Action of the Week – past actions
October-November: everyone working on elections, etc.
September 19
Revisit the videos of protest. If you have been listening to the New Radio 2 please take notes of your impressions of the programming and send your ideas or commentary to CBC audience relations 1-866-306-4636.
CBC INVITES LISTENERS TO ASK POLITICAL CANDIDATES QUESTIONS
Leadership, the environment and the economy have been hot topics during the first few days of the federal election campaign. What other election issues would you like to hear more about? Complete this CBC form (page may take a few seconds to load, then scroll down, and log in).
Attend any All-candidates meetings and ask tough questions to all candidates about what action they would take to
- ensure that candidates for the CBC Board of Directors be required to have minimum experience with public broadcasting and/or the arts and culture so that the Canadian people can feel that they have confidence in those who are running our public broadcaster?
- restore Radio 2 to the one million Canadian listeners who have been abandoned
- restore the CBC Radio Orchestra as a National Broadcasting Orchestra
- restore competitions that honour our young performers and composers (rather than make them into a Survival-style Reality TV show as Mark Steinmetz has suggested).
Political Action Team
End of August
Revisit the videos of protest.
Listen to Radio 2 this week, from the launch date of September 2 to Sunday September 7 and take notes of your impressions of the programming.
August 15-21
ACTION OF THE WEEK – TWO ACTIONS THIS WEEK!
1] VISIBILITY OF SUPPORT IS PARAMOUNT
The website is a phenomenal achievement, a major resource for the government and the CBC as well as the few media people who are dealing with our issues.
The diversity of reports and opinion pieces as well as the lists of supporters should provide an indication of the growing strength of our movement. In fact, the lists of individual supporters have been growing very slowly, while the very short lists of larger groupings (Associations, Concert Presenters, Cultural Institutions, Educational Institutions, Music Organizations and Musical Groups) have shown little movement since April.
When you look over the list, you may notice the absence of a group to which you belong, or whose members are obviously involved in our struggle.
ACTION: Call upon the director or administration of your group and request that they immediately add their own name and the group name to the list, or ask permission to do it on their behalf. Visibility of our support is an important tool.
2] WE NEED YOUR VISION! PLEASE RE-IMAGINE RADIO 2.
We want you to re-imagine a Radio 2 formulated to your own ideal specifications.
Please write a few BRIEF paragraphs in an email message to standonguardforcbc [at] earsay [dot] com before Aug. 21.
We’ll collate these ideas and formulate a document which may have multiple uses: to inspire press articles, rallies and parliamentarians. Forget what you don’t like about the changes you’ve heard so far. Tell us what you want Radio 2 to be.
Your vision matters. Together we can develop a station for intelligent, inspirational and educative cultural listening that will put the CBC executives and Board of Directors to shame.
Week of July 25
Do you have access to a colour printer? Do you find yourself chatting to people about the changes to CBC? Then print off a sheet of business cards to carry in your wallet or purse.
These nifty cards advertise the website address so that concerned citizens know where to go to join the mass of supporters – great to give out when talking about the cause to new people.
Download the cards here. They will print on Avery stock 08371, or you can print on normal paper and use a paper cutter.
Week of July 11
Week of June 27th
The Coalition will be working full steam ahead over the coming months. Please do your part and keep the pressure on. See this week’s Action of the Week below.
Week of June 20
The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has issued its Study on the Dismantling of the CBC Radio Orchestra, on CBC/Radio Canada’s Commitment to Classical Music and the Changes to CBC Radio 2. They were listening and have responded to a considerable degree to our concerns.
To read the Recommendations and Conclusions from the all-party committee, we recommend you go to the coalition website and view the report . It is a short, but illuminating read. To read the full report on the government website, click here.
After reading the report, send a note to The Heritage Committee Chair with some feedback. Thank them for their efforts and tell them what recommendations you like etc. Also, send your comments (could be cc in your e-mail) to the CBC execs (listed below).
