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The new CBC Radio 2: Dumbed down or daring – Vancouver Sun
By kanei | September 5, 2008
Nicholas Read, Vancouver Sun
September 3, 2008
VANCOUVER – Earlier this week the Vancouver Sun invited readers to comment on changes made to CBC Radio 2 on Tuesday. That was the day the national broadcaster switched from primarily a classical music format to one emphasizing pop, jazz and blues. Classical music is now confined to five hours in the middle of the workday and some weekend hours.
With only one exception, the almost 100 e-mails received by The Sun as of midday Wednesday said CBC has made a serious mistake that would have a deleterious effect on how much classical music is produced in this country, on the level of exposure young children will now have to classical music, and on the very cultural life of Canada.
Former CBC host Paul Griffin, of Surrey, wrote: “I do recall that we were required by the CRTC to maintain a certain minimum percentage of Canadian content in our musical selections. We would record in minute detail all music played, and I was told a royalty was eventually paid to the Canadian musician, composer, artist, producer, etc.
“I wonder what effect the loss of such royalties will have on the livelihood of classical artists in Canada now that CBC Radio 2 has decided to abandon its classical roots. I also have purchased dozens of Canadian classical recordings after having been introduced to them on CBC Radio 2.”
Joanna Vanderpol, also of Surrey, wrote: “I’m a librarian at a private school and those mornings when I make my way down one particular short hallway before school starts, CBC wafts from three classrooms. Many of the students who are at their lockers don’t mind the music, and then I think ‘Wow, they’re getting a bit of classical music education.’ Now these three teachers will not be listening to CBC any more.”
That thought was echoed by University of Calgary instructor John Kadz who wrote: “My students are brilliant young people, many from immigrant families, who have a love of what one would call the fine arts. They pursue excellence.
“The recent programming decisions made at CBC are destroying one of the truly exceptional institutions in this country. What a shame young people of intellectual and artistic depth will no longer have access to what I had as a young man in this country – a thoughtful, uplifting and intellectually stimulating national radio station.”
Vancouver violin teacher Allison Sloan wrote that it was a misconception that young people aren’t interested in classical music, and that CBC was doing them disservice by cutting back its classical music programming. “There was an article by [CBC Radio programming director] Chris Boyce published in the Sun on May 14 about the changes to Radio 2, and that classical music would only be played between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., which I posted in my studio,” she wrote.
“I was fascinated by the response; my students were really upset. One 12-year-old said ‘That’s crazy. I’m in school then so I can’t listen!’ I learned that most of my students (ranging in age from nine to 18) have regularly listened to CBC Radio 2 on their way to and from school.”
Paul Ohannesian of Vancouver worried about what reducing public exposure to recorded classical music will mean to the availability of the live product in Canada. “It has been a fact of life for many years that music programs in the schools have been among the first programs to be eliminated when governments get it into their heads to economize,” he wrote.
“Unless young people are exposed to the treasury of classical music in a meaningful way, they will quite probably form a part of the general population in adulthood who are indifferent to this foundation stone of our culture and who are thus deprived of the deep pleasure that can be received from such music.
“The will be more of what already happens: concerts by all manner of musicians – orchestral, choral, solo instrument – having a hard time attracting a younger audience.”
Michael Facon, also of Vancouver, also wondered what a reformatted CBC means to the over-all availability of classical music to Canadians. “What are the resources accessible now for those interested in classical music?” he asked.
“1) Live performances, of which there are many in Vancouver. This does not help if you live out of town.
“2) Digital cable. Shaw offers three good channels of classical music, some produced by the CBC. The selections are good and the sound quality if very good. A good place to discover new composers. But you need access to a cable service that carries the channels.
“3) Internet. There are many streaming classical music stations [including a new one introduced Tuesday by the CBC] . But you need a computer.
“4) Buy CDs. But outside of the large cities, the selection is very limited.
“None of these options is as good as Radio 2 used to be, which gave access to classical music to anybody anywhere in Canada.”
Special to the Sun
See Saturday’s edition of the Vancouver Sun to read Nicholas Read’s sequel to this article, incorporating contributions from Sun readers.
Topics: Articles about CBC, CBC, CBC Radio | 4 Comments »
4 Responses to “The new CBC Radio 2: Dumbed down or daring – Vancouver Sun”
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September 6th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
[...] Wednesday September 3, Vancouver Sun writer Nicholas Read wrote a followup piece to his first piece on the New CBC Radio 2 issue. This second installment recounted numerous [...]
September 6th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
For a list of the commentary from Vancouver Sun readers in response to this article, please see our separate post here: http://www.earsay.com/standonguardforcbc/2008/09/06/vancouver-sun-readers-say-cbc-has-made-a-big-mistake/
September 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I hate the changes. I hate the changes that were made last year and the changes that happened last week are even worse. It feels like a betrayal. Not only has the music I want to hear disappeared, but so have the voices.
It’s not like I can chose another station as a replacement. I think the managers at the CBC Radio 2 should be fired.
forlorn and furious in Courtenay BC
September 8th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I hate the changes to cbc 2 as well. Is anybody at cbc listening to the massive outpouring of negative feedback on their blogs, on sites like this one, in newspapers, on facebook, etc….. Now I’ve decided to add a comment to every one I can find. Btw, on cbc blogs, many of the negative comments are not being published. I sent 3 or 4 before one was posted. Also, I enjoy all genres of music, and have discovered lots of alternative music on cbc over the years. I thought that the loss of cbc radio 3 on weekends last year was awful, and now we’ve lost classical music in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings! The only time it’s on now is when everyone is at work. The drivel they’re playing on the morning show for example will never attract those “younger” listeners anyway. Thanks for having this site so that we can rant a little and actually get it posted. Eliza