[Hbkj89D2]

I can barely contain myself after reading this utterly depressing item in today's Globe.

Coming so soon after the recent lockout by the CBC management cretins it sure looks like they're set on destroying what was once one of the greatest public broadcasters in the world and a Canadian treasure.

[petrarkaponye]

My informants inside the Mother-Corpse tell me that they are now convinced that management holds them in contempt.

The really ridiculous thing is that most everybody in CBC radio could do much, much better working elsewhere. It ain't about money.

[Hbkj89D2]

You're missing the point here, Doheny.

[ReneCM]

My first thought was... "how did Brian know I'm doing a CBC session soon?"

But seriously, folks... this IS a drag.

[Elitiachirl]

This is just upsetting. The capitalist in me thinks "good, something that makes more money", but I don't see them mentioning the addition of any commercial advertising. Will this still be government funded??? I thought the point of protecting a domestic industry was to keep it alive when it could not survive in the open market. Why not just invest in The Beat 94.5. Am I missing some information? Is this just a vehicle for delivering political rhetoric?

I don't understand how there is even room in the market for more pop/ top 40. Doesn't Vancouver already have 10 stations that play this stuff? Why would I listen to CBC instead of The Beat? I would think that they would at least keep their Canadian content but go a more commercial route. There are even funny Canadian comedians that could do a talk segment that could bring in advertising money. Mike Myer's brother Paul Myers is a riot and is very knowledgable about music. He was on MOJO radio here in Van before it became a sports network. Heck, bring Tom Leykis back (stupid CRTC). Madonna? Elton John?

Jeers. Mike H.

[petrarkaponye]

Oh I get it allright.

I'm kind of wondering how "The Beat" is going to feel about having taxpayer funded competition.

[vNQmO2BF]

ARRRGH. A lot of what I truly love about the CBC was personified by Bill Richardson. I loved The Round Up and was sad when Bill stopped doing the show. I got hooked years ago when he played a Pearl Jam tune back to back with an excerpt from the Berlioz Requiem...now that's rush hour driving music! It frightens me that the management at the CBC can't understand the wonderful niche that Radio One holds in afternoon radio. And shame on Kelly Ryan: why do we need another radio show to have in the background at the office!!!???

[VIAGRAENLINOBARATOCAMPRAR]

This is pretty serious, I can't believe that this is actually being launched as of Monday! It's hard to imagine that anything could be dumbed down farther than the post-Richardson Roundup, they literally only took music requests from kids whose age was a single digit - and that was too challenging?

Public support for a public broadcaster to me implies that you're providing something that is in the public good which isn't necessarily commercially viable. If it's just going to be in competition with any number of crappy commercial stations, then why bother?
I doubt that anyone who's interested in bland pop music is going to tune into the CBC, they already have their own preferences I'm sure. Maybe it's part of a hidden agenda to dismantle it completely; alienate the current listener base without attracting any new listeners and then you can claim that there's no listenership and no reason to support it.... arghghghghghghghghhgg.

I wonder if there's anywhere we can start giving out feedback now.

[clitlyphype]

Oh, don't get me started on the post-Richardson Roundup! I loved Bill's show. I can't listen to Tetsuro Shigematsu. Awful, awful show. The silver lining in the shake-up is that it will be gone. And thank God they'll be playing Madonna, because you can't hear her anywhere else.

[ReneCM]

Oh Guy... I totally agree with you. Bill was such a class act on that show, and Tetsuro just sounds... well, like a pandering ass. His attempts at a nerdy sort of hipness consistently fall flat... I've heard segments on that show that made me want to jerk my wheel into oncoming traffic (the "how to speak hip-hop in particularly drove me nuts). I miss Nora Young on DNTO terribly as well. She had such a great voice.

[scewLacysmazy]

You guys are making very valuable observations. Please pass your comments on to CBC Public Relations. Or better yet, pass them to Tiffany Chong - she's the Departmental Assistant to the BC Regional Director of Radio (Joan Andersen). I realize that RoundUp is a Network show but it was produced from here in Vancouver as will be the program which is going to replace it. Good or bad, Joan avidly reads and listens to all listener feedback. Most of the written feedback (email or snailmail) is circulated to all radio staff and very seriously considered when programming change decisions are made. Even though CBC Radio is non-commercial, the BBMs still impact us heavily & one of the observed trends is that we (oops, yes, I work for CBC Radio) have been losing a lot of listeners to Jack & QM-FM - or at least, I get the impression that that is part of the logic in this latest experiment with moving to more MOR-type music and programming.

[clitlyphype]

Losing listeners to Jack and QMFM? Is the answer to provide people with the same thing then? I don't get it. Those stations do what they do better than the CBC could do it. It's like fusion jazz (oh, this'll get some of you!): It's supposed to make jazz more appealing to the rock crowd, but it alienates both sides. The rock crowd thinks it's lame and so does the jazz crowd (yes, I'm generalizing, but I'm stretching for an analogy). The CBC isn't meant to appeal to the masses. The masses are what gave us Kenny G and Madonna! A sizable portion of the population, even if it isn't the majority, wants to listen to intelligent conversation, classical, jazz and (shudder) Celtic fiddle music.

And now they have a traffic reporter who gets her facts from callers. I want everyone to call in and give her false information. Tell her there's a pile-up on the route you're taking. That way everyone else will avoid it and it'll be smooth sailing for you.

I'm not sending anything along to Tiffany Chong or Joan Anderson. Couldn't you just get them to read the forum?