Mr. Gary Schellenberger, MP, Chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
c/o Ms. Catherine Cuerrier, Clerk
CHPC [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Mr. Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO, CBC
ht [dot] lacroix [at] cbc [dot] ca
Mr. Tim Casgrain, Chair, CBC Board of Directors
e-mail c/o kathleen [dot] martin [at] cbc [dot] ca
Mr. Mark Steinmetz, Head, CBC Radio Music
mark_steinmetz [at] cbc [dot] ca
Keep spreading the word!
FYI – website has had over 208,000 hits to date. Thanks for visiting!
Week of June 13
Did you know that comments you leave for CBC are included in reports that go to senior executives and the board? Get those pens back out! Or make a phone call!
Telephone, e-mail, or write CBC Audience Relations and tell them two specific things about what you are hearing onRadio2, one positive and one negative. Be specific about what you do and don’t like on Radio2.
For example (positive): mention that you love the classical music content on Tom Allen’s morning program. Or perhaps you loved hearing the finals of the Montreal International Music Competition a few weeks
back that replaced the new evening program for a few days; that it was a lovely surprise to find such quality performances, repertoire, and commentary at that time of evening again as you’d pretty much given up
tuning in at that time of day.
Also include a negative comment: maybe it’s the new show with the host whose voice grates on your nerves, or perhaps you donʼt think their comments help place the music in context. Comment on the music choices or that the flow of one piece to the next doesn’t work, the format of
the program. You get the idea.
Here’s how. . . Toll-free phone (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636
General CBC Feedback form: http://www.cbc.ca/contact/
Audience Relations, CBC, P.O. Box 500 Station A, Toronto, ON, Canada,
M5W 1E6
June 7 – 13 • Lots to do this week! Pick one or do them all: Heritage Hearings Thank Yous | Notes to President and Board | Nudging the Toronto Media | Thank you Studio Sparks for Bob Rea interview
Action 1 –Write a Thank You note to the members of the Heritage Committee for holding the hearings and considering options within their power.
Members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
· Josee Verner, Minister of Heritage (Conservative): Verner [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Gary Schellenberger, Chair (Conservative): Schellenberger [dot] G [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Bill Siksay, NDP culture critic: Siksay [dot] B [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Denis Coderre, Liberal Heritage Critic: Coderre [dot] D [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Maria Mourani, Vice chair (Bloc): Mourani [dot] Ma [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Andy Scott, Vice Chair (Liberal): Scott [dot] A [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Michael D. Chong (Conservative): Chong [dot] M [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Dean Del Mastro (Conservative): DelMastro [dot] D [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Ed Fast (Conservative): Fast [dot] E [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Hedy Fry (Liberal): Fry [dot] H [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Luc Malo (Bloc): Malo [dot] L [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Francis Scarpaleggia (Liberal): Scarpaleggia [dot] F [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
· Ms. Judith LaRocque, Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, 15 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Québec K1A 0M5, juditha_larocque [at] pch [dot] gc [dot] ca
Action 2 -Once you hear what went on at the hearings write the CBC President and CBC Board Chairman
Armed with what you hear in the HC hearings recordings, contact the CBC President and members of the CBC Board and suggest that they consider revisiting their decisions regarding disbanding the CBC Radio Orchestra and wholesale changes in Radio 2 programming direction. You could remind them that the Government does have some powers regarding CBC board appointments, and that the Heritage Committee could revise the MOU based on what is emerging from the hearings. Complete list of board members is here.
Mr. Tim Casgrain, Chair, CBC Board of Directors
P.O. Box 3220, Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E4
e-mail c/o kathleen [dot] martin [at] cbc [dot] ca
Mr. Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO, CBC
P.O. Box 3220, Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E4
ht [dot] lacroix [at] cbc [dot] ca
Action 3 -Toronto media – Time to cover this story!
Write to the papers, especially if you’re around Toronto; such important things have been happening, yet they haven’t made the news for a while.
Action 4 - Write a quick thank you to Studio Sparks (and Bob Rae too if have time)
The quick and easy action this week – write a quick thank you to CBC’s Studio Spark’s and CBC’s audience relations thanking them for having Bob Rae on the show Monday June 2nd and that you appreciated his comments on how important culture is in our lives and that we should not let any orchestra die.
