New music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! 

After following the downhill trajectory of CBC Radio for the past seven years I've finally figured out where CBC Radio went wrong.

If you listen to the announcers and read the pronouncements of CBC Radio executives you will come to realize something. Everyone currently working at the CBC is a failed musician, record producer, music industry has-been executive, music industry wanna-be or music industry groupie. Sorry to tell it like it is folks, but it is true.

So what does this mean for CBC Radio? When the Jian Ghomeshi fiasco first erupted a newspaper article quoted a CBC Radio employee. The employee described how enjoyable it was (at first) to be working on the new programming at CBC Radio. The employee was quoted as saying that they would rather be programming shows with the so-called "new music" instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan. Yes, that's precisely what this person said. "Instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan." I would quote the newspaper article, but unfortunately Google is not co-operating with me in my search for the original article.

There you have it, folks. At one time if you were a failed musician or music industry groupie and were otherwise unemployable, you could find yourself a job at Sam The Record Man or an HMV outlet. With those venues no longer being an option, what is the failed musician with no other marketable skills to do? Why, join the CBC, of course!

Once there, the failed musician - let's call him or her FM for short - decides that the old CBC is, well, boring. The CBC is programming Classical Music for seniors living in Saskatchewan! They know nothing about the indie bands erupting all over the country! They know nothing about the New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

So what does the FM, now an aspiring programmer/producer/CBC executive/music industry has-been, do? Change the CBC, of course! Program more new music! Show Canadians what they're missing! Who cares if Canadians don't want it! They will learn to love it! The new programming on CBC Radio Two will "find it's audience", as CBC executives said many times.

In 2007 the CBC justified their programming changes with the elusive "Arts and Culture" survey, which purportedly found that Canadian seniors living in Saskatchewan didn't want their old CBC, but wanted a new, vibrant, culturally-aware CBC that programmed more new music. New Music! New Music! New Music!

Of course the CBC refused to release the infamous "Arts and Culture" survey to the great, unwashed public. But the survey found what the CBC Execs said it found. Trust us on this, they said. We know what's best.

And so we all know what happened. Programs were axed, veteran announcers were let go, new programming was introduced and the CBC's market share slid. If you don't know about all this, start reading my blog entries beginning in 2007. You can read the whole sorry story there.

Which brings us to my latest rant. There's a new show on CBC Radio One on weekdays from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. Whereas previously this time slot was occupied by a variety of interesting programming, such as "Ideas", "Rewind" and even "Vinyl Cafe", it is now occupied by a program that can only be described as "Q Lite". And yes, it is chock-a-block full of New Music! New Music! New Music! And yes, I find it impossible to listen to.

New music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! 

After following the downhill trajectory of CBC Radio for the past seven years I've finally figured out where CBC Radio went wrong.

If you listen to the announcers and read the pronouncements of CBC Radio executives you will come to realize something. Everyone currently working at the CBC is a failed musician, record producer, music industry has-been executive, music industry wanna-be or music industry groupie. Sorry to tell it like it is folks, but it is true.

So what does this mean for CBC Radio? When the Jian Ghomeshi fiasco first erupted a newspaper article quoted a CBC Radio employee. The employee described how enjoyable it was (at first) to be working on the new programming at CBC Radio. The employee was quoted as saying that they would rather be programming shows with the so-called "new music" instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan. Yes, that's precisely what this person said. "Instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan." I would quote the newspaper article, but unfortunately Google is not co-operating with me in my search for the original article.

There you have it, folks. At one time if you were a failed musician or music industry groupie and were otherwise unemployable, you could find yourself a job at Sam The Record Man or an HMV outlet. With those venues no longer being an option, what is the failed musician with no other marketable skills to do? Why, join the CBC, of course!

Once there, the failed musician - let's call him or her FM for short - decides that the old CBC is, well, boring. The CBC is programming Classical Music for seniors living in Saskatchewan! They know nothing about the indie bands erupting all over the country! They know nothing about the New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

So what does the FM, now an aspiring programmer/producer/CBC executive/music industry has-been, do? Change the CBC, of course! Program more new music! Show Canadians what they're missing! Who cares if Canadians don't want it! They will learn to love it! The new programming on CBC Radio Two will "find it's audience", as CBC executives said many times.

In 2007 the CBC justified their programming changes with the elusive "Arts and Culture" survey, which purportedly found that Canadian seniors living in Saskatchewan didn't want their old CBC, but wanted a new, vibrant, culturally-aware CBC that programmed more new music. New Music! New Music! New Music!

And so we all know what happened. Programs were axed, veteran announcers were let go, new programming was introduced and the CBC's market share slid. If you don't know about all this, start reading my blog entries beginning in 2007. You can read the whole sorry story there.

Which brings us to my latest rant. There's a new show on CBC Radio One on weekdays from 1:00 - 2:00 PM. Whereas previously this time slot was occupied by a variety of interesting programming, such as "Ideas", "Rewind" and even "Vinyl Cafe", it is not occupied by a program that can only be described as "Q Lite". And yes, it is chock-a-block full of New Music! New Music! New Music! And yes, I find it impossible to listen to.

New music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music! 

After following the downhill trajectory of CBC Radio for the past seven years I've finally figured out where CBC Radio went wrong.

If you listen to the announcers and read the pronouncements of CBC Radio executives you will come to realize something. Everyone currently working at the CBC is a failed musician, record producer, music industry has-been executive, music industry wanna-be or music industry groupie. Sorry to tell it like it is folks, but it is true.

So what does this mean for CBC Radio? When the Jian Ghomeshi fiasco first erupted a newspaper article quoted a CBC Radio employee. The employee described how enjoyable it was (at first) to be working on the new programming at CBC Radio. The employee was quoted as saying that they would rather be programming shows with the so-called "new music" instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan. Yes, that's precisely what this person said. "Instead of programming classical music for seniors living in Saskatchewan." I would quote the newspaper article, but unfortunately Google is not co-operating with me in my search for the original article.

There you have it, folks. At one time if you were a failed musician or music industry groupie and were otherwise unemployable, you could find yourself a job at Sam The Record Man or an HMV outlet. With those venues no longer being an option, what is the failed musician with no other marketable skills to do? Why, join the CBC, of course!

