Somebody at the CBC apparently has leaked the CBC’s “talking points” around changes to Radio Two to 31-year-old Saskatchewan resident Peter McGillivray. He posted it in a Facebook group formed to protest the changes.
Among the points:
Claim: Live performance broadcasts of classical music have been significantly cut back.
Fact: Last fall Radio 2 introduced a new, weekly four-hour classical performance show called Sunday Afternoon in Concert - New nightly program The Signal (10pm - 1pm) regularly airs contemporary classical performances from across the country.
Claim: Degradation of Good Music
Fact: Let’s not confuse quality of music with style of music: CBC is committed to introducing Canadians to quality Canadian Music. it’s a key value that drives all decision-making; We’re broadening the genres we play in order to better meet our mandate of representing all regions and the broad range of music performed by Canadians.
Claim: Focus on commercially lucrative music
Fact: - In fact, we’re doing the exact opposite: Commercial radio only plays .8% of the Canadian music produced in any given year; We’re going to go deeper exposing a lot more recorded Canadian talent that deserves to be heard; As a public broadcaster Radio2 doesn’t, has never and has no plans to run advertising on air.
Claim: CBC’s abandoning mandate by moving away from Classical Music.
Fact: Untrue. CBC’s mandate is to reflect the regions, the people and the music of this country: By broadening the range of music we play we will do a much better job of meeting our mandate.
Claim: Competing with private radio for pop music crowd
Fact: Not true: Private radio plays select few, in focused genre, in regular rotation; Radio 2 morning and drive programs wil play more emerging Candian talent in genres ranging fro blues to jazz to folk to roots and more; in between, five hours per day, we will continue to feature classical music.
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| CBC Radio 2, Changes to CBC Radio Two |
I remember the good old days when about 14 hours of classical music were played every WEEKDAY. Now, only 5 hours of classical during the day, plus 2 or 3 classical shows on weekends?
Claim: - Live performance broadcasts of classical music have been significantly cut back.
Fact: - Last fall Radio 2 introduced a new, weekly four-hour classical performance show called Sunday Afternoon in Concert
- New nightly program The Signal (10pm - 1pm) regularly airs contemporary classical performances from across the country.
Other facts that they don’t tell you: There used to be 4 hours of recorded classical concerts on CBC 2 every weekday. This was then reduced to 2 hours when “Take Five” was replaced by Here’s to You and Studio Sparks, but there was still In Performance. There used to be OnStage (when it played classical concerts) and Two New Hours. and Two New Hours didn’t have contemporary pop stuff mixed in.
now that the talking points are out it in public it just means that cbc pr people will have to work overtime through the night - all week long - to come up with more of this nonsense. people have been reacting forcefully to it for the past several weeks.
now that the talking points are out it in public it just means that cbc pr people will have to work overtime through the night - all week long - well into next month to come up with more of these lame excuses for destroying a cultural treasure.
people have been reacting forcefully to it for the past several weeks. just have a read of the comments on the facebook sight or the radio2 forum petition. people are upset and angry, it’s only poorly informed cbc executives that need talking points because clearly they’ve not been listeners to radio two.
This is still a pretty fundamental and sudden shift- and doesn’t seem to be one supported by its listeners…. plus I’m going to fall to pieces without Tom Allen in the morning.
The PR statement is: “We’re broadening the genres we play in order to better meet our mandate of representing all regions and the broad range of music performed by Canadians.”
Multiculturalism (including subcultures within Canadian society, some originating from other countries and others homegrown) has always, to me, seemed to be an “adding to,” not a “taking away” – an enrichment of our culture, not a watering down. Classical European music is a hoard of cultural treasure that we have to offer all new immigrants, just as they offer to us their traditional music.
I am sure the audience for European classical music is just as large as it used to be, in fact much larger. Many people of non-European origins have become devotees of European classical music. Think of all the superb Asian violinists, cellists, and others.
