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]
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.
The cost of War - Iraq during election time · Tuesday March 18, 2008 by colin newell
With America’s mind on election time, I think, for the most of us (Canadians included) that we are spending more time looking South (and inwards) than to the Middle-East.
But at what cost?
The American media (and government) insists that we are at War.
The reality is – we are not at War at all (since no formal declaration of War has been made in Canada or the U.S.A.)
Yet the American media and government has consistently reminded us that there is a War on – and if we speak against it, we are:
Un-American, Unpatriotic, Un-Canadian, Liberal, supporting the terrorists.
Liberal. As if that is a dirty word now.
But what are the actual costs? Actual costs that touch us as individuals. As Families. As Communities.
Sure, the U.S. has spent 1.2 Trillion dollars on this War effort…
1.2 Trillion would pay for a national health care program. 1.2 Trillion would end child poverty in America. 1.2 Trillion in Cancer research would take us light-years closer to a cure. The same goes for AIDS research. Hey. 1/100th that amount could have rebuilt New Orleans a year ago.
And yet we dump 10 billion dollars a month into this all important war on Terror.
But what are the individual costs?
Ask a parent whose child, son or daughter has gone to War… and not returned. Or returned with pieces missing. With no hope of Peace. No closer to Peace.
Ask a spouse who sleeps fitfully every night wondering… if their loved one will come back – and what they are really fighting for. Ask them.
Now ask those that beat the drumbeat of War; in the media, in the Government, and within the mechanism of the Military-Industrial complex – Ask them:
Have your children gone to War? Chances are, they have not.
Of the most strident voices in American Conservative media today, the broad majority of those personalities have never been enlisted in the Service and have never seen a moments action In Country. Ironic huh?
Ask yourself and your friends and your co-workers; what is the cost?
Do not be afraid of being called a Liberal… or worse.
Our future and the future of our children is at stake. Today. And Tomorrow.
An evening with Maher, Monia and Dr. Stephen J. Toope · Tuesday March 11, 2008 by colin newell
My wife and I attended tonights President’s Distinguished Lecture: “Civil Liberties and National Security:” a panel discussion with Maher Arar, his wife Dr. Monia Mazigh and Dr. Stephen Toope, moderated by Dr. Andrew Petter of the Faculty of Law.
I will assume my readers know who Maher Arar is. Follow the link for specifics.
Long story short: Maher was vacationing with his wife, Monia, in Tunis and upon returning to Canada to work, was detained in New York by the U.S. Government and then flown in a private jet to Jordan and then to Syria for rendition and torture. He was kept in the most notorious prison in Syria where he was tortured regularly until his release to Canada almost a year later.
A subsequent (and thorough) Canadian investigation cleared Maher Arar of any wrong-doing, and for the Canadian goverments part in his experience compensated him and his family for his nightmare.
The United States government, however, refuses to clear Arar’s name and continues to have both him and his family on a watch-list.
In listening to Maher and Monia’s story tonight, I have been given a sense of hope – that a handful of clear thinking and genuinely honest people can make a difference – that we not rush to sacrifice our freedoms to gain some sense of security in an obviously upside-down World – that torture, rendition, or disappearance is not an acceptable tool in achieving this sense of security.
It was a honor to be in the same room as Monia and Maher. UBC Presidents Dr. Toope’s contribution to the proceedings were at all times stimulating and illuminating and moderator Dr. Andrew Petter maintained order and regulated a flow of intelligent questions from the audience.
