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.
Showing posts with label CBC Radio Orchestra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CBC Radio Orchestra. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Just who reads this blog, anyway?
If you're wondering who reads this blog, I have some information to share with you. Through the miracle of Google Analytics, I have been tracking readership of this blog since its inception on April 28, 2007. Now, never fear, Google Analytics does not allow one to trace readership of this blog to an individual or a specific computer, but it can show where the blog reader happens to be at the time of reading. And this can be quite interesting indeed.
Since April 28, 2007, this blog has been visited 6,058 times, with a total of 10,799 page views. Not hundreds of thousands of visits, as I might have hoped for, but still encouraging. The average time spent on the site is 2 minutes, 15 seconds, probably long enough to read one or two pages and move on. Well, actually 1.78 pages, since this is the average number of pages visited per visit.
Had enough? Well, if not, then I find it interesting that this site has been visited 186 times by readers from the CBC - yes, the dear old Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Average time on the site by readers from the CBC is 1 minute 9 seconds, with an average of 1.95 pages visited. Readers from the CBC must read faster than average, or else they're just skimming. 65.59% of the visits from the CBC are new visits, meaning either that this blog has somewhat wide readership within the CBC, or else it's the same person hopping from computer to computer.
Twenty visits came from the House of Commons, although they've done a good job of ignoring me until this point, with some notable exceptions. Four visits came from the Privy Council Office. Two visits from Industry Canada. Someone in the government has an interest in the fate of CBC Radio Two, or just idly surfing?
Readers from the Globe and Mail (not readers of the Globe and Mail, but readers from the Globe and Mail, the company) have accounted for nine visits. The Toronto Star, not to be outdone, has visited three times. And a reader (or readers) from the New York Times have visited five times, no less! When will I see an article in the NY Times about the continuing controversy over CBC Radio Two in the Great White North?
Someone from Canwest Global Communications has visited six times, and someone from CTV two times. Probably just commiserating with their radio colleagues.
Someone from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement has visited three times, but has spent only an average of 16 seconds on the site. I assume just checking up on references to the BBM on the internet.
Interesting, no? (Well, I at least find it interesting.)
Since April 28, 2007, this blog has been visited 6,058 times, with a total of 10,799 page views. Not hundreds of thousands of visits, as I might have hoped for, but still encouraging. The average time spent on the site is 2 minutes, 15 seconds, probably long enough to read one or two pages and move on. Well, actually 1.78 pages, since this is the average number of pages visited per visit.
Had enough? Well, if not, then I find it interesting that this site has been visited 186 times by readers from the CBC - yes, the dear old Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Average time on the site by readers from the CBC is 1 minute 9 seconds, with an average of 1.95 pages visited. Readers from the CBC must read faster than average, or else they're just skimming. 65.59% of the visits from the CBC are new visits, meaning either that this blog has somewhat wide readership within the CBC, or else it's the same person hopping from computer to computer.
Twenty visits came from the House of Commons, although they've done a good job of ignoring me until this point, with some notable exceptions. Four visits came from the Privy Council Office. Two visits from Industry Canada. Someone in the government has an interest in the fate of CBC Radio Two, or just idly surfing?
Readers from the Globe and Mail (not readers of the Globe and Mail, but readers from the Globe and Mail, the company) have accounted for nine visits. The Toronto Star, not to be outdone, has visited three times. And a reader (or readers) from the New York Times have visited five times, no less! When will I see an article in the NY Times about the continuing controversy over CBC Radio Two in the Great White North?
Someone from Canwest Global Communications has visited six times, and someone from CTV two times. Probably just commiserating with their radio colleagues.
Someone from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement has visited three times, but has spent only an average of 16 seconds on the site. I assume just checking up on references to the BBM on the internet.
Interesting, no? (Well, I at least find it interesting.)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
5 Days Later: A response from the NDP, still no responses from the Conservatives, Liberals or Greens
Shortly after I posted yesterday's blog entry, Mr. Paul Arbour, the NDP candidate in Carleton-Mississippi Mills, sent a reply to the question I sent concerning each candidate's position on the recent programming changes on CBC Radio Two. Bravo, Mr. Arbour! Now, I still have to receive responses from Mr. Gordon O'Connor (Conservative party), Mr. Justin MacKinnon (Liberal party) and Mr. Jake Cole (Green party).