Canada has many many more people than in the past. That means we can have more culture, not less. The CBC is OURS!! Let’s add a CBC World Music Orchestra. And let’s cherish our dearly loved CBC Radio Orchestra.
I would like to provide some analysis of some of the claims advanced in these talking points.
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Claim: Live performance broadcasts of classical music have been significantly cut back.
Fact: Actually, we’ve added a new four-hour classical performance show…
Analysis: This talking point attempts to bamboozle us with a linguistic trick: shifting attention to LIVE classical music broadcasts. People are concerned about the decline in TOTAL classical music broadcasts, live and recorded. The total has been in decline for the past few years, and it is about to decline precipitously.
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Claim: Claim: Focus on commercially lucrative music
Fact: - In fact, we’re doing the exact opposite: Commercial radio only plays .8% of the Canadian music produced in any given year; We’re going to go deeper exposing a lot more recorded Canadian talent, etc.
Analysis: As I noted in another post, the big Globe and Mail ad lists the major music labels as some of the top supporters of the change to Radio 2. Clearly, the major labels are licking their chops at the prospect of pushing their preferred artists on the new, adult contemporary Radio 2. Ask yourself this simple question: if the “new” radio 2 was really going to be so indie and non-commercial, why would the major labels be so enthusiastic about it?
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Claim: Competing with private radio for the pop music crowd.
Fact: No, we will be playing newer artists and more varied genres…
Analysis: The new CBC Radio 2 will be more like the pop music stations than it was before. It may not occupy exactly the same terrain as a pop station, but it will certainly may appeal more to pop listeners. Therefore, regardless of whether it is _attempting_ to compete with the pop stations, it _is_ competing more with them.
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Claim: - Classical music gutted by cancellation of Studio Sparks and Disc Drive
Fact: - In September Radio2 is introducing a new weekday, five hour classical program that will run from 10am to 3pm
Analysis: Everyone knows that an attempt is being made to cut back on classical music at Radio 2. Disc Drive is a program that many people love. To suggest that “classical music is being gutted” is a mere claim is to engage in ridiculous prevarication.
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Claim: Radio 2 has a big audience.
Fact: Radio 2 does not have a a huge audience in Canada: According to latest BBM, of Canadians who listen to radio, only 3.1% listen to Radio 2; Research (Arts and Culture Study /06) tells us the reason many Canadians don’t listen is because CBC doesn’t represent them, their taste in music, their cultural roots or the region of the country where they live.
Analysis: Granted, Radio 2 does not have the biggest audience. However, 3.1% of ALL Canadian radio listeners is a very large group of people (especially when one factors in Quebec, which may listen to Francophone alternatives). This large group of people, who presumably like Radio 2 for the classical music, are being abandoned for a as-yet-mythical group of people who would, supposedly, listen to Radio 2 if only it were reflected “their taste in music.” This seems like a foolish abandonment of loyal, lifelong CBC listeners.
I have read the entire list of “Claims” and “Facts”, and the one complaint that the CBC does not address is the fact that while they say they will still play a majority of classical music, it will be during the afternoon, when no one can tune in and listen (most of us and school or jobs to go to!). Also, by the CBC’s own admission, the classical music they intend to play will be kept confined to “the most accessible” classics (get ready for Beethoven’s 9th on loop!). No longer will we have access to the less known classical gems. CBC will turn into the “Top 40″ of classical music stations.
“Claim: - Radio 2 still maintains a huge audience in Canada.
Fact: - Radio 2 does not have a a huge audience in Canada: According to latest BBM, of Canadians who listen to radio, only 3.1% listen to Radio 2; Research (Arts and Culture Study /06) tells us the reason many Canadians don’t listen is because CBC doesn’t represent them, their taste in music, their cultural roots or the region of the country where they live.
-Goal of redevelopment is to make the network more relevant to more Canadians while maintaining our strong commitment to classical music.”