Once there, the failed musician - let's call him or her FM for short - decides that the old CBC is, well, boring. The CBC is programming Classical Music for seniors living in Saskatchewan! They know nothing about the indie bands erupting all over the country! They know nothing about the New Music! New Music! New Music! New Music!

So what does the FM, now an aspiring programmer/producer/CBC executive/music industry has-been, do? Change the CBC, of course! Program more new music! Show Canadians what they're missing! Who cares if Canadians don't want it! They will learn to love it! The new programming on CBC Radio Two will "find it's audience", as CBC executives said many times.

In 2007 the CBC justified their programming changes with the elusive "Arts and Culture" survey, which purportedly found that Canadian seniors living in Saskatchewan didn't want their old CBC, but wanted a new, vibrant, culturally-aware CBC that programmed more new music. New Music! New Music! New Music!

And so we all know what happened. Programs were axed, veteran announcers were let go, new programming was introduced and the CBC's market share slid. If you don't know about all this, start reading my blog entries beginning in 2007. You can read the whole sorry story there.

Which brings us to my latest rant. There's a new show on CBC Radio One on weekdays from 1:00 - 2:00 PM. Whereas previously this time slot was occupied by a variety of interesting programming, such as "Ideas", "Rewind" and even "Vinyl Cafe", it is not occupied by a program that can only be described as "Q Lite". And yes, it is chock-a-block full of New Music! New Music! New Music! And yes, I find it impossible to listen to.

Jurgen Gothe, former host of "Disc Drive", dead at the age of 71

Jurgen Gothe was the comfortable, quirky host of CBC’s DiscDrive

ROD MICKLEBURGH

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Apr. 22 2015, 8:17 PM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Apr. 23 2015, 2:04 PM EDT

There were the cats, the Willis Point Fire Department, much Mozart, and there was Jurgen Gothe, the comfortable, conversational host of an eclectic mix of music and often-quirky chat that made him an unlikely national figure and his show DiscDrive a long-running institution on CBC Stereo (which became Radio 2).

For three hours each weekday afternoon, from “scenic, subterranean Studio 20” in the depths of CBC’s concrete bunker of a building in Vancouver, Mr. Gothe’s mellifluous voice would coax commuters home and soothe their jangled nerves, while charming those at home. He was helped by musical selections that went well beyond classical to dip into jazz, pop, New Age, bluegrass and, on occasion, obscure, side-splitting cuts such as Don’t Fence Me In, rendered by a pair of cowboy-hatted East Germans named Hein & Oss.

But it was really Mr. Gothe who made DiscDrive what it was.

Launched in 1985, at a time when classical music at CBC was serious business, the preserve of announcers intoning gravely about rondos and sonatas in E major, DiscDrive was revolutionary. Mr. Gothe chatted convivially about the music and anything else that popped into his active mind. He seemed engaged, hip to the world outside, someone you might want to share a glass of wine with. And Mr. Gothe did know his wine.

His personable, knowledgeable columns on food and particularly wine were regular features of numerous newspapers and magazines for years. For someone who projected such an urbane, laid-back persona over the air, Mr. Gothe had tremendous energy. He ran a corporate communications business, wrote books, cooked up a storm, pounded out columns, and dabbled in unpublished, trashy mystery novels. He also penned a Monty Pythonesque, six-part radio series about the adventures of a fictitious Mozart named Wolfie Amadeus and a cast of characters hanging out at a pub in Vienna known as The Dog and Trombone. It remains a much-loved cult classic.

But what rocketed him to cross-country prominence was DiscDrive. With half a million regular listeners across the country, the program soon had the highest ratings of any radio show on CBC’s FM network. In Vancouver, DiscDrive topped most private AM offerings, too. It dominated Canada’s FM airways until 2008, when CBC brass abruptly cancelled the show after 23 years, as part of the network’s controversial makeover to attract a younger demographic.

Mr. Gothe, who died of cancer on April 9, a few days after turning 71, was an unlikely choice to front a show on CBC. A high school dropout, he had spent much of his working life in private radio on the advertising side, where his talent for writing clear, sometimes funny commercials brought him steady employment. He had made only sporadic appearances on air, reviewing wines and cultural events. One of his reviews nearly sparked a riot at Vancouver’s Schnitzel House, which sponsored the arts roundup. When Mr. Gothe panned the film Battle of Britain and the bomber jackets worn by a number of RAF veterans who had attended the movie premiere, the flyboys took offence. They went down to the Schnitzel House, threatening to dismantle the German restaurant’s furniture, before peace was eventually reached .

Meanwhile, Mr. Gothe had been acquiring an encyclopaedic knowledge of recordings, cramming his living space with thousands of albums. He first got his foot in the door at CBC in 1984, contracted to host Front Row, a straightforward Sunday afternoon concert series. A year later, CBC producer Tom Deacon was looking for someone with the gift of intelligent gab to preside over an innovative new FM show based in Vancouver, aimed at a drive-home audience with little interest in long symphonies. The aim was to relax FM’s traditional format and make highbrow music more accessible. Hired after a brief audition, Mr. Gothe made the show his own. “It needed a certain personality to carry it off, and Jurgen was the right man for the job from the get-go,” long-time producer Janet Lea said.

To the consternation of CBC producers in Toronto, Mr. Gothe worked without a script. He told stories, not all of which were true. He interjected whimsy on the fly, imagining at one point a Vivaldi Works factory churning out Vivaldi pieces by assembly line. The credits at the end of the week regularly included a nod by Mr. Gothe to the Willis Point Fire Department, a volunteer brigade for the small enclave outside Victoria where he used to live.

And there was his succession of cats. Mr. Gothe talked frequently about them on air. There was Quincy, after whom he named his consulting company. There was Fred. When Fred died, Mr. Gothe commissioned a commemorative piece from Seattle composer Alan Hovhaness, titled Fred the Cat Flies to Heaven. But most of all, there was Herbie. He became such a part of DiscDrive that its annual list of best recordings were known as the Herbie Awards. On Herbie’s death, the final hour of the show was turned over to music the dead cat might have appreciated.