[scewLacysmazy]

Yes, Guy, I've done that on past with CBC threads & I'll let Tiff know this morning that there is another passionate discussion taking place herein. However, to me, it seems that a 3rd-party brainstorming session like this doesn't carry the clout of directly-submitted letters expressing the thoughts of what Canadians like/dislike in what they're hearing/viewing & their suggestions for the future directions they'd like to see CBC take in their programming.

[scewLacysmazy]

I'm not in the programming end of things, but I don't think the intent is to compete with the private sector. I think the concern is more with why people who have been CBC listeners tune away & what attracts them to the alternate listening source that they choose.

[pokerbonuscod]

From what I read it appears that only Radio One was mentioned, not Radio Two. Should our concerns be as negative and paranoid? With R2 and Nou et al at CFRO and Gavin Mon. nights on CITR how much more time do we have to listen to radio anyway? Cars nowadays have CD players. Of course it would be wonderful (and overdue) to have a 24 hour Jazz station, then we would have something else to bitch about.

[ReneCM]

Ralph, they're removing content that is (at least some of the time) smart and thought provoking and replacinig it with pap. AND, this seems to be part of a growing trend. I see cause for concern. I don't ever want to turn on CBC and hear some pappy, pandering bullshit.

It's really not just about what I hear when I turn the radio on. Shit, i have my favorites, but I hardly ever listen to the radio. It's the concept of having more crap for people to listen to, instead of flipping on the dial and possibly getting challenged. The shit shouldn't be just for the people who "get" it. Great ideas should have wider appeal, beyond their target audience. I'll give you an example.

I LOVE the show "Writers And Company", even though I'm a nescient literature hoon, who hasn't read a book by a living author in probably... ever. I also NEVER make a point of tuning into the show, I only ever catch it by chance. I'd say about 95% of the time I have NO IDEA who Elanor Wacktel is interviewing, but I LOVE the show. Whenever I happen to catch it, I listen rapturously to Ms. Wacktel's melifluous voice, and that of whatever famous Polish or Ethiopian or Icelandic author she's chosen to profile. Why? Because the show is about IDEAS, not about CONTENT. Ralph, you're really saying we should just abandon the idea of having more challenging programs on the air, because us elitists just don't have time to listen to all the good stuff that's on Radio 2 already? Have I missed your point?

[pokerbonuscod]

Morgan, you write you "hardly ever listen to the radio". That is my point.
I don't think I was
"really saying we should just abandon the idea of having more challenging programs on the air, because us elitists just don't have time to listen to all the good stuff that's on Radio 2 already?"
If you know me you know I am all for challenging music. Benevolent Anarchy.
"It's really not just about what I hear when I turn the radio on" What else do you hear? Are there voices in your head? Only a little humour, please, not an insult.

[ReneCM]

Ralph, if I'm hearing the voices, I don't usually turn the radio on... it tends to get confusing.

My point was, though I am not a regular listener to CBC... hardly ever in the house, and about 50/50 with CD's in the car... I still like the idea that I can turn CBC Radio 1 on and hear challenging, interesting ideas and provocative stories... which is the norm on CBC. I like the idea that I can flick the switch when I hop in the car, and be treated to an interview with some author I've never heard of, or the latest science on black holes, or a cut from the new Martha Wainright record, or a new recording of a Mozart piano Sonata. There's such a pleasing mix of great stuff on CBC. I don't want that replaced by a bunch of pandering pop-culture dreck presented by a bunch of youthful hipster doofus hosts. The fact that i don't go out of my way to listen to much radio at all doesn't mean I can't still champion the concept behind what the CBC should be about. Firstly, I don't think it should be driven by profits or popular opinion. I support the idea that it has a higher purpose.

[pokerbonuscod]

I do agree with you. Yes I would miss the wide eclectic variety. Who doesn't miss Peter Szowzski or Barbara Frumm. But all things change and the best stands the test of time. And we have our memories.

[Hbkj89D2]

You're right on the money, Morgan. I think it should be illegal for the CBC to even have ratings!

It's like the New Yorker was in its heyday. You'd pick up a copy to read the cartoons or something and find yourself engrossed in articles on topics that you never dreamed you'd be interested in. You always learned something. Serving pap and drivel to the lowest common denominator is NOT why we have a public broadcaster.

Generally, the national programs are still great. Ideas, Sounds Like Canada, Sunday Morning, Cross Country Checkup, Writers and Company, As it Happens, The Current, etc etc etc. There are many excellent shows. Local daytime programming is pathetic and insulting to to your intelligence, if you have any. So the changes coming up next week are not so drastic. But I see it as a trend that could eventually spread to the entire network.

It was probably twenty years ago that I started hearing CBC talk about reaching the youth market or a wider audience. The effects were soon noticeable. What is the point of that? The CBC was never meant to be something with the largest possible audience. It was meant to purvey programming of the highest cultural, intellectual, and informational quality so that those who did tune in would be the better for it. As opposed to tuning in so you could stay the same!

I've been listening to CBC radio for sixty years. We had it on in our house when I was growing up. How do you think I developed a love of jazz (and classical music, and literature, etc.)? Where else would I have heard - just to speak of jazz, as this is a jazz forum - Dave Robbins, Chris Gage, Bobby Hales, Phil Nimmons, Fraser MacPherson, et al? As a teenager in Montreal I actually thought Vancouver was one of the jazz centres of the world!

The CBC is one thing that should be elitist!