I have not posted Mr. Arbour's reply here since he did not explicitly give me permission to do so. I will post it if Mr. Arbour sends me another e-mail giving his permission.
I'll continue my imaginary discussion between Bob and Ted, two members of one of the campaign staffs, from yesterday. In case there are some who have not realized this yet, Bob and Ted are fictional characters. Any resemblance to any persons, either living, dead, or CBC management, is purely coincidental. However, at least we know now that they're not NDPers.
"So, Bob, how's the wife these days?"
"Carol's fine, Ted. How's Alice?"
"Good, good. Carol's still home with the kids?"
"Yeah, that's right. Bobby's four and Britney's three."
"Must be tough to be at home all day with two pre-schoolers."
"Yeah, it is. I couldn't take it. Carol claimed that listening to CBC Radio Two kept her sane. That was, at least, until CBC made their changes to the daytime programming on September 2nd."
"So what did she do?"
"Well, she tried listening to the 'new 2' for a while, but the new programming drove her up the wall. She told me that if she wanted to listen to middle of the road crap, she could tune to any of the other commercial radio stations that are out there."
"So that's where you got that 'middle of the road crap' statement."
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I told her to listen to CDs instead. She tried that, but she said she was constantly having to go back to the CD player to put on another CD and, anyway, it didn't seem spontaneous, having to select your own CDs and make up your own playlist. And then Bobby put and end to that."
"What did he do?"
"Put apple sauce in the CD player and pushed 'play'. He'd heard us talking about the Apple iPod, Apple iPhone, Apple iTouch so much that he thought apple sauce might have some innate musical qualities."
"Must take after you. So why didn't Carol listen to streaming audio on the internet instead? CBC says they're playing just as much classical music over the internet now as they used to play over the air."
"Well, that's fine for you and me who are tied to our desks most of the day and glued to our PCs. But Carol, she's running all over the house. She's not near the PC that often. And we can't put a PC in every room."
"I guess not. So what's she doing now?"
"Well, the whole thing finally came to a head one day when I came home and she greeted me at the door with a bottle of Wild Turkey in her hand."
"Jeez, no! She didn't start drinking home alone with the kids?"
"No, of course not! She was just waiting for me to get home so that I could look after the kids. Then, she poured herself a drink."
"What about her parents? I thought they lived nearby."
"Yes, they do, and they're pissed off at CBC too for changing the programming. Vern, as you may remember, used to be a minister and wouldn't normally even say the words 'pissed off', but he's royally pissed at CBC right now."
"No, no, I'm not talking about the CBC, I mean, don't they help out with the kids from time to time."
"Well, sure, they used to, but since Vern retired they've been hard to pin down. They're either at the cottage, driving to or from the cottage, or on vacation somewhere. Just this summer Vern and Martha drove out to Vancouver. Then, when they came back, they went out to St. John's for a couple of weeks. Vern described it as 'listening to CBC Radio Two, coast to coast'.
"So, they're big CBC Radio Two fans too, huh? Must run in the family."
"Well, they used to be Radio Two fans. CBC Radio Two was always a big part of their daily lives - they always had a radio going on in the house, tuned to Radio Two. Until, that is, CBC replaced 'Music for a While' and 'In Peformance' with 'Tonic' and 'Canada Live'."
"What, that happened sometime back in 2007, didn't it? In March or April of 2007? I've been reading this guy Wooten's blog, and he's been harping on this ever since then."
"Yeah, that's right, Vern first mentioned it sometime in the spring last year. This summer, he finally got so irritated by the crap (as he puts it) that they feature on 'Canada Live' that he threw the radio into the lake from the cottage porch. And that took some throw - must've been 30 yards or so. He used to QB his high school football team, y'know."
"Well, that's impressive for an old guy."