The abundance of chatty hosts on CBC Radio’s FM network today owes much to the trailblazing of Mr. Gothe and DiscDrive. Before that, said CBC personality Shelagh Rogers, “most CBC music shows were good for you, like All-Bran. With Jurgen, there was fun. Deep fun.” But DiscDrive was not A Prairie Home Companion. It was still a show of satisfying music, which was not always to Mr. Gothe’s own liking. Once, after listening to Andrea Bocelli perform his hit Con te partiro, Mr. Gothe moved in close to the mike and observed: “Ahh, the wonderful sound of money.”

Mr. Gothe was highly regarded south of the border. Many NPR stations picked up DiscDrive, and he won the Gold Medal at the New York International Radio Festival an unprecedented three times as best network radio personality.

Mr. Gothe was born in Berlin on April 4, 1944, or 4-4-44 as he liked to tell people. The elder of two children born to Charlotte and Walter, a baker who survived a stint as a medic on the Russian Front, he grew up in a city devastated by bombing and postwar hardships. But it was there that young Jurgen first experienced radio, performing as a child actor and singer on a Berlin kids show on an American-financed station in the divided city. Seeking a better life, the Gothes moved to Canada in 1954.

They landed in Medicine Hat. Despite the shock of going from urban Berlin to prairie Alberta, Mr. Gothe made the best of his new surroundings. A precocious teenager, he acted in community theatre, set up a basement gathering place called The Ember for the small city’s few young hipsters, and, at 15, wangled a late night, one-hour gig playing jazz records on “the voice of the Gas City,” radio station CHAT. “He was Medicine Hat’s avant-garde man,” former station employee Wayne Craven told the local newspaper. “I didn’t think he’d be in Medicine Hat very long.”

Indeed, Mr. Gothe was bored and restless by the time he hit Grade 10. Figuring he could learn far more on his own, he quit school. After working briefly for the Medicine Hat Brick and Tile Co., he lit out for Manitoba and a series of odd jobs, including pumping gas. By 18, he was in Vancouver, looking for radio work. He was soon hired by CHQM, a popular easy listening station that Time magazine once called “probably the best private radio station in North America.”

Meanwhile, he was building a record collection of classic proportions and becoming a sophisticated, self-taught connoisseur of wine and food. He loved celebrating good wines, while purposefully puncturing the snobbery that often shrouded the wine world. His final wine column, written last August for The Georgia Straight, was a typical ratings roundup of decent wines under $20 a bottle. “Ordinary people don’t taste wine,” he once said. “They drink it.”

Mr. Gothe bounced around several radio stations from Victoria to the Okanagan before making it big at CBC, but mostly, he was at CHQM, working his way from ad writer to music librarian to copy chief. There were also tenures at various ad agencies around town. Mr. Gothe’s talent and creative, offbeat way of looking at the world never left him short of employment.

At home, Mr. Gothe liked to throw dinner parties, usually doing all the cooking and washing up himself. An early fan of Monty Python, he invited the wacky troupe to his house on their first trip to Vancouver for a memorable all-nighter.

Mr. Gothe had several long-term relationships, including a marriage to fashion designer Marilyn Janis that ended in divorce, before meeting Victoria photographer Kate Williams on a blind date. They married a year later, in 1991.

Known for his private reserve, Mr. Gothe was caught off guard by the long-running public spotlight that came with the success of DiscDrive. Yet he came to enjoy his interaction with audiences when the show toured across the country and occasionally south of the border, talking affably to thrilled listeners between cuts of music.

Throughout most of DiscDrive’s lengthy run, Mr. Gothe would grouse to close friends that he would do one more year then retire to the Gulf Islands and write mysteries. But when the end came after 23 years, he was bitter at being cut loose so close to the show’s 25th anniversary. He agreed to do a one-hour Sunday afternoon program called Farrago, featuring his favourite CDs. It lasted but a year. “Nobody’s heart was in it,” Ms. Lea said.

After leaving the CBC, Mr. Gothe kept busy parlaying his extensive epicurean experiences into teaching, consulting, judging and just plain tasting of the wine and food he enjoyed so much. Few mourned his passing more than those in the now celebrated B.C. wine industry. Mr. Gothe had supported and encouraged the industry from its early days, when tasting many B.C. wines was considered, in the words of fellow oenophile Anthony Gismondi, “a painful experience.”

Mr. Gothe was an original throughout his life, said former CHQM executive Lyndon Grove, who had watched him mature from an 18-year-old hopeful to the gifted force he became. “He always had this great sense of confidence,” Mr. Grove said. “He was just there, ready for the world to catch up.”

Mr. Gothe leaves his wife, Kate; stepdaughter, Colette; brother, Peter; nephew, Jordan; and niece, Kelsey.

The latest survey of CBC Radio 2 market share - not so good, eh?

If you have been following the intermittent posts of this blog then you will know that we analyze the market share of CBC Radio 2 stations from time to time. We use the data provided by “Numeris” (formerly the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, or “BBM”) to compare the audience share of CBC Radio 2 stations to 2007, just before the CBC embarked on their disastrous attempt to revamp the CBC Radio 2 programming. The BBM survey that measured the radio audience in various Canadian cities before the CBC made their changes to CBC Radio 2 was termed S1 2007; i.e. the first survey of 2007.

The rationale for this comparison is we want to perform an apples-to-apples comparison. How much did the CBC Radio 2 audience increase (or decrease) after the changes were made? The only way to do that is to compare the current CBC Radio 2 audience with that that existed in 2007, before the changes were made.

The latest survey available from Numeris is the survey spanning the period Sept. 1 2014 – November 30 2014. To be consistent with previous terminology from Numeris we call this survey S3 2014; i.e. the third survey for 2014. Note that these surveys use PPM data. “PPM” is an abbreviation for “Portable People Meter”. Ottawa and Winnipeg are not included in the S3 2014 survey since these cities are still surveyed using Radio Diary data.

So, onto the results. In spite of an increase in the total radio listening audience in Montreal by 4% since S1 2007, the audience share for CBC Radio 2 has declined by a whopping 42.1%. Not good.

In Toronto the total radio audience has declined 14.5%. CBC Radio 2 has declined 33.9%. Not good either.

In Vancouver the total radio audience has declined 18.5%. The audience for CBC Radio 2 has declined 52.9%. Even worse.

In Calgary the total radio audience has declined 16.6%. The audience for CBC Radio 2 has dropped 49.5%.

In Edmonton the total radio audience has declined 13.3%. The audience for CBC Radio 2 has fallen 62.0%.

