Third day listening to the "new 2"

9:45 AM: I leave for Montreal. I tune in to Mr. Tom Allen's new program, "Radio 2 Morning". Among the pieces that I hear before the program ends at 10:00 AM is a cover of Johnny Nash's "I can see clearly now". Is this the much-vaunted Canadian content that CBC management has been trumpeting over the last six months? Covers of hits from the '60s and '70s?

10:00 AM: Ms. Julie Nesrallah's new show, "Tempo" begins, and once again Ms. Nesrallah reaffirms that this show is the gem in the new daily schedule. Although, it occurs to me - why was it necessary to replace "Here's to You" and "Studio Sparks" with a single program, and replace two program hosts with one? Is this a case of thinly-disguised cost cutting - replace two highly paid, veteran hosts with a single neophyte? (No offence is intended to Ms. Nesrallah, whom I already admire - I'm just wondering about the possible economics behind the change in programming.)

approx. 12:00 PM: I lose reception of the CBC Radio Two station in Ottawa, 103.3 FM. Once again, I have forgotten the frequency of the English-language CBC Radio Two station in Montreal and scan the FM frequencies for the station in Montreal. I find Radio-Classique, 99.5 FM in Montreal. Initially, I confuse this with CBC Radio Two, but the presence of commercials (and commentary) in French make me realize this is a commercial radio station. I give up on searching for CBC Radio Two and continue to listen to Radio-Classique for the rest of my trip.

approx. 4:15 PM: I leave for Ottawa, with a detour through Cornwall. I continue to listen to 99.5 FM until I lose reception. By this time it's 6:00 PM and I don't even bother trying to listen to Ms. Katie Malloch's "Tonic". I've listened to it enough times since its initial introduction in March, 2007, to know that it's not for me. I listen to a CD of the soundtrack from the movie "Across the Universe" instead, for the rest of the journey home.

Now, I should mention that the past three days have by no means been usual for me - a Toronto-Waterloo-Toronto drive, followed by a Toronto-Ottawa trip, followed by an Ottawa-Montreal-Cornwall-Ottawa journey is quite out of the ordinary. But it highlights one point - CBC management has been trumpeting the fact that classical music is available 24/7 on the web via streaming audio - but it doesn't do one much good, does it, if you are not tied to your PC/web-enabled PDA/iPhone.

So, once again, I return to the main points that I have been trying to make to the CBC management, members of Parliament, Minister of Heritage and to anyone elso who will listen for the past 18 months: the changes to the CBC Radio Two programming were made without proper consultation of the shareholders of the corporation (i.e. you and me, the taxpayers of Canada), the changes were made without allowing feedback to be solicited and displayed on the CBC Radio web site both prior to and after the changes were implemented and, furthermore, the changes are ill-advised and will drive the once-loyal CBC Radio Two audience away, with no replacement likely.

Will I listen to CBC Radio Two after this week? No, I will not, since I have found alternatives that are much more to my liking - Sirius satellite radio, Classical 96.3 FM in Toronto and now, Radio-Classique 99.5 FM in Montreal.

My own personal "Groundhog Day"

The start of my third day listening to the "new 2". We get up at 6:30 AM, having driven from Toronto to Ottawa the day before. As is my habit when at home, I make coffee, turn on Sirius satellite radio to "Symphony Hall" and read the Globe and Mail and National Post. Forty-five minutes elapse before I remember that I'm supposed to be listening to the "new 2" in my attempt to give CBC Radio another chance. I tune into Mr. Tom Allen's new program, "Radio 2 Morning", just in time to hear the Stampeders and "Sweet City Woman". There is a brief moment when I think I have been doomed by CBC to my own personal version of "Groundhog Day" in which I play the Bill Murray character - will I be condemned by CBC to hear "Sweet City Woman" at least once a day on the "new 2"?

I see my letter to the editor is published in the National Post. Here is the full text, as published in the Post:

Re: I Survived The CBC's New Radio 2, And So Can You!, Adam McDowell, Sept. 3.

Adam McDowell hit the nail squarely on the head with his final assessment of the new CBC Radio 2: "radio is all about having to sit through stuff you're not necessarily keen to listen to." This is precisely the problem with the new CBC Radio 2 programming. In an era of narrow-casting, how will a radio station that attempts to be all things to all people attract and keep an audience?

Commercial radio stations understand this and focus their programming to a specific audience and musical genre. CBC Radio 2 previously did this and did it reasonably well. Now, by trying to squeeze every possible musical genre into the daily schedule, I expect CBC Radio 2 will lose its audience to more focused commercial stations.

But will the federal government realize that if no one is listening to the "new 2" it no longer deserves to be funded with our hard-earned tax dollars?

James Wooten, Kanata, Ont.

I will leave for Montreal later this morning. During the drive I will continue to give the "new 2" a second chance.

Masochism? Or trying to be open-minded?

In the spirit of attempting to be open-minded and to give the "new 2" a chance, I tuned the radio to CBC Radio Two while in Toronto today, instead of the usual Classical 96.3 that we listen to while in Toronto. We woke up to Tom Allen's new show; I listened to it while drinking my morning coffee; while eating breakfast; while writing this blog. And, although I respect and previously enjoyed Mr. Allen's "Music and Company", I have to say that it is an ordeal to continue to listen to this new programming.

The only high point was Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", although the CBC CD player managed to mangle this performance, making it a less than satisfactory experience. Although I still enjoy hearing Bob Dylan from time to time, is 8:00 AM really the time that CBC Radio Two listeners want to hear Bob Dylan?

I'll continue to try to give CBC Radio Two a chance today while we drive Alex to Waterloo; move him into his apartment and drive back to Toronto. I suspect, however, that the eclectic and rather irritating music that the CBC seems to be featuring now will wear our patience to the breaking point and we will have to turn to Classical 96.3 FM at some point during the day.