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Harper Shooting up CBC CBCRO gone

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Please join the over 90,000 Canadians who have signed the AVAAZ petition

asking the federal government to provide appropriate funding to keep CBC alive.
And contact your MP and Heritage Minister James Moore to complain about the Federal government’s refusal to give the CBC bridge financing to get it through this coming fiscal year.

CANADIAN POLITICIANS WHO SUPPORT US:

• Which politicians support a revitalized CBC? Find out who on our SUPPORTERS page.
• We’re following cuts to arts and culture here.

CONCERNED CONCERT PRESENTERS take note: The Coalition provides a downloadable file that you can print in your programs to alert your audiences to the classical music crisis at CBC. You can get it on this page.

The last CBC Radio Orchestra concert was on Sunday November 16, 2008 at 3 pm at the Chan Centre, Vancouver. Here is the flyer we handed out at the concert.

The “New 2″ ad watch. At the same time that the CBC drastically cut its support for classical music, sometimes citing cost, it spent extravagantly – probably millions of dollars — on ads for the “New 2″ in the fall of 2008. Management has refused to divulge the cost of this campaign, yet we feel that politicians and the public should know it. Our repeated requests for this information, so that the Canadian public can know what the CBC has spent on these ads has met with refusal. Shouldn’t the public know where their tax dollars are going?

REGISTER TO COMMENT AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN THOUGHTS

The coalition established this web site to document changes at the CBC and to provide citizens and listeners with a public forum for the free expression of their thoughts and ideas about our public broadcaster. This web site will serve as a permanent resource for public commentary. Members of the public are encouraged to register on the site and let your opinion be known to the powers that control and fund the CBC of your concerns about the direction the corporation is taking. Read more.

AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT ON OUR SUPPORTERS page.

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It amazes me that at a time when Canada is riding the commodities wave to unprecedented wealth, with most levels of government experiencing budgetary surpluses, that we are ridding ourselves of [the CBC Radio] orchestra. If this is how we are when in fortune, how will we be when in misfortune? How much culture exactly can we do without before we have become lifeless, corporate drones? I believe that both in good and bad times we need beautiful music.

-Yann Martel, author, Life of Pi

About Us

We are passionate about public broadcasting and the CBC’s role in Canadian culture. The CBC gives voice to citizens across this vast country.

Our current campaign aims to reverse the CBC management decision to eliminate the CBC Radio Orchestra by November 2008 and drastically reduce intelligent and sensitive classical music programming on Radio 2.

Radio orchestras are internationally recognized as essential and independent voices of a nation’s creativity. The CBC Radio Orchestra’s history of fostering new talent in many genres helps make stronger the nation’s cultural fabric. That strengthened cultural fabric leads to deeper understanding, both nationally and internationally, of who we are as Canadians.

Similarly, we are deeply worried by programming changes to CBC Radio 2. Despite statements to the contrary by the CBC, there will be far less programming devoted to classical music, and less time for Canadian composers and performers to be heard. This will drastically reduce opportunities for Canadian musicians whose choice and strength is in classical music and who deserve to be heard and appreciated, here, and around the world.

We are calling on the CBC board and management to:
Restore the CBC Radio Orchestra within a revitalized CBC Radio that includes intelligent sensitive programming of classical music broadcast in prime-time hours.

We are calling on individuals, politicians, and leaders to argue vigorously for the following four objectives:

1.       Changes in the standards and criteria that guide government in making appointments to the CBC Board of Governors, so that people with long artistic experience are dominant there
2.       Strong and effective arrangements are made to ensure that listeners have a say in the overall direction of programming—e.g., listeners’ panels in the regions, and a national panel, too—with annual reports to the public on CBC performance and quality
3.       Open meetings of the CBC Board, and open access to their records on all but personnel and real estate matters
4.       Sustained budget increases to reach 1994 levels in inflation-adjusted funds

If you agree to lend your name to our nationwide efforts, you can start by registering on the site which will allow you to comment on articles you find here, signing petitions, and continue by writing letters to CBC and government to ask for changes. This site is full of information to help you understand the issues, as well as materials for letter-writing, petitioning, and rallies you may download, print, copy and distribute, plus other tools to help spread the word. Once registered, you can also submit your own writing on the issues to be considered for publication on this web site by writing to standonguardforcbc [at] earsay [dot] com with a request to elevate your status from “subscriber” to “contributor”.

If you represent an organization, business, or arts presenter, we would like you to consider hosting a letter writing campaign and/or petition placement at your office or upcoming event. There are samples of both on our website: click on “You Can Take Action” menu. Addresses of politicians and CBC management are there too.

If you or your organization support this cause and would like your name included on our list of supporters, please click here.

Together we can affect change!

Join us!

The Stand On Guard for CBC Coalition

THANKS and keep going!

The Stand on Guard for CBC Coalition would like to thank the hundreds of donors and volunteers who’ve donated thousands of dollars and hours since March 27 to voice our concerns about the orchestra and Radio 2 changes and to bring them to the attention of politicians and CBC management.
Thanks also to the thousands who’ve written letters and signed petitions.
The struggle continues!

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