In summary, the total radio market in these cities has declined by 12.5% since S1 2007. Yet the market share for CBC Radio 2 stations in these cities has declined by 39.5%, or a total of 280,500 listeners.

280,500 listeners can’t all be wrong.

The CBC Survey on the future of the CBC

The CBC is conducting a survey of its viewers and listeners concerning the future of the CBC. You can find the survey here.

I suspect the CBC is paying lip service to the concept of soliciting the opinions of the viewers and listeners. I suspect they've made up their small, feeble little minds about what they intend to do already. But if you want to participate in the survey, go right ahead.

Just to give you some idea of what to expect, here are the survey questions:

Q1:  In your opinion, how important is it for Canada to have a national public broadcaster like CBC/Radio-Canada?

• Very important
• Important
• Somewhat important
• Not important at all

The broadcasting landscape has changed significantly over the last decade, with media convergence (merging media companies and merging media technologies), the proliferation of new technologies, the availability of more content choices than ever before, and more ways of having access to content.

Q2:  Considering these changes, in your view is it now more important or less important for Canada to have a national public broadcaster in the future?

• Much more important
• Somewhat more important
• No more or less important
• Somewhat less important
• Much less important

Conventional television is changing. Across the industry advertising is moving from over-the-air television to specialty channels and digital. Finding a viable, economic model for local television is particularly challenging for all broadcasters.

Q3:  Looking towards 2020, what services do you think CBC/Radio-Canada should continue to provide in the regions?

• CBC/Radio-Canada should continue to provide local television, online and radio services in the regions.
• CBC/Radio-Canada should drop its local television service in some regions, but continue local radio and online coverage.
• CBC/Radio-Canada should provide the services which are most appropriate to a region, whether they be online, radio, television, or a combination of all or some.

Many Canadians are consuming news online and on mobile devices now, and consumer trends suggest that by 2020, more will consume it that way, rather than via conventional television or radio.

Q4:  Looking towards 2020, would you prefer to receive news in the form of traditional long-form newscasts or online short-form content?

• Traditional newscasts on conventional media.
• Online short-form content.

Over 70% of music listening in Canada is currently via radio, but there is a downward trend in conventional radio and a move towards consuming music online.

Q5:  Looking towards 2020, if you had a choice about how you would consume music, would you prefer online distribution or traditional over-the-air radio?

• Online music.
• Music via radio.

Children are increasingly consuming television content online.

Q6:  Looking towards 2020, do you think that our children’s programming should remain on conventional television or be available online only?

• Keep it on the conventional television service.
• Move all children’s programming online.

Some consumers enjoy watching television that is delivered over the Internet (called Over-the-Top Television, or OTT).  Two examples of this are Netflix and ICI Tou.tv. This “television” content can be viewed on a computer, smartphone, tablet, or an Internet-connected television set.

Q7:  In 2020, how would you like to receive your television content?

• Online through services like Netflix or ICI Tou.tv.
• On conventional television channels as we have now.

Of 18 Western countries, Canada is the third-lowest in terms of per-capita public funding for their public broadcaster. Currently, Canadians pay just $29 for our combined services annually, while the average for the 18 countries is $82.

Q8:  As a taxpayer, would you be willing to pay

• More than $29 a year?
• Less than $29 a year?
• The same amount: $29 a year?

The final question was a request for "any other comments". Here is the comment that I submitted:

It's commendable that the CBC is soliciting the opinions of viewers and listeners, but this initiative has come far, far too late. In 2007 the CBC constantly referred to the infamous "arts and culture" survey in justifying the decision to revamp the CBC Radio 2 programming, yet refused to release the results of the survey, holding on to it with a Kremlin-like grip that should have astonished members of the public. In the face of public opposition to these programming changes the CBC persisted in driving ahead with bull-dog like obstinacy, only to watch CBC Radio 2 listenership decline. So, having already destroyed CBC Radio 2, is it any wonder that we, the viewers and listeners of CBC radio and television, should have no confidence in the ability of CBC management to steer the CBC ship through choppy waters of future changes in the broadcasting ocean?

Note the use of leading descriptions prior to the actual question of the survey. Such as:

Of 18 Western countries, Canada is the third-lowest in terms of per-capita public funding for their public broadcaster. Currently, Canadians pay just $29 for our combined services annually, while the average for the 18 countries is $82.

After reading this little blurb, of course people are going to choose "More than $29 a year?"! Who wants to be a piker in the world of international broadcasting? But, the survey is what it is. Have fun!

Globe and Mail article on the CBC by Konrad Yakabuski April 21 2014

From The Globe and Mail, Monday April 21 2014 :

No, the CBC’s not cool. Nor should it be

KONRAD YAKABUSKI

The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Apr. 21 2014, 6:00 AM EDT

“Well, here we are again,” a wistful CBC president Hubert Lacroix began as he outlined the latest round of cuts – $130-million and 657 jobs in all – to afflict the national public broadcaster. And off we’ve gone again into another round of CBC-bashing and rehashing the network’s many failings.

It must be alternately infuriating and demoralizing to work for the CBC. The English-language television broadcaster gets zero public praise. Everyone’s a critic and the private media seem out to delegitimize your very existence. But that’s what you sign up for when you take a job at an institution Canadians not only own, but delight in “reimagining.”

It would all be easier if the broadcaster’s leaders, past and present, weren’t still stuck in some alternate reality, deluded by visions of grandeur and budget envy. They think that, if only Canadians funded their public network the way the British and French fund theirs, the CBC could be all things to all people and ne’er a disparaging word would be heard. In other words, it’s not their fault; it’s ours.

“The CBC, despite the fact that it faces arguably the largest cultural challenge, is the worst financed public broadcaster,” the network’s former head of English services, Richard Stursberg, told a Senate committee this month. “I don’t see any reason why a CBC that is properly focused and properly funded can’t compete.”

The first problem with this idea is that it completely ignores the circumstances in which overseas public broadcasters operate. The British Broadcasting Corp. and France Télévisions are empires under siege, but they are still empires. They have built up powerful political constituencies and set up countless sister networks, on multiple platforms, precisely to keep private competitors out of their space. They face nowhere near the same direct threat from American fare as the English CBC does, and have been able to shape and satisfy public expectations as a result.

