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.

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 first day listening to the "new 2"

12:30 PM: The truck is loaded and we're on Highway 401, somewhere between Mississauga and Waterloo. I remember that I'm supposed to be listening to CBC Radio Two's new programming. I tune the radio to CBC Radio Two, to Julie Nesrallah's "Tempo". Mozart's Symphony No. 41 is playing and apparently all four movements are to be played today. Ms. Nesrallah's comments between the second and third movement are insightful and concise. This is how CBC Radio Two used to be, and should be! Too bad it is only between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

When it was first announced that Ms. Nesrallah would be hosting a show for five hours a day, five days a week, I wondered how Ms. Nesrallah would find the time to select pieces for the programming and write commentary on each. Perhaps it is cynical for me to think that this task is to be accomplished by playing all pieces in their entirety and by keeping commentary to a minimum. However, I have no objection to this and welcome this approach to programming. Please keep it up, Ms. Nesrallah! Unfortunately, we arrived in Waterloo at 1:00 PM and I had to turn the radio off, to move things into Alex's apartment.

4:10 PM: Driving to Canadian Tire to pick up charcoal for the barbecue while Ingrid and Alex shop for food at Food Basics. I tune to CBC Radio Two, to listen to Rich Terfry's new program, "Radio 2 Drive". I hear a performance that I initially believe to be a novelty act, either a precursor to Tiny Tim, or perhaps a Tiny Tim impersonator. I arrive at Canadian Tire and thankfully turn off the radio.

approx. 5:30 PM: Driving back to Toronto from Waterloo. I turn on the radio, again back to Rich Terfry's "Radio 2 Drive". We hear a singer that Rich describes as the "Voice of Cuba". Ingrid thinks that it's Cuban rap and asks me to turn the volume down. I tell her that it's all part of the "new 2" experience and we should listen. I turn the volume down. This is how CBC Radio features new Canadian content?

approx. 5:45 PM: Mr. Terfry introduces a collaboration between Robert Plant and Allison Krause. We listen. It's enjoyable.

approx. 5:55 PM: Mr. Terfry closes the program with a rendition of "Sweet City Woman", originally recorded by the Stampeders in 1971. I cringed when I heard this during the '70s and it still makes me cringe. Dear God, no, is this what the drive home show is going to be like?

To summarize my first day of listening to CBC Radio Two, or what little that I was able to listen to during our busy day of moving Alex from Toronto to Waterloo: as I expected, the new morning programming is too eclectic and inappropriate for the time of day. If I want to listen to Bob Dylan at 8:00 AM, I'll put on a CD or tune to a station that features '60s classic rock. If I want to listen to soul, or R&B, or jazz between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM, I'll do the same.

Rich Terfry's show had it's moments, but as I say, listening to one enjoyable piece only to be followed by an irritating, nauseating recording causes me to lunge for the next button on the radio. Dangerous when driving on the 401 during rush hour traffic.

Ms. Nesrallah's show was the only truly enjoyable moment of the day, at least for me. I may even start listening more often, switching from my much-beloved Sirius satellite radio "Symphony Hall". But then I, as a retiree (albeit at the ripe old age of 51), have the luxury of being able to listen to classical music during the middle of the day. The vast majority of Canadians don't - and that's the sad part of this whole sorry affair known a the "new 2".