"Yeah, and the even more impressive thing is that he spent the whole next day diving to find the radio. Martha said she didn't want the radio polluting the lake, because of all the lead and whatnot in the radio."
"So what are you going to do about Carol. Wild Turkey is no replacement for CBC Radio Two."
"Well, problem solved. I went out the next day and bought her three Sirius satellite radio receivers and put one on every floor of the house. Now, she can have Classical music from 'Symphony Hall' or Opera from 'Met Opera Radio' 24/7."
"It's a bit expensive, isn't it, to have a subscription for three receivers, not to mention the three receivers in the house?"
"Well, yeah, it's not as cheap as having a $29.95 radio in every room of the house and receiving music for free over the air. That's one of the things that bugs Carol and me so much - now we have to pay twice - we support CBC Radio with our tax dollars, but don't use their service, and have to pay for satellite radio."
"CBC is one of the owners of Sirius, isn't it? Maybe the programming changes were a clever plot to promote Sirius satellite radio subscriptions."
"I think you've been reading too much Grisham, Ted. But I'll look into it once I'm an ADM."
I have not posted Mr. Arbour's reply here since he did not explicitly give me permission to do so. I will post it if Mr. Arbour sends me another e-mail giving his permission.
I'll continue my imaginary discussion between Bob and Ted, two members of one of the campaign staffs, from yesterday. In case there are some who have not realized this yet, Bob and Ted are fictional characters. Any resemblance to any persons, either living, dead, or CBC management, is purely coincidental. However, at least we know now that they're not NDPers.
"So, Bob, how's the wife these days?"
"Carol's fine, Ted. How's Alice?"
"Good, good. Carol's still home with the kids?"
"Yeah, that's right. Bobby's four and Britney's three."
"Must be tough to be at home all day with two pre-schoolers."
"Yeah, it is. I couldn't take it. Carol claimed that listening to CBC Radio Two kept her sane. That was, at least, until CBC made their changes to the daytime programming on September 2nd."
"So what did she do?"
"Well, she tried listening to the 'new 2' for a while, but the new programming drove her up the wall. She told me that if she wanted to listen to middle of the road crap, she could tune to any of the other commercial radio stations that are out there."
"So that's where you got that 'middle of the road crap' statement."
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I told her to listen to CDs instead. She tried that, but she said she was constantly having to go back to the CD player to put on another CD and, anyway, it didn't seem spontaneous, having to select your own CDs and make up your own playlist. And then Bobby put and end to that."
"What did he do?"
"Put apple sauce in the CD player and pushed 'play'. He'd heard us talking about the Apple iPod, Apple iPhone, Apple iTouch so much that he thought apple sauce might have some innate musical qualities."
"Must take after you. So why didn't Carol listen to streaming audio on the internet instead? CBC says they're playing just as much classical music over the internet now as they used to play over the air."
"Well, that's fine for you and me who are tied to our desks most of the day and glued to our PCs. But Carol, she's running all over the house. She's not near the PC that often. And we can't put a PC in every room."
"I guess not. So what's she doing now?"
"Well, the whole thing finally came to a head one day when I came home and she greeted me at the door with a bottle of Wild Turkey in her hand."
"Jeez, no! She didn't start drinking home alone with the kids?"
"No, of course not! She was just waiting for me to get home so that I could look after the kids. Then, she poured herself a drink."
"What about her parents? I thought they lived nearby."
"Yes, they do, and they're pissed off at CBC too for changing the programming. Vern, as you may remember, used to be a minister and wouldn't normally even say the words 'pissed off', but he's royally pissed at CBC right now."
"No, no, I'm not talking about the CBC, I mean, don't they help out with the kids from time to time."
"Well, sure, they used to, but since Vern retired they've been hard to pin down. They're either at the cottage, driving to or from the cottage, or on vacation somewhere. Just this summer Vern and Martha drove out to Vancouver. Then, when they came back, they went out to St. John's for a couple of weeks. Vern described it as 'listening to CBC Radio Two, coast to coast'.
"So, they're big CBC Radio Two fans too, huh? Must run in the family."