The whole point of having a public broadcaster is that it doesn’t have to cater to popular tastes. That’s what commercial radio is for. Should publicly funded art galleries be worried if only 3.1% of their city’s inhabitants want to come and look at their paintings? Even if it’s true that so many Canadians don’t support the arts, that’s all the more reason for CBC to support them. Their role is to educate, not to pander. CBC is one of the main reasons why I grew to love classical music in the first place.
I too will find mornings without Tom Allen, mornings to leave the radio off, or find some other, possibly, middle-of-the-road classical station. Sacrificing talent like Tom Allen for the sake of programming changes which are largely unpalatable to the listener base, is a self-desctructive approach. Watch the implosion! By the way, whenever I have listened to the “Signal”, it has never had any classical music component, just more-or-less very weird and strange noise, referred to by some, as music, but not music to my ears.
Whether it is Tom Allen or Jurgen Gothe, we classical listeners on Radio 2 are a dedicated bunch of people who value the quality of the programming that has been established over many years. William Tritt, who passed away years ago, was a best friend of mine and an excellent Canadian classical pianist. I have the opportunity to hear him played on Radio 2 on a fairly regular basis. I greatly fear that any new show that plays the more popular classics will not give me this opportunity. There are lots of popular channels out there for listening to the more accessible and often played classics. Whose “cultural roots” and tastes are the CBC trying to reflect or cater to? That is the really big question. I would love to see their research on this subject and know exactly what audience they are targeting. As must be obvious from these posts, it is not their long-term faithful supporters.
I fully agree with David Gill. I live in the Ottawa area and have gone to the National Gallery, Museum of Nature, etc. perhaps six times total over the last twenty years. I’m not against art galleries, etc. but find listening to the radio (particularly Radio 2) much more engaging.
It’s because of Radio 2 that I’ve had the opportunity to hear the Alcan Quartet, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, Hein und Oss (courtesy of Jurgen Gothe), the Arrogant Worms, the Five Browns, Blossom Dearie and many, many others. Programs such as the ones being cancelled and those before them (RSVP, Mostly Music, etc.) bring the music of many cultures, including Canada, to our radios and enrich all our lives.
I currently sing in two choirs in the area and have sung works by Healey Willan , R. Murray Schafer, Stephen Hatfield and many others. I enjoy singing these works but often prefer the classical works, many of which I first heard of on CBC. My fear is that once CBC completes the proposed changes it will become a more “vanilla” corporation - by this, I mean that they will not take as many chances as before.
The CBC is a Crown Corporation and is “owned” by all of us, including the management and employees of the Corporation. It is in their best interests to keep all the “owners”, whether they live in the Eastern, Western or Central provinces or Northern territories, happy.
Why are we getting a publicly-funded Muzak station? I’m in my 40s – I’ve always listened to CBC Radio One and Two because they offer intelligence and depth – something I don’t find on commercial airwaves. However, I can find “light contemporary” anywhere – in my building’s elevator, on commercial radio…. What bothers CBC executives about intelligence and depth? Sound Advice is gone – please, please save Disc Drive, our wonderful cornucopia of music from all genres. Jurgen Gothe – how lucky we have been to have such a host with such knowledge of all things musical. There’s not much left to be proud of as a Canadian – for me, CBC is about it. Our public broadcaster has been the envy of many – those in charge seem to want to cripple it – maybe there’s a hidden agenda here – once it’s transformed into just another pop station, what’s the justification for funding it as a commercial-free public broadcaster?
I listen to CBC Radio (One and Two) because I was made aware of it while I was growing up at home - it already offers a wide variety, that’s not the problem. The suits have done a poor job of making the public aware of what’s available via this resource. I’ve turned many on to CBC - they were surprised to find that it catered to their musical tastes, whatever those were.
A lot of these “arguments” are entirely misleading. 20% they’ll play Classical music. That is not dominance, that’s just a fraction not large enough to keep my interest. They’ll also be canceling both programs I listen to daily - Tom Allen’s, and Disc Drive. If Music for a While –> Tonic is any indication of the changes to come, that’s that for me and the CBC.