The second problem with Mr. Stursberg’s analysis is that it assumes the CBC’s mission is to “compete.” He is hardly alone in thinking that the CBC must chase ratings. That mindset prevails all the way up the food chain. “It is declining viewership that is causing their challenges,” a spokeswoman for Heritage Minister Shelley Glover told Sun News. “It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch.”

With Ottawa sending that message, it’s little wonder programmers fear that the failure to boost ratings will only give politicians further ammunition to cut their funding. So, next season, Canadians will be treated to Schitt’s Creek and Strange Empire as a CBC desperate to create any buzz it can risks taxpayer money on an “edgier” lineup designed to attract a younger demographic.

Hopeless. It’s not the occasional popular “hit” that is going to make the CBC viable and necessary. It does not have the means or the talent pool to deliver consistently high-quality dramas or comedies that can lure English Canadians back from their constantly improving American favourites.

The CBC claims a share of English TV ratings of about 8 per cent. Without pro hockey, which it will soon lose, the share may be half that. Its comparative advantages lie elsewhere, in public affairs programming that actually reflects the country we live in, not some programmer’s fantasy world.

Thankfully, someone at the CBC gets it.

The same day Mr. Lacroix announced his cuts, the CBC broadcast, in prime time, an in-house documentary that purported to solve the mystery of the Bell of Batoche, a 130-year-old symbol of Métis pride. It encapsulated the history of the North-West Rebellion, Louis Riel and the very reason 19,000 francophones still live in Saskatchewan. These are stories we should all know to appreciate the country we have become. It’s an illustration of the CBC actually fulfilling its mandate, for a change.

It may not be as “cool” as some self-anointed fixers would like. But I shudder at the thought of what a CBC that tries to be any cooler than George Stroumboulopoulos would look like. The ultimate arbiters of cool will never be impressed because cool, by definition, is ephemeral.

Ephemeral is the opposite of what the CBC needs. It needs stable funding, of course. But it also needs managers committed to public broadcasting, rather than imitating entertainment networks in the hopes of landing a better job at one of them. Frankly, it needs to gets serious.

Friday afternoon, once again ... and "Canada Live" is still being inflicted upon unwary Canadians

It still remains a mystery to me why the good folks at CBC would think we want to hear mediocre, whining performers on CBC Radio One at 2:00 PM on Friday afternoon. If we wanted to hear mediocre, whining performers then we would tune in to CBC Radio Two, wouldn't we?

It is now 2:42 PM on Friday, January 17 as I write this. And I wish something worth listening to was on CBC Radio One.

Do we really need (or want) "Canada Live" on CBC Radio 1?

Many of us are Radio 2 refugees. What is a “Radio 2 refugee”, you might ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It is a former listener of Radio 2 who has had to turn to other radio stations for their daily classical music fix.

I discussed alternatives to CBC Radio 2 in other posts. I did not mention in those posts, however, my almost traitorous decision to start listening to CBC Radio 1. Yes, I am a recidivist CBC radio listener.

I listen to CBC Radio 1 in the car, while working in my basement workshop, while painting walls. Any place where I require radio entertainment.

Yet I notice recently that the boys and girls in short pants that ruined Radio 2 seem to be trying to work their magic on Radio 1. What, specifically, am I referring to? Funny you should ask. It’s “Canada Live”.

“Canada Live” was first introduced on Radio 2 to replace “In Performance”, if I recall correctly, in 2007. Who was the bright light at the CBC who decided that what Canadians really, really wanted was to listen to mediocre performers performing across Canada, live and in performance? Well, not live, really. Recorded. But they were live when performing. We think.

Now the CBC, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that what CBC Radio 1 listeners really, really, REALLY want is to listen to mediocre performers performing … well, you know what I’m going to say next. Yes, CBC Radio 1 now has “Canada Live” on its schedule at 2:00 PM on Friday afternoons. Why? Why, I ask? Did I ask for this? Did you ask for this? Wouldn’t you really rather have another segment of “Ideas”? Or, God forbid, at least another episode of “Rewind”? But no. You have to listen to “Canada Live”. And if you’re not willing to listen to it on CBC Radio 2, well then, by God, you will damn well listen to it on Radio 1!

"Joy to the World", the annual broadcast from the European Radio Union, Dec. 22 2013

One of the few remaining quality broadcasts remaining on CBC Radio 2 is "Joy to the World", the annual broadcast from the European Radio Union of Christmas music.

This year the broadcast is on December 22 2013, beginning at 9:00 AM.

I notice in the spirit of modern-day political correctness, the CBC does not refer to this broadcast as being one of "Christmas" music; instead, it is "holiday music" for the "holiday season". Sigh. One wonders how much longer this musical tradition will endure until the boys and girls in short pants who run the CBC decide that such a program is not sufficiently "inclusive".

Sunday, Dec. 22

9 a.m.: Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia

Your morning begins with the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and conductor Tonči Bilić in the nation’s capital city. They’ll perform Ottorino Respighi’s Gli Uccelli (The Birds) before being joined by the Croatian Radio and Television Chorus and soloists for a performance of J.S. Bach’s glorious Magnificat.

10 a.m.: St. Martin in the Wall Church, Prague, Czech Republic

Czech baroque specialists Ensemble Inégal give a concert dedicated to the music of Bohemian composer Samuel Capricornus. Known for his vast output and short life, Capricornus is one of the most important composers of the 17th century. Ensemble Inégal, led by Adam Viktora, is giving the world premiere on period instruments of Capricornus’s Missa Nativitatis Domini.

11 a.m.: Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Budapest, Hungary

On Mahler’s copy of the score for Bruckner’s Te Deum, he scratched out "for chorus, solos, orchestra and organ ad libitum" and wrote "for the tongues of angels, heaven-blest, chastened hearts and souls purified in the fire!" Hungarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra join together to perform this jubilant work under conductor Gregory Vajda. The performance continues with the scherzo from Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 and concludes with evocative music from Hungarian composer Miklós Kocsár entitled O wunderbare geheimnisvolle Nacht.

Noon: Barbican Hall, London, England

The hectic streets outside London’s Barbican Concert Hall are packed with last-minute shoppers, but we’ll travel inside the hall for Hector Berlioz’s reflective and luminous retelling of the Christmas story. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are led by François-Xavier Roth and joined by Trinity Laban Chamber Choir and four soloists for Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ oratorio.