"Well, they used to be Radio Two fans. CBC Radio Two was always a big part of their daily lives - they always had a radio going on in the house, tuned to Radio Two. Until, that is, CBC replaced 'Music for a While' and 'In Peformance' with 'Tonic' and 'Canada Live'."
"What, that happened sometime back in 2007, didn't it? In March or April of 2007? I've been reading this guy Wooten's blog, and he's been harping on this ever since then."
"Yeah, that's right, Vern first mentioned it sometime in the spring last year. This summer, he finally got so irritated by the crap (as he puts it) that they feature on 'Canada Live' that he threw the radio into the lake from the cottage porch. And that took some throw - must've been 30 yards or so. He used to QB his high school football team, y'know."
"Well, that's impressive for an old guy."
"Yeah, and the even more impressive thing is that he spent the whole next day diving to find the radio. Martha said she didn't want the radio polluting the lake, because of all the lead and whatnot in the radio."
"So what are you going to do about Carol. Wild Turkey is no replacement for CBC Radio Two."
"Well, problem solved. I went out the next day and bought her three Sirius satellite radio receivers and put one on every floor of the house. Now, she can have Classical music from 'Symphony Hall' or Opera from 'Met Opera Radio' 24/7."
"It's a bit expensive, isn't it, to have a subscription for three receivers, not to mention the three receivers in the house?"
"Well, yeah, it's not as cheap as having a $29.95 radio in every room of the house and receiving music for free over the air. That's one of the things that bugs Carol and me so much - now we have to pay twice - we support CBC Radio with our tax dollars, but don't use their service, and have to pay for satellite radio."
"CBC is one of the owners of Sirius, isn't it? Maybe the programming changes were a clever plot to promote Sirius satellite radio subscriptions."
"I think you've been reading too much Grisham, Ted. But I'll look into it once I'm an ADM."
Friday, October 3, 2008
2 Days Later: Still no responses from the candidates in Carleton-Mississippi Mills
It's now been two days since I sent my question asking the candidates in Carleton-Mississippi Mills (the Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Jake Cole, Justin MacKinnon and Paul Arbour) their policy on making CBC Management more responsive to the wishes of Canadians, and still no reply.
Some may consider this a small, picayune issue - but how many other issues are there that (a) affect your lives directly and (b) the members of Parliament and government of the day can actually do something about?
Sure, health care and the lack of doctors is an issue - but will this issue be fixed overnight? No, it is the result of 30 years of neglect of health care that has led to the present crisis.
The price of gas? Candidates may posture, make promises, bluster in aggrieved tones, but again, there is no simple solution and, the fact is, the price of gas is determined by global market forces and can not be controlled by the government of the day.
The war in Afghanistan? Once again, there's no easy solution. Of course, promises can be made to end our involvement - I believe the latest date is 2011 - but the truth of the matter is that Canada's role in NATO and our relationship with the U.S. will determine our policy here.
Food prices? Again, prices fluctuate due to global demand, the cost of production, the impact of market speculators, the weather - once again, for the most part factors that can not be controlled by the government.
Making the CBC more responsive to the wishes of its shareholders, the taxpayers of Canada? Restoring funding to the CBC Radio Orchestra? Reversing the cuts to the Arts programs that have recently been instituted by the Conservative government? Now, these are things that can easily be done with a telephone call and several meetings between the Minister of Heritage and CBC management.
Is this still such a small issue that it can be ignored? Will voters care? Or will voters rise up in righteous wrath and vote for a candidate and party that will actully reflect their wishes?
Some may consider this a small, picayune issue - but how many other issues are there that (a) affect your lives directly and (b) the members of Parliament and government of the day can actually do something about?
Sure, health care and the lack of doctors is an issue - but will this issue be fixed overnight? No, it is the result of 30 years of neglect of health care that has led to the present crisis.
The price of gas? Candidates may posture, make promises, bluster in aggrieved tones, but again, there is no simple solution and, the fact is, the price of gas is determined by global market forces and can not be controlled by the government of the day.
