CBC Radio Two: doing less with less

What's going on with CBC Radio 2 lately? I have to admit I haven't been paying much attention - the car radio is tuned to my Sirius satellite radio preset frequencies and at home we listen to internet radio using the Wi-Fi receiver, so I haven't had much interest in following changes to the Radio 2 schedule. On those occasions when I'm in the car without my satellite radio, I sometimes encounter Radio 2 while scanning the FM frequencies.

I see that Tom Allen is now doing double duty, on "Radio 2 Morning" and a new program, "Shift", from 2:00 - 3:30 PM. "Tempo" runs from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM instead of, I believe it was, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. And "Radio 2 Drive" is now on until 7:00 PM, followed by "Canada Live" until 8:00 PM. Finally, "Tonic" and "The Signal" close out the evening.

What is behind all of this schedule tweaking? Is it an attempt to recover lost audience share by trying to find the right time slot for these programs? Could it be that it is not the time slots, but the content of the programming, that is responsible for the lost audience share?

I see also that "Tonic", now beginning at 8:00 PM instead of 6:00 PM, promises a mix of "Jazz, Soul and R&B to wind down your day" - I seem to remember that it began life as strictly Jazz. Could it be that there isn't a large audience for an all-Jazz format? Could it be that CBC Radio 2 is finally admitting that no one really wants to listen to Jazz at 6:00 PM?

You will also notice from the program schedule that CBC Radio 2 now covers 18 hours of Monday-to-Friday programming with only six announcers. I seem to recall CBC Radio 2 having more program hosts before the CBC Radio 2 restructuring, which began March 19, 2007. I suppose you could cite this as an example of doing less with less. Aren't there labour laws to prevent organizations from cutting back staff and dumping the same amount of work on the remaining staff? Isn't there a union for radio hosts? Perhaps not.

And what happened to Jurgen Gothe and "Farrago"? I can't find any announcements on the CBC Radio 2 site concerning the fate of Mr. Gothe. I suppose Mr. Gothe was unceremoniously dumped by the corporation, or perhaps decided to leave on his own. We are all, of course, poorer for this.

The CBC begins to be responsive!

Well, will wonders never cease to exist! The CBC is now advertising upcoming programming changes on the CBC.ca web site, in advance of their implementation, and actually allowing listeners and/or viewers to comment! This is, of course, a change from past practice when the only comments that were allowed were via the "inside the CBC" web site, which proclaimed itself as the "official blog of the CBC".

A case in point of the CBC's apparent change in policy is the announcement of the new hosts for the weekday and weekend programming. The CBC announced on June 10 that Tom Allen would continue to host the weekday morning show, from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM, although the new show will feature a "mix of musical genres".

Julie Nesrallah will host a new classical daytime show during weekdays from 10:00 AM. to 3:00 PM.

Rich Terfry, who records under the name "Buck 65", will host a drive-home show from 3:00 PM. to 6:00 PM.

Molly Johnson will host the new weekend morning shows from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

Peter Togni will be the new host of Choral Concert on Sunday morning.

Jurgen Gothe will host a new show on Sundays from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

I wish the new hosts well in their new ventures, but I (as a formerly loyal CBC Radio Two listener) will not be there to tune into their new programs. As I have mentioned on this blog, probably ad nauseum, I have defected to Sirius satellite radio, where I find programming much more to my liking. However, I continue to protest the changes taking place at CBC Radio Two since I believe my rights as a shareholder in the corporation are not being respected by CBC management. What are those rights? Why, the right to be consulted on such programming changes and the right to voice an opinion on the proposed programming changes, in an open and democratic forum.

It is the final point - the right to voice an opinion on the proposed programming changes - that has finally changed at the CBC (or so it seems, based on this latest announcement). CBC Radio Two listeners can now register on the CBC.ca web site and actually make comments on the proposed changes! Of course, it seems that the CBC management is continuing their past practice of ignoring the comments, but at least this is a good start!

It is interesting to read the comments that listeners have left on this site regarding the new programming - the comments are overwhelmingly opposed to the new programming. CBC management, when will you sit up and take notice that you have embarked on a voyage of self-destruction?