have never had one – or have been relegated to drinking super-store pre-ground and tinned brown vermiculite… like Folgers.
The same can be said for a great doughnut – and I will wager dollars for, well, you know… that if you have ever had one, you would remember it.
Kind of like your first kiss. When it’s good, it’s really good… and you never forget.
A few years back, Krispy Kreme arrived on our shores – if only briefly. It seemed likely that they would make inroads north of 49… but they didn’t. Thanks to the likes of Tim Horton’s.
And this is not to say that Krispy Kreme is great – because they are not. They are fresh – and like coffee, fresh is very important… whether it’s a cup of joe or a deep fried doughy nugget.
For Canadians, Tim Horton’s is as much a part of our consciousness as hockey, maple syrup, fresh air and wide open spaces.
Except Tim’s is not as good as it once was – and to deny this is an act of unbridled, unpatriotic and truly Un-Canadian self deception.
There was a time when the doughnuts were prepared fresh from fresh ingredients… and darn it, it makes a difference. And yes, I know they make up their sandwiches fresh from fresh ingredients… not sure about the quality of their breads – but that is nitpicking.
And in the last couple of years, they have taken this unholy artifice to battle weary Afghanistan. My god. Tim’s in Afghanistan. This is what Canada’s international role has been reduced to – clogging the arteries of our soldiers no less… and our allies.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to give these puck sized weapons away to the Taliban?
I know. Bad idea. They would hate us even more than they do now.
A few facts about Tim’s outcropping in Khandahar:
The doughs, icings and cremes used in this abbreviated menu of cookies, bagels and 12 kinds of doughnuts, as well as the coffees served in Afghanistan were deployed about 45 days earlier from a plant in Kingston, Ontario – The same depot that also supplies Tim’s franchises across Ontario and Canada.
They also exported the favored Canuck sport of rim-rolling to the dusty plains of Afghanistan. Except the prizes are slightly different…
They include camouflage Tim Horton’s ball caps, GPS global positioning devices and five grand prizes of $1,000.
What, no boots, bullets or sun-block?
As much as I support what Canadians do best:
Exporting peace, good will and maple syrup… and yes, putting on a uniform, climbing on a transport and flying to a hostile place half a World away and getting behind the cause of democracy – do our enlisted men and women not deserve better?
A quick scan through Google reveals that Tim Horton’s cuisine was the most anticipated perk to arrive in advance of best wishes from loved ones at home… so perhaps I am the one off the mark.
Comment [2]
Canadians and Americans - the differences #1 · Wednesday March 26, 2008 by colin newell
Working on a University campus, I am exposed to people from all around the World – and although the visible minorities are, well, more visible… some of the more surprising variations in personalities that I encounter are between my fellow Canadians and Americans…
And I watch a lot of American television and listen to American radio.
And no, I am not saying that Americans are bad and Canadians are good.
I am observing that there are some interesting differences… that in the year 2008 surprise and amuse me.
Example: I was watching a news report on a tornado that had just struck Atlanta, Georgia. You can imagine the chaos… and the obvious damage; overturned cars, shredded trailer parks, malls with their roofs missing.
And yet the stern looking newscaster on FOX assured the viewers that the event was not likely the product of a terrorist attack… and to be diligent… and on guard.
Difference: In Canada we blame La Nina for the snow in March. In the U.S.A. they blame Al-qaeda for cyclonic micro-bursts.
Example: In a hurricane ravaged New Orleans (still undergoing repair), Southern Baptist mullahs blame flagrant homosexuality for God’s wrath unfurling Katrina.
Difference: In Canada we middle-aged men blame gay men for showing us up in the fashion department. There was a time when I was in my 20’s and my 30’s that I thought I was pretty GQ. Not anymore. A Canadian heterosexual man cannot be in his 40’s and on top of the fashion game. So I am not crying about it.
In the U.S.A. people carry hand-guns for protection from each other. In Canada we carry rifles to catch dinner. Subtle difference.
In the U.S.A. drug addiction is a crime and helps fill the U.S. Prison system to overflowing – there are over 2 million Americans in jail… staggering.
In Canada drug addiction, like Alcohol abuse, is a sickness and is treated accordingly. Our prisons are generally well stocked with violent criminals and almost-successful White collar miscreants… businessmen gone bad.
In Canada we celebrate differentiation and multiculturalism. In the U.S.A. the government insists on integration; speak English or go home…
and yet in all my travels around America, I have yet to find an American.
I was in a room full of Americans in Los Angeles one afternoon (and what a horrible place that is!) and they kept referring to each other as The Vietnamese guy, the Italian Guy, the Portuguese guy and so on. Not one Yank to be found.
In Canada, everyone is a Canadian. And we speak all languages.
Subtle differences. Yet profound.