The war in Afghanistan? Once again, there's no easy solution. Of course, promises can be made to end our involvement - I believe the latest date is 2011 - but the truth of the matter is that Canada's role in NATO and our relationship with the U.S. will determine our policy here.
Food prices? Again, prices fluctuate due to global demand, the cost of production, the impact of market speculators, the weather - once again, for the most part factors that can not be controlled by the government.
Making the CBC more responsive to the wishes of its shareholders, the taxpayers of Canada? Restoring funding to the CBC Radio Orchestra? Reversing the cuts to the Arts programs that have recently been instituted by the Conservative government? Now, these are things that can easily be done with a telephone call and several meetings between the Minister of Heritage and CBC management.
Is this still such a small issue that it can be ignored? Will voters care? Or will voters rise up in righteous wrath and vote for a candidate and party that will actully reflect their wishes?
Saturday, June 14, 2008
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?
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?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
28 Cuts Later …
I first began this blog one year ago on April 28, 2007 to express my dissatisfaction at the changes to the CBC Radio Two evening schedule and to provide a forum where other CBC Radio Two listeners could express their opinions concerning the Radio Two programming changes. So what has happened in the past year, since April 28 2007? Well, quite a bit, as it turns out.
Weekend classical programming has been eviscerated. The CBC Radio Orchestra is being disbanded. The classical music budget for CBC Records has been eliminated. CBC Radio management have announced that Music & Company, Here’s to You, Studio Sparks, Disc Drive and Sound Advice, all popular programs among CBC Radio Two listeners, are to be cut from the CBC Radio Two schedule.
Could it get any worse? It’s hard to imagine how it could.
In spite of petitions signed by concerned listeners, letters written to CBC Radio management, the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Heritage and protests in front of CBC buildings nation-wide, CBC management continues to force their vision, such as it is, of CBC Radio upon an increasingly resistant public. How will this end? Will CBC management succeed? Or will CBC Radio Two listeners, tired of being taken for granted, rise up and shout “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore”?
As always, it’s up to you to make your voice heard!
Weekend classical programming has been eviscerated. The CBC Radio Orchestra is being disbanded. The classical music budget for CBC Records has been eliminated. CBC Radio management have announced that Music & Company, Here’s to You, Studio Sparks, Disc Drive and Sound Advice, all popular programs among CBC Radio Two listeners, are to be cut from the CBC Radio Two schedule.
Could it get any worse? It’s hard to imagine how it could.
In spite of petitions signed by concerned listeners, letters written to CBC Radio management, the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Heritage and protests in front of CBC buildings nation-wide, CBC management continues to force their vision, such as it is, of CBC Radio upon an increasingly resistant public. How will this end? Will CBC management succeed? Or will CBC Radio Two listeners, tired of being taken for granted, rise up and shout “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore”?
As always, it’s up to you to make your voice heard!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Protest Rally for the CBC Radio Orchestra, April 20 2008
The following press release was issued April 16 by the Save the CBC Orchestra Committee.
Please attend if you can!
HUGE RALLY TO SAVE CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA
SUNDAY APRIL 20 AT 2 P.M. AT THE CHAN CENTRE AT UBC
Wednesday April 16, 2008 … Standing on guard for the CBC Radio Orchestra, April 20 at 2:00 pm CBC Radio Two listeners are following up on last week’s successful staging of a coast to coast National Day Of Action to demand CBC brass back down on their apparent systematic destruction of the Radio 2 network and their decision to replace it with programming completely foreign to its core audiences. The rally Sunday is a call to the CBC Board and Management to restore the CBC Radio Orchestra within a revitalized CBC Radio Two.
The rally on Sunday starting at 2:00 pm is an hour before the orchestra’s regularly scheduled, and nearly sold-out, performance at 3:00 pm.
The natural amphitheatre at the Chan entrance is a dramatic location, which will accommodate an impressive number of supporters, while allowing the 1,200 concert-goers easy access.
“It’s not the usual sort of prelude to an afternoon of live music at the Chan” said Canadian Music Centre head Colin Miles. “This situation has become a flashpoint for the general downgrading of CBC by the people who have been entrusted with our precious public broadcasting system."