Studio Sparks Fax : (613) 288-6495; Mail: Studio Sparks Box 3220, Station C, Ottawa K1Y 1E4
General CBC Feedback form: http://www.cbc.ca/contact/
Audience Relations, CBC, P.O. Box 500 Station A, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5W 1E6
Mr. Bob Rae, MP for Toronto Centre
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Phone: 613 992-5234
Fax: 613 996-9607
RaeB [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Many possible actions this week. It’s been a very busy time with lots happening – Thanks for considering making one or more of these actions part of your week. Every one helps!
FYI – website has had over 208,000 hits to date. Thanks for visiting!
May 30 – June 8 • This week includes two quick and easy things, and one optional activity that takes more time and some effort. Pick one or do them all. Every action helps!
Action 1 –Make the James Ehnes Globe and Mail article “Most Recommended”
If everyone clicked on the “YES” box after “RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE?” at the bottom of the page, the article would quickly enter the “most recommended” articles list and automatically get more exposure. The article is now listed for subscribers only, so if you are a subscriber, click here to click!
Action 2 -Leave a comment about a Georgia Straight article
If people post comments on the Straight site in response to stories, it makes the editors aware that this is a story worth following and they will keep covering it.Click here to read the article , and sign in to leave a comment. It takes just a minute to sign up.
Action 3 -Lovers of Music send CDs to Prime Minister Harper
Have a look at the blog this week. Writer Yann Martel, in the letter accompanying the book he sent to Prime Minister Harper,wrote about the CBC Radio Orchestra . The book has the musical title “The Kreutzer Sonata”. Martel suggested we send a CD of that work to the PM and so we did! Martel suggested that we encourage all who love music to send recordings of music they love (recordings of the CBC Radio Orchestra, Canadian musicians, composers or just music that touches your heart) to the Prime Minister similar to what Martel is doing with books. So here is your encouragement. See what one coalition member wrote here. Here is the address: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Yann Martel’s site What is Stephen Harper Reading
Week of May 22nd – Attend a rally if you are near one on May 24! And take a look. . .
Please read this article in the Globe and Mai entitled “The Grammy-winning violinist vents his frustration at CBC’s cuts to classical music”, and respond with a Letter to the Editor.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080521.wehnes21/BNStory/Entertainment/
Globe and Mail: letters [at] globeandmail [dot] com
- be as brief as possible (250 words or less);
- credentials should be clearly stated. Include full name, contact information, and daytime phone number
- no e-mail attachments — send content within the body of an e-mail
- specify “Letter to the Editor” in subject line
- letters need to be exclusive to one media outlet, so don’t approach a second publication until you’ve been declined at the first one
Week of May 15th – Letters to the Editor are Powerful!
On Monday May 5th there was a full page of letters from readers upset about CBC killing the CBC Radio Orchestra and making radical changes to Radio 2 reducing the programming of classical music, with more reductions to come in September. This week in the Vancouver Sun there was a letter from a member of the the CBC management attempting to counter all the letters you have written to them, and to the newspapers, by repeating their now familiar justifications, though illogical reasons, for changing the music they program on Radio 2. This was a very defensive move on the part of CBC management. This indicates that they are feeling the pressure. However they are not yet showing that they are listening to our concerns (ie: school children will not be able to hear any classical music as the weekday programmed classical music will be broadcast between 10am and 3:00pm) or prepared to alter their plans to continue removing classical music from Radio 2. Letters to the letter are powerful! This week, please send a letter to the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Toronto Star and your local daily and weekly newspapers.
The full page of letters in the Vancouver Sun were full of passion. See our blog entries for May 5th to read them for ideas for your letter. Also scan the blog to read many stories showing the impact that the CBC Radio Orchestra and CBC Radio 2 has had in the lives of Canadians. Tell your stories!
Together we can effect change!
Week of May 5th – Invite your friends to spread the word!
