tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post8368795186313956387..comments2024-03-05T06:32:42.206-05:00Comments on A Different Point of View....: CBC Radio badly off track with too much personal storytelling Nick Fillmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01164453733837765836noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-52973334897719162702017-09-02T09:56:56.921-04:002017-09-02T09:56:56.921-04:00You must be joking. Tremonti hasn't functioned...You must be joking. Tremonti hasn't functioned as a journalist for years. One-sided interviews that are so embarrassing of her former reputation. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-8873736509984271692017-09-02T09:49:50.504-04:002017-09-02T09:49:50.504-04:00Please someone axe that deplorable shade of what A...Please someone axe that deplorable shade of what AIH used to be. Led by a YUK YUK's cast off and what used to be Carol Off, it's become an embarrassment, AS HAS Anna Maria Tremonti, who used to be a journalist and now fronts public relations for every pomo airhead coming into her studio. Please end it. Give us back our CBC. Find some actual journalists instead of these public relations flacks. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-48512239425927607552017-08-28T10:12:07.057-04:002017-08-28T10:12:07.057-04:00"Radio One this summer....are.doing a good jo..."Radio One this summer....are.doing a good job"? Really? Some shows are producing new material but for the most pary summer at cbc means repeat shows (oh sorry "Encore presentations"). And That's lame. And long weekends are a disaster, as if they all leave for the beach and just put the network on filler autopilot.Peter Stocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-68554785696141349402017-08-28T01:59:52.823-04:002017-08-28T01:59:52.823-04:00While I commiserate with you and some of the folks...While I commiserate with you and some of the folks in the comments here, I to am an old fart and wax nostalgic at times but this whole article and most of the comments just sound like old farts jawing about the world changing and how much better things were in the "good old days".xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00491685194225142504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-83131434083745795372017-08-27T14:21:04.392-04:002017-08-27T14:21:04.392-04:00Nice article, and I agree with your argument. It s...Nice article, and I agree with your argument. It seems as if CBC (especially CBC radio) has lost its way and is merely drifting. I don't want to get partisan, but it also seems as if they lob softballs at right-wingers who wish to see the CBC destroyed. Very curious. I like the CBC best when it takes chances on public policy matters. Don't see much of that of late. Thanks for the email addresses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-67193014708130333642017-08-27T07:49:55.122-04:002017-08-27T07:49:55.122-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-15239116407514597372017-08-26T15:52:52.011-04:002017-08-26T15:52:52.011-04:00They have introduced commercials to CBC Radio One ...They have introduced commercials to CBC Radio One on the internet feeds. As the CBC faithful have been pointing out for decades, the introduction of advertising will change the programming.<br /><br />This has now happened, and as predicted, the emphasis is on getting more ears, rather than making better content.Dave Dupreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07659906229304780899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-14533738500057099322017-08-26T11:24:29.218-04:002017-08-26T11:24:29.218-04:00I, too, used to be a regular listener of CBC 1 but...I, too, used to be a regular listener of CBC 1 but over the years I've largely moved away. My biggest complaint about content is the obscene amount of pandering to the aboriginal cause we are forced to endure. It would be less annoying if once in awhile they would present both sides of the issues, but they never do. Real journalism suffers in the name of political correctness gone mad. I also switch stations any time I hear YET ANOTHER trans person telling his/her life story. Enough already!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-88734033559678320672017-08-25T14:54:21.457-04:002017-08-25T14:54:21.457-04:00https://www.friends.ca/https://www.friends.ca/celtichichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10069175094812699253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-4128394614820755992017-08-25T14:49:52.466-04:002017-08-25T14:49:52.466-04:00Yeah, I've been saying this to myself for year...Yeah, I've been saying this to myself for years. Intelligent discourse is extremely rare these days.Wesley McGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10979264435685919837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-79612224894188373162017-08-25T10:19:57.888-04:002017-08-25T10:19:57.888-04:00while I share some of your concern for the type of...while I share some of your concern for the type of programming on Radio 1, it is hard to argue with "success". Radio 1 is the number one radio station in Manitoba. I feel that it is people over 40/50 who lament the "folksy" tone that CBC radio has adopted. And yes many of my friends no longer listen but clearly this new tone is attracting more listeners than it is losing. In order to justify its existence the CBC needs to show numbers and it would appear to be doing that, and as such we who love and care about and understand the political necessity of having a public broadcaster, may need to plug our noses every once in a while because if somebody is listening to Sleep Over or Road Trip, they might have to wade through The Current or As It Happens to get to it and come to appreciate that part of CBC that you, and I, do as well.Harold Shusterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362849027727202912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-5838984067787112672017-08-25T10:11:25.551-04:002017-08-25T10:11:25.551-04:00PS the emphasis on "feelings" (as oppose...PS the emphasis on "feelings" (as opposed to facts and rational debate) is what got Donald Trump elected. "I want a wall on the Mexican border!" (regardless of whether Congress can and would pay for it). "Hilary is corrupt - lock her up!" (regardless of whether she actually broke the law). Doug Mann 77https://www.blogger.com/profile/08133064215760030456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-6916252279747747612017-08-25T09:08:59.631-04:002017-08-25T09:08:59.631-04:00Shane A. Leslie, They have. It's called the BB...Shane A. Leslie, They have. It's called the BBC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-63680912637761057162017-08-25T00:57:24.325-04:002017-08-25T00:57:24.325-04:00Pretty well all these criticisms are spot on. CBC ...Pretty well all these criticisms are spot on. CBC was always on in our house and all my kids grew up to become listeners. But no longer. One comment I would add is please ditch all the horrible music inserted in most morning programs between segments and these are very short segments. Especially before 8AM. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-67500512537752063492017-08-24T22:19:39.029-04:002017-08-24T22:19:39.029-04:00Yes, I am surprised at home many times I'll tu...Yes, I am surprised at home many times I'll tune in to CBC and hear the same program rebroadcast. Some of the "storytelling" shows definitely push me towards changing the station - like Sleepover and discussing hair removal...dshaw110https://www.blogger.com/profile/09964447345553790409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-12052580428793088992017-08-24T17:01:12.377-04:002017-08-24T17:01:12.377-04:00The majority of CBC 1 is still well done, but can ...The majority of CBC 1 is still well done, but can the Top40 music already. A few too many "personal stories" perhaps... certainly Sook Yin Lee's new show is underwhelming (DNTO was already mostly a bore) and a disservice to her background and potential. I'd like to see CBC stand even more for longform journalism and intellectual content. Thank goodness for Ideas, Spark, Anna-Maria Tremonti, The House.... A climate change show is an awesome idea.jaleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13257085483416950886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-18201994437500020892017-08-24T15:09:16.609-04:002017-08-24T15:09:16.609-04:00The criteria for CBC should be: "How is it in...The criteria for CBC should be: "How is it in the public interest? What is the public good being supported?" Arguably, with good public affairs programing, I benefit as a citizen even if I don't listen to a particular program. It helps our democracy to have more informed citizens.<br /><br />There is also an economic argument in CBC providing development funding to help build a Canadian film industry - training technical