By the way, whenever I have listened to the “Signal”, it has never had any classical music component, just more-or-less very weird and strange noise, referred to by some, as music, but not music to my ears
So, your definition of classical music doesn’t include contemporary art music? You’re really not helping the ol’ R2-as-bastion-of-culture argument here, as I don’t think there are any Canadian composers of note in the official mid-1700s to mid-1800s Classical period.
Kev plays the bad cop, have you noticed that?
I’m horrified by the casting off of classical music listeners. The shows CBC are cutting are not stuffy “long hair” affairs. They provide thoughtful entertainment for some of us who like to exercise our brains and appreciate great artistry as well. I will not be tuning in to the new morning show for my ride to work - where can we go now for something decent, NPR?
We really don’t have enough live-concert-recording programs on CBC 2. Symphony Hall was the most recent of this kind of program to die off. It was replaced by the inanity that is “In the Key of Charles”. I think that was one of CBC Radio 2’s worse programming decisions (as if getting rid of Music for a While, Two New Hours et al. in March 2007 wasn’t bad enough.)
“Let’s not confuse quality of music with style of music: CBC is committed to introducing Canadians to quality Canadian Music. it’s a key value that drives all decision-making”
How exactly do you define “quality Canadian Music”? Surely it should be of high professional standard, or have distinctive local character, or be making a buzz nationally or internationally, or be interesting in some other way?
What has apparently been passing for “quality Canadian Music” in the new evening performance shows has too often been out-of-tune, undistinctive and uninteresting. I’m extremely upset that this sort of programming is slowly taking over Radio Two.
And what will mornings be like without Tom Allen and Music and Company?
It’s not the end of an era, it’s the end of an institution. The institution has changed greatly over the years and now it’s in its final decline. The move from Music for Awhile to Tonic is the perfect indication of what the CBC has been and what it will become in the fall. But they’re not listening to us.
A few hours after I posted the above, I was driving and listening to Here’s to You. Catherine was playing a lovely Tallis Mass and when it ended she named the gentleman who had requested it and who also challenged listeners to come up with their “own favourite Latin masses”! Now, where else but Radio 2 could you hear a mass in Latin, requested by someone who loves serious music, and who just took it for granted that there were people in the audience who loved Latin masses? That’s what we’re going to lose.
E-mail your MP and demand the resignation of the CBC management of Radio 2. The full page advert in the Globe demonstrates that they are starting to feel the heat. Push back some more folks!
Now, where else but Radio 2 could you hear a mass in Latin, requested by someone who loves serious music, and who just took it for granted that there were people in the audience who loved Latin masses?
You’ve finally convinced me, especially since by extension I can now demand a 24/7 TV channel devoted to freeflight model aircraft. (And none of that RTF crap either, balsa and tissue only! Those darned kids with their satanically valveless radio transmitters aren’t really experiencing the joy of modelling, and their planes are so ugly and noisy!)
So now that these “talking points” have been made public, the new CBC strategy to deal with critics is to try to ridicule them by posting ignorant, rambling rebuttals under the name “Kev?” Sorry, won’t work: I still think CBC2 was better before these changes started in March of last year.
I welcome the changes to Radio 2 and I am in that slightly older demographic that would normally be content with things as they are. I almost remember the Radio Revolution that gave us The World at Eight (and Six), As It Happens, This Country in the Morning, and many others. That change was imitated by broadcasters around the world. Let’s give the pooh-bahs the benefit of the doubt; a new, improved Radio 2 might become a nationally loved institution too.
We used to have “Music for a while” every evening. Well chosen, well presented, always interesting music. Now we have “Tonic”. Why? Because apparently it was not tonic enough, in other words, “too boring”. This change says it all. Now, if even Tom Allen disappears from our radio, this is the end indeed. Let’s demand the resignation of the whole CBC management team.