Ours is a grass-roots campaign. We we are counting on you to spread the word. The easiest way to do that is to invite your friends, family, colleagues and others that oppose the cutting of the CBC Radio Orchestra and changes to CBC Radio2 to visit our website and take action.
When they visit our website, they’ll see how easy it is to make a difference in this crucial campaign to reverse these acts of “Cultural Vandalism” being committed by the CBC Board and management. The more people you invite, the more support we will have to save the CBC Radio Orchestra. It’s easy to do. Just send an e-mail to your friends asking them to visit our site to read about the issues and to find out many simple and effective ways they may help by looking at our “You Can Take Action Toolkits” section and check out the previous Actions of the Week.
They may also sign up to receive our weekly e-newsletter: just e-mail to savecbc [at] hotmail [dot] com and ask to be added to the e-newsletter list.
Week of April 27
Read the Standing Commitee’s Feb 2008 report
The link to Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage documents can be found on the left sidebar under Essential Documents. To go directly to the Recommendations, click here. Once you are on the Gov’t of Canada site, use the “previous” and “next” buttons at the top to read the entire report
URGENT ACTION ITEM: Make your submission to the committee by Monday April 28!
On May 1, the committee will meet to “Study of Plans and priorities of CBC/Radio Canada.”
H.T. Lacroix, R. Stursberg, and S. Lafrance are being called as witnesses.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE SCHEDULE FOR MAY 1.
Here are the guidelines to make a submission.
NOW is the time to write those letters to your MP, and the MPs on the Heritage committee: Here’s a good list to start:
- Bill Siksay, NDP culture critic Siksay [dot] B [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- Denis Coderre, Liberal Heritage Critic Coderre [dot] D [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- John Godfrey, Liberal Godfrey [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- Olivia Chow, NDP MP sympathetic to the cause Chow [dot] O [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- Jim Abbott, Parliamentary Secretary for Heritage Abbott [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- Josee Verner, Minister of Heritage Verner [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
- Gary Schellenberger, Chair Schellenberger [dot] G [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Conservative
- Maria Mourani, Vice chair Mourani [dot] M [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Bloc
- Andy Scott Vice Chair Scott [dot] A [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Liberal
- Michael D. Chong Chong [dot] M [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Conservative
- Dean Del Mastro DelMastro [dot] D [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Conservative
- Ed Fast Fast [dot] E [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Conservative
- Hedy Fry Fry [dot] H [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Liberal
- Luc Malo Malo [dot] L [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Bloc
- Francis Scarpaleggia Scarpaleggia [dot] F [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca Liberal
Week of April 21
FOR YOUR INFORMATION – COST OF ADS:
To those who are curious about the cost of those 1/2 page Jann Arden etc. ads Joan Athey did some calculations taking into account discounts for frequency of ad placements.
If CBC placed ads like that 4 times in 9 Can West papers like the Sun in what CBC calls the major markets Halifax to Victoria and they have already placed the ads at least twice it totals $540,000.00. Plus an additional amount for one placement in the Globe and Mail of about $30,000.00. Sounds like what it would have cost to keep the orchestra.
WHAT TO DO:
Point this out to your MLAs and MPs in a separate letter. Complain to PM Harper, the Heritage Minister José Verner and call the CBC’s toll-free audience relations line (1-866-306-INFO (4636) Toll-free ) and give them a blast as they write down all comments and do send the monthly reports to execs.
THE PRESSURE MUST KEPT UP
Weeks previous
Writing letters (see the letter writing section) is the single most important thing you can do.
Send in a request to hear a recording of the CBC Radio Orchestra to
CBC’s musical request show (which will be off the air soon) Here’s to You
Buy recordings of the orchestra and other CBC recordings by Canadian Artists (while you still can)
ie – Mozart Horn concertos with James Sommerville and CBC Vancouver Orchestra which won a Juno award or the latest recording of violin concertos with James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony which just won a Grammy Award and a Juno.
Note – CBC Records will no longer record “classical” music to be released on CD
Many fabulous CDs to choose from www.cbcshop.ca