“We are seeing the end of a cultural treasure that serves Canadians coast to coast and is an essential player in our musical exports to the world. Elimination of the CBC Orchestra is the destruction of our ability to tell our stories. It amounts to censorship and stifling of free expression of our composers" he stated.
“At 2 cents per year per person, how can CBC management, the board and Parliament agree to this? The issue has now been raised on the floor of the House of Commons and we will be keeping the pressure up.” added Colin Miles.
Three years ago CBC management stopped the CBC Orchestra from working in the studio to record music for broadcast and CDs and told they could only give public performances. Renting concert halls and paying for publicity to promote concerts is expensive. This orchestra has a recording studio that was built for them and well trained creative producer, recording engineer and orchestra librarian on staff. CBC management needs to be reminded what power in creating programming they have by keeping their orchestra. We are calling on CBC to restore the orchestra and get the musicians back into the studio to do what they do best for the benefit of all of Canada. As the CBC Radio Orchestra's own webpage states "With an audience as diverse as the Canadian experience, we create engaging musical radio programs, commission and perform new works as well as established classics, and showcase exceptional Canadian performers and conductors."
Rally organized by:
Save the CBC Orchestra Committee
Based in Vancouver, Reaching Across the Country
For more information:
Joan Athey 250-294-6040 to April 18 604-908-9124 April 18, 19 & 20.
Laurie Townsend 604-822-9161
www.StandOnGuardforCBC.ca
Please attend if you can!
HUGE RALLY TO SAVE CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA
SUNDAY APRIL 20 AT 2 P.M. AT THE CHAN CENTRE AT UBC
Wednesday April 16, 2008 … Standing on guard for the CBC Radio Orchestra, April 20 at 2:00 pm CBC Radio Two listeners are following up on last week’s successful staging of a coast to coast National Day Of Action to demand CBC brass back down on their apparent systematic destruction of the Radio 2 network and their decision to replace it with programming completely foreign to its core audiences. The rally Sunday is a call to the CBC Board and Management to restore the CBC Radio Orchestra within a revitalized CBC Radio Two.
The rally on Sunday starting at 2:00 pm is an hour before the orchestra’s regularly scheduled, and nearly sold-out, performance at 3:00 pm.
The natural amphitheatre at the Chan entrance is a dramatic location, which will accommodate an impressive number of supporters, while allowing the 1,200 concert-goers easy access.
“It’s not the usual sort of prelude to an afternoon of live music at the Chan” said Canadian Music Centre head Colin Miles. “This situation has become a flashpoint for the general downgrading of CBC by the people who have been entrusted with our precious public broadcasting system."
“We are seeing the end of a cultural treasure that serves Canadians coast to coast and is an essential player in our musical exports to the world. Elimination of the CBC Orchestra is the destruction of our ability to tell our stories. It amounts to censorship and stifling of free expression of our composers" he stated.
“At 2 cents per year per person, how can CBC management, the board and Parliament agree to this? The issue has now been raised on the floor of the House of Commons and we will be keeping the pressure up.” added Colin Miles.
Three years ago CBC management stopped the CBC Orchestra from working in the studio to record music for broadcast and CDs and told they could only give public performances. Renting concert halls and paying for publicity to promote concerts is expensive. This orchestra has a recording studio that was built for them and well trained creative producer, recording engineer and orchestra librarian on staff. CBC management needs to be reminded what power in creating programming they have by keeping their orchestra. We are calling on CBC to restore the orchestra and get the musicians back into the studio to do what they do best for the benefit of all of Canada. As the CBC Radio Orchestra's own webpage states "With an audience as diverse as the Canadian experience, we create engaging musical radio programs, commission and perform new works as well as established classics, and showcase exceptional Canadian performers and conductors."
Rally organized by:
Save the CBC Orchestra Committee
Based in Vancouver, Reaching Across the Country
For more information:
Joan Athey 250-294-6040 to April 18 604-908-9124 April 18, 19 & 20.