This is sounding more and more like the rant of the old fogies. “Don’t ever change a thing. Don’t move my cheese. Don’t ever evolve”
Get over yourselves and get on with it. The stuff we hear on CBC today got there because somewhat had the guts to make changes way back when. The fact that so little has changed over the past 15 years is the appalling fact here, not what you whiners are claiming.
You’re not the only people in this country (thank gawd). So what the public broadcaster plays shouldn’t only be about you; your taste and your judgement. It’s about time the rest of the country gets its chance to be heard.
to hide behind initials is not terribly brave. want to say something, good.
first know what you are talking about. Radio two is about intelligent and eclectic programming. Now it will be ordinary programming.
Support the best and don’t apologize for doing so. Radio two has a loyal audience that is prepared to stand up for what it likes. We have done so in the past, and will do so again.
We have many exceptional arts organizations in this country - among them the National Ballet, the National Gallery, NSCAD, Stratford and Radio Two - to name but a few. We are trying to prevent Radio two from falling into the realm of the ordinary - not fighting change.
Old fogies? Hardly. I’m 28, and there are many like me. There’s a Facebook group on the subject with over 12,000 people, many of whom are high school or university students. This is about culture — don’t try to make it about age.
I’m 22, and I dig classical music in a big way. I used to listen to Radio 2 a great deal, but over the last few years, I’ve become one of those newfangled kids who only consumes media on the Internet. Were Radio 2 providing material over the Internet at a minimum of 128 Kb/s, perhaps I’d still be listening; as it is, seeing one of the fixtures of my youth and adolescence disappear saddens me.
This is yet another deeply disappointing decision by the CBC. As a 38 year old, I do not feel I fall into the implied category of older listeners, nor do I feel that my taste is so obscure as to not address a larger audience. Radio 2 is the only radio station in Nova Scotia where one can hear classical music. I resent the claim that it’s ok, we’re putting it on the computer. Well, I can’t stay in my office all day long to listen to it - my radio is in my kitchen. And what about the many Canadians who cannot afford a computer? Do they not count? Are their needs not important? This also plays into the spread of subscription radio. Many people, including myself, cannot afford to pay for a subscription to a radio station, and resent the possibility that we may need to.
My father, Frank Stalley, worked in the CBC for over 30 years, and he would be horrified at the proposed changes. Not because he was a stick-in-the-mud reactionary, but because he was very proud of the support the CBC gave to non-commercial artists; musicians who had valid and fascinating works to share but who, due to the complexity of their work, were seldom given radio exposure. He would be deeply saddened at this new turn of events. It makes almost glad he’s dead, that he cannot see this.
If I could figure out how not to get arrested, and the percentage of my taxes that go to fund the CBC, I’d withhold them. The CBC is betraying its mandate.
O, and closing the comments after 7 days? - cowardly.
The old audience for CBC2 is being ditched for whom? The music on Signal, for example, is
sometimes unlistenable. Toward the end of the program, Tonic often drifts into music which makes me wonder: who actually likes this stuff? Now Tom Allan, Eric Friesen and Jurgan Gothe are on their way out. Frankly I don’t think management knows what they’re doing. Will exchanging excellence for mediocrity bring a new audience? I don’t think so.
younger and less classical, eh?
Where’s Brave New Waves?
The whole point of a public broadcaster is to broadcast that which cannot make its own way commercially.
Nobody, as far as I can see, has complained about the gutting of late-night/early morning programming, the most recent(?) example being “That time of the night” broadcast from 11 p.mn to 1 a,m,. every weeknight. Classical and non-classical music,. perfect to drop off to.
And now? Repeats of Quirks and Quarks and - god help us! - Randy’s Vinyl Tap (the “Vinyl Pratt” as my wife calls him).
Cheap radio, of course, as is what follows from Radio Nederlands, the BBCm Radio Prague, etc, etc,
CHEAPSKATES is what the idiots currently running the CBC are.