1:45 p.m.: Blauwe Zaal, deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium

Enjoy an all-Bach program from Belgium, with festive music from the Ricercar Consort and soloists led by Philippe Pierlot. You’ll hear two less famous Christmas cantatas by Bach. The icing on the cake is the bombastic and exuberant opening from a third cantata, which features dazzling timpani and trumpets.

3 p.m.: Kallio Church, Helsinki, Finland

It’s off to the heart of the Finnish capital for the eight-voiced Lumen Valo. They’ll be performing unaccompanied music from the Middle Ages right through to present day. Included on the program is music by Gabrieli, Palestrina, Praetorius and a new Christmas carol by composer Matthew Whittall, who came to Finland from Canada some 10 years ago.

4 p.m.: Studio 1, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany 

The Bavarian Radio Chorus and members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Radio Orchestra bring you two sacred choral works with orchestra: Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, preceded by Lauda per la natività del Signore by Ottorino Respighi. The performance will conclude with a rousing chorale by J.S. Bach.

5 p.m.: Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, Que. 

A wildly popular Montreal tradition since 1980, the annual CBC Sing-In celebrates the season with your favourite Christmas tunes performed by the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, the Sing-In Brass, organist Jonathan Oldengarm, conductor Jordan de Souza and more than 1,500 carollers singing along.

A Globe and Mail editorial on the CBC.

The CBC: What’s it good for, without hockey?

The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Nov. 29 2013, 7:30 PM EST

In the beginning was The Hockey. And The Hockey was with the CBC. And The Hockey was the CBC.

This week’s news that Rogers Communications will pay $5.2-billion for the main National Hockey League programming rights for the next 12 years, displacing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, marks the loss of the CBC’s most popular program. Hockey Night in Canada is one of the CBC’s biggest money-makers, and also one of its biggest expenses. Under the terms of the Rogers deal, CBC will continue to carry HNIC for the next four years, but Rogers is essentially just borrowing the public broadcaster’s airwaves. Rogers will pay the bills, have creative control – and keep the revenue. CBC head Hubert Lacroix put on a brave face, but he and almost everyone else who weighed in sounded as if they believed this is a crushing defeat for the corporation, and possibly a fatal one.

It is not. Losing hockey is the best thing that could have happened to the CBC. A national institution that long ago lost its way has been given the chance – possibly its last chance – to find its soul. NHL hockey, the most popular pastime in this country, doesn’t need the CBC. And the CBC, if it’s to be what a public broadcaster should be, doesn’t need the NHL.

If the CBC did not exist, would we create it? And to do what?

The strongest argument for the CBC goes something like this: There are some public goods that the free market will not deliver, or will not deliver well enough, and so we create public institutions to do the job. Think of museums, libraries and parks. These would be very different without public support, and in some cases they might not exist at all. There’s a compelling logic to taxpayer backing for the National Gallery of Canada or the Canadian War Museum, or hundreds of other cultural institutions and historical sites. The CBC is, in part, such an institution.

But what about the things that if we were designing a public broadcaster from scratch, we wouldn’t want it doing? Consider the following hypothetical: Should taxpayer dollars be spent building a national network of cinemas showing the latest Hollywood movies? The private sector already does a pretty good job of running multiplexes.

And yet the CBC has often seen the television equivalent as a core part of its mandate. Popular American programs already filling the private airwaves – Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, reruns of situation comedies like The Simpsons, and lots of Hollywood movies – became a network staple. And hockey? Oh yes, and hockey.

Hockey is just about the most stereotypically Canadian thing you can put on television. It’s also the most popular. That’s not an argument in favour of hockey on the CBC – on the contrary, it’s the best argument against it. That Rogers was willing to pay $5.2-billion for the rights testifies to the fact that NHL hockey is a ridiculously successful business, and putting those games on the nation’s screens is the most competitive, in-demand entertainment in the country. If the CBC didn’t exist, there would still be NHL hockey on TV; in fact, Rogers appears to be intent on showing far more hours of hockey, on more platforms, than the CBC ever did. The market works! NHL hockey needs a taxpayer-supported public broadcaster like a fish needs a goalie mask.

Hockey reveals what should have been obvious all along: Popular programming doesn’t need taxpayer support. We don’t need a CBC to compete with the private sector. We need a CBC that goes where the private sector isn’t, doing important things that are necessary but may be less popular.

Consider arts and cultural programming – something that CBC television used to do a lot more of, and then in recent years stepped back from. Or educational and children’s programming. Documentaries. Regional programming. Producing intellectually ambitious Canadian dramas and movies. CBC TV has, in recent years, overwhelmingly focused its efforts on competing with private broadcasters, going down-market, and aiming the same sorts of programs at the same audience. The strategy is an expensive dead end.

And as part of the quest to bring in more money, the CBC has also introduced advertising to radio. Over time, that step will likely push the often excellent CBC Radio One and 2 into making programming decisions that ape the moves of private broadcasters – just like the considerably less excellent CBC TV.

So here’s a radical proposal to ensure that the CBC retains the spirit of a public broadcaster: Get rid of advertising. No ads on radio, no ads on TV, no ads on the website.

The bulk of the CBC’s funding already comes from the taxpayer: Last year, it received a subsidy of $1.1-billion from the federal government. Only $330-million of the corporation’s revenues came from advertising. And yet the chase for dollars consumes the CBC’s energies, generates new expenses and compels it to produce programs that shouldn’t be on a public network, undermining its public-service mission.

The CBC needs a rethink. Rogers and the NHL did it, and us, a favour. What if it stopped being a public broadcaster with private tendencies and became instead a pure public service? The CBC’s most recent annual report is titled “Challenging the Status Quo.” If only it would.

The Radio-Canada "Ici" controversy: Why all the surprise?

The latest controversy to engulf the beleaguered CBC is the “Ici” debacle. For those who haven’t been following this soap opera, the CBC announced on June 5 2013 that the French radio news and broadcasting arm of the CBC would be re-named “Ici Première”, replacing the venerable “Radio-Canada”.

Alarmists nation-wide saw this as the work of péquistes within the French-language CBC to distance the French-language service from Canada. A firestorm of controversy ensued. A mere five days later, the President and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hubert Lacroix, apologized to the nation and announced that the CBC was reversing its decision to rename the French-language service. Instead, the radio service will be called “Ici Radio-Canada Première” and the television service will be called “Ici Radio-Canada Télé”. Once again, the nation has been saved!

The only surprising thing about this minor episode in the life of the CBC is that anyone was surprised. The CBC has an unfortunate history of imposing decisions on an unsuspecting public who, after all, are the owners of the CBC. An unfortunate history that goes all the way back to the summer of 2006 when the CBC, in a stealth attack on the CBC radio audience that even a hardened terrorist could appreciate, replaced the Friday evening broadcast of “In Performance” with a mish-mash of unlistenable pop/folk/country/rock/hip-hop concerts. One might have thought that this was just a summer-time replacement, a bit of vacation for Eric Friesen, the host of “In Performance” at the time. But no, it was the sly method of the CBC of imposing change on the listening public. Introduce a small change. See if anyone complains. If they don’t, then forge ahead with a blitzkrieg attack on the listening public at a later date.

Long-time CBC watchers will remember that this blitzkrieg attack came on March 19 2007 when “The World at Six” was removed from CBC Radio Two, to be replaced by a five-minute news broadcast. “Music for a while” with Danielle Charbonneau was replaced by the crapulent “Tonic”. “In Performance” was replaced by the even more repellant “Canada Live”. “The Arts Report” with Joe Cummings was axed from “Music and Company”. “Two New Hours”, “Northern Lights” and “Brave New Waves” were consigned to the dungeons of the CBC recording vaults, never to be heard from again.

The CBC didn’t announce these changes in advance. They didn’t ask the owners of the CBC, you, the listening audience, whether they approved of these changes. No, they simply foisted these programming changes on the listening audience, much in the same way as the CBC has, six years later, charged ahead with the CBC Radio-Canada re-naming. The CBC claimed that there was an ultra-secret “Arts and Culture Survey” that purported to support the programming changes. However, this survey was never released to those who paid for it; i.e. the owners of the CBC, you and me. It remains secret to this day. Perhaps languishing in the CBC dungeons, next to ancient recordings of “Brave New Waves”.

But wait! There was more to come! In September 2007 “Symphony Hall” was cancelled. “The Singer and the Song” was cancelled. Howard Dyck was unceremoniously dumped from “Saturday Afternoon at the Opera”. It seemed like the CBC was conducting a purge of its most venerable programs and announcers that would have made Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin blush. Once again, all of this was done without any public consultation, prior notice or fanfare. Simply imposed upon the listening audience.

If Radio Two had not already been sufficiently decimated, the CBC had even greater plans for its destruction. In September 2008 “Music and Company” was replaced by “Radio 2 Morning”. “Here’s to You” with Catherine Belyea was cancelled. “Studio Sparks” was cancelled. Eric Friesen was put out to pasture. The much-loved “Disc Drive” with Jurgen Goethe was replaced by the irritating “Radio 2 Drive”. Jurgen Gothe was exiled to the Siberia-like time slot of 5:00 PM on Sunday with a new show, “Farrago”, but this was short-lived. “Sound Advice”, with the excellent Rick Phillips, was soundly trounced, not on the advice of its listeners.

Once again, all of these changes were imposed on the CBC Radio Two listening audience, without consultation, prior warning or any pretence at being interested in the opinion of their customers, the CBC Radio Two listening audience. And the CBC has gotten away with it for the past six years.

So is it any wonder that no one should be surprised at the “Ici” controversy?

Joy to the World, Sunday December 16 2012

One of the few remaining traditions from CBC Radio Two is "Joy to the World", the holiday music programming from the European Broadcasting Union. Luckily, the program is produced by the EBU; otherwise, the CBC would likely have killed it along with many of the other programs that we came to know and love during the glory days of CBC Radio Two.

Forthwith, here is the schedule as noted on the CBC Radio Two blog:

Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012

9 a.m.: Kallio Church, Helsinki

The day gets off to an energetic start with an all-Vivaldi concert from the Baroque Ensemble of the Finnish Radio Orchestra. They'll play Vivaldi's Concerto for violin and strings,Il riposo, per il santissimo natale. And soprano Tuuli Lindeberg joins the orchestra for the motet Salve Regina.

10 a.m.: Garrison Church, Copenhagen

Inaugurated in 1706 as a parish for Copenhagen's militia, the Garrison Church is a popular concert venue. The Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble, directed by Paul Hillier, will perform a program of antiphons and carol, including Adam Lay ybounden, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen and Ding Dong Merrily on High.

11 a.m.: Small Guildhall, Riga

Conductor Maris Kupcs leads the Collegium Musicum Riga Baroque Orchestra, choir and a quartet of soloists in a concert of 18th-century music, the centrepiece being Telemann's Missa sopra 'ein kindelein so lobelich.' Riga's historic Small Guild Hall is mostly used nowadays for conferences and the occasional disco, but serves on this occasion as a concert venue for baroque music.

12 p.m.: Vzlet Culture House, Prague

Off to Prague for Bohemian seasonal music from the Czech Radio Children’s Choir and the Brno Radio Folk Instruments Ensemble under the direction of Frantisek Cerny. The concert includes highlights from Harmonia Caelestis, a cycle of cantatas composed by Paul I, Prince Esterházy of Galántha and published in 1711.

1 p.m.: Northern Lights Hall, Reykjavik

This concert features a jazz trio comprised of pianist Kjartan Valdimarsson, bassist Valdimar K. Sigurjonsson and drummerEinar Valur Scheving. They join vocalist Sigridur Thorlacius and other winners from the annual Icelandic Music Awards for traditional Icelandic and international Christmas songs.

2 p.m.: Christinae Church, Gothenburg

The Swedish Chamber Choir won the 2011 Let the Peoples Sing Euroradio Choral Competition. They're featured today singing music by Poulenc, Part, Alfven, Liljefors, Ohlsson, Sandstrom, Nordqvist, Rosenburg, Ohrwall, Nielsen, Mealor and Lange-Muller. Simon Phipps conducts.

3 p.m.: German National Museum, Nuremburg

A mix of 17th-century baroque music and traditional carols with Ensemble NeoBarock and the Eismannsberger Strings and Women Singers. The German National Museum is the largest museum of cultural history in Germany.

4 p.m.: Tbilisi State Conservatory Grand Hall, Tblisi

A program of traditional Georgian carols, songs and hymns performed by a number of groups, including Shavnabada, Didgori, Shalva Chemo and the Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir.

5 p.m.: Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal

A CBC tradition "with heart and soul and voice," the 33rd annual CBC Christmas Sing-In features carols and other music for the season performed by choir, organ, brass and percussion, and an audience of over 1,000 singing along at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal.

Radio salvation for drivers!

Life used to be so simple when driving. Turn on the radio to CBC Radio Two and you could be guaranteed of some pleasant listening while you drove. Not anymore. CBC Radio Two is such a hodge-podge of music formats, not to mention annoying hosts, that I don’t even bother trying any more.

CBC Radio One is often an alternative, but once again there are times when I can’t stand listening to Radio One. During “The Debaters”, for example. “All in a Day (Ottawa)” is bearable, but there are times when I have to turn the radio off because the music that is being played is just too annoying. I could go on.

But I have found radio salvation! It is 1310 News, All News Radio on the AM dial in Ottawa. News, weather, sports, commercials, news, weather, sports, commercials, news, weather, sports, commercials ad infinitum. But I love it! I never get bored or annoyed, even if I’ve heard the same news story for the third or fourth time that day.

When was the last time you tried listening to AM radio? Give it a try. You might like it!

"Taking Responsibility" - the Spring 2012 CBC Radio Two audience survey

One of the popular buzz-phrases these days seems to be “take responsibility”. People are being urged to “take responsibility” for their actions, or are stepping up to “take responsibility” for what they’ve done, even when it seems there is no need to do so.

For example, Jared Connaughton, the member of the Canadian 4 x 100 metre relay team who caused the Canadian team to be disqualified, was quoted as saying “he had to step up and take responsibility” for the disqualification. Teammates were quoted as praising Mr. Connaughton for stepping up and “taking responsibility” for the disqualification.

Why was it necessary for Mr. Connaughton to “take responsibility”? It was an accident. I very much doubt that he deliberately stepped on a lane line to disqualify the team. Stuff happens. There was no need to “take responsibility”.

Michael Bryant, the former Attorney-General for Ontario who was involved in the accidental death of Darcy Allen Sheppard, recently appeared on “The Current” on CBC Radio One. Listeners subsequently castigated Mr. Bryant for not “taking responsibility” for his actions. What actions? He attempted to flee from an individual who was attacking him and, in doing so, Mr. Sheppard died. There was no evidence that Mr. Bryant acted in a deliberate manner to harm Mr. Sheppard. It was an accident. What does it mean for Mr. Bryant to “take responsibility” for an accident?

I’m sure pundits, critics and media commentators will be urging Lance Armstrong to “take responsibility” for his alleged doping infractions. But Mr. Armstrong denies the allegations. What should he be “taking responsibility” for?

It’s one thing to be told to “take responsibility” for something that you didn’t do, had no intention of doing or was an accident, and quite another thing to “take responsibility” for something that you knowingly, deliberately did.

Which brings us to the CBC and the latest BBM radio survey data. When will someone from the CBC step up to the plate, belly up to the bar, [insert favourite saying here] and “take responsibility” for the CBC Radio Two restructuring fiasco?

Without further ado, here is the table summarizing the decline in the CBC Radio Two listening audience since the CBC embarked on their audacious plan to “restructure” Radio Two. As can be seen from the table, the audience for CBC Radio Two has been decimated in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton since the restructuring effort was initiated. Anyone willing to “take responsibility” for this fiasco?

To mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Radio Two

I unfortunately let several anniversaries slip by the notice of this blog. The first was the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the end of the old CBC Radio Two. This was, of course, March 19. It was on this date in 2007 that the CBC launched their stealth attack against the CBC Radio Two listening audience by cutting “The World at Six” from its 6:00 PM time slot, cancelling Danielle Charbonneau and the much-loved “Music for a While” and replacing “In Performance” with Eric Friesen with the reviled “Canada Live”. Oh yes, I forgot to mention: “Two New Hours”, “Brave New Waves” and “Northern Lights” were also cancelled. But it is easy to overlook these changes in the general slaughter that took place.


Of course, that was just the beginning. Even more drastic changes to the programming schedule were about to take place, commencing in September 2007 and finally being completed in September 2008. But for many of us, March 19 2007 was the day that the music died on CBC Radio Two.


So I thought it would be fun to mark the fifth anniversary of this blog by listing here all of the letters and correspondence that I sent to various individuals (and in some cases, the replies I received) during the course of my five-year protest against the changes that were made to CBC Radio Two. For those of you who have just discovered this blog, it’s an easy way to catch up on what has happened during the last five years. For those of you who have been following along, it’s a handy summary of what has taken place in the past five years.


The list is in the format of links to previous blog entries. Here goes:


Post to Jowi Taylor’s Blog, March 21 2007


Letter to Tell Us What You Think, March 24 2007


Letter to Jennifer McGuire, Executive Director of Programming and Jane Chalmers, Vice-President of CBC Radio


Letter to Robert Rabinovich, President and CEO of the CBC


Letter to Gary Schellenberger, Chair of the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage


Letter to Bev Oda, Minister of Heritage


Response from the office of the Minister of Heritage


Response from Jennifer McGuire, Executive Director of Programming


A second letter to Jennifer McGuire, Executive Director of Programming


A second response from the office of the Minister of Heritage


A second response from Jennifer McGuire, Executive Director of Programming


Letters to the members of the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage


Open letters to the candidates in Carleton-Mississippi Mills during the 2008 election


Replies from the candidates in Carleton-Mississippi Mills during the 2008 election


Of course, we can’t forget the nation-wide protest that took place on April 11 2008 in response to the disbanding of the CBC Radio Orchestra and the Radio Two changes that were announced at that time:


Scenes from a Protest


Although it wasn't in the form of a letter received from these two individuals, I thought the interview conducted with Mark Steinmetz and Chris Boyce (the CBC Radio Director of Music and the CBC Radio Director of Programming, respectively, at the time of the interview) was interesting for what it revealed about the CBC:


Interview with Mark Steinmetz and Chris Boyce

In a subsequent post I’ll attempt to answer the question “Where are they now”, to track the careers of some of the major players in the CBC Radio Two restructuring debacle.