Laurie Townsend 604-822-9161
www.StandOnGuardforCBC.ca
Friday, April 4, 2008
National Day of Action to protest CBC changes, April 11 2008
A National Day of Action is planned for a number of Canadian cities to protest the recent decisions by CBC Radio management to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra and to reduce classical music programming on CBC Radio Two.
The Facebook site announcing the time and locations for the protests can be found here.
Having spent the past year writing letters to CBC Radio management, members of the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Heritage (with very little results, I might add) I am gratified to see Canadians rising up to protest the heavy-handed actions of CBC Radio management.
Let April 11 2008 be known in future years as Canada’s classical music equivalent to France’s Bastille Day, when citizens rose up and overthrew a tyrannical bureaucracy!
The Facebook site announcing the time and locations for the protests can be found here.
Having spent the past year writing letters to CBC Radio management, members of the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Heritage (with very little results, I might add) I am gratified to see Canadians rising up to protest the heavy-handed actions of CBC Radio management.
Let April 11 2008 be known in future years as Canada’s classical music equivalent to France’s Bastille Day, when citizens rose up and overthrew a tyrannical bureaucracy!
Friday, March 28, 2008
The War on Classical Music
In case you missed it, it was reported in this morning’s Globe and Mail that the CBC Radio Orchestra, a 70 year old institution in Canada, would be disbanded by November 2008.
This move was apparently announced to members of the orchestra in a closed-door meeting in Vancouver last night, March 27.
The Globe and Mail reports a CBC Radio spokesman as stating: "Really, it's straight up a case of economics.We couldn't afford to maintain the orchestra.”
The spokesman is also reported to have stated, when asked if the dismantling of the orchestra was related to the move away from classical music on CBC Radio, “No, no, not at all. [The commissioned works] will be orchestral music [and] will be very much a part of what we're doing as we go on." It is not reported whether the spokesman managed to state this with a straight face or not.
Well, as Ann Landers used to write (or perhaps it was Abigail van Buren, my memory fails me), wake up and smell the coffee, people! Of course it’s related to the move away from classical music on CBC Radio! In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a well-orchestrated (no pun intended) campaign against classical music taking place within the CBC for several years now, with the first outbreak of open hostilities being the cancellation of “Music for Awhile” and “In Performance” on March 19, 2007. The latest announcements of reduced classical programming during the day and the disbanding of the CBC Radio Orchestra are just mopping-up operations in that campaign.
What can you do? Write to your Member of Parliament. Write to members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (see the link to the right). Write to the Minister of Heritage. Write to the CBC Board of Governors (see also the link to the right). Write a letter to the newspaper. Sign the petitions listed on the right. During the next election, ask the candidate in your riding what he or she plans to do to ensure that CBC management begins to be accountable to its listeners and viewers.
This move was apparently announced to members of the orchestra in a closed-door meeting in Vancouver last night, March 27.
The Globe and Mail reports a CBC Radio spokesman as stating: "Really, it's straight up a case of economics.We couldn't afford to maintain the orchestra.”
The spokesman is also reported to have stated, when asked if the dismantling of the orchestra was related to the move away from classical music on CBC Radio, “No, no, not at all. [The commissioned works] will be orchestral music [and] will be very much a part of what we're doing as we go on." It is not reported whether the spokesman managed to state this with a straight face or not.
Well, as Ann Landers used to write (or perhaps it was Abigail van Buren, my memory fails me), wake up and smell the coffee, people! Of course it’s related to the move away from classical music on CBC Radio! In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a well-orchestrated (no pun intended) campaign against classical music taking place within the CBC for several years now, with the first outbreak of open hostilities being the cancellation of “Music for Awhile” and “In Performance” on March 19, 2007. The latest announcements of reduced classical programming during the day and the disbanding of the CBC Radio Orchestra are just mopping-up operations in that campaign.
What can you do? Write to your Member of Parliament. Write to members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (see the link to the right). Write to the Minister of Heritage. Write to the CBC Board of Governors (see also the link to the right). Write a letter to the newspaper. Sign the petitions listed on the right. During the next election, ask the candidate in your riding what he or she plans to do to ensure that CBC management begins to be accountable to its listeners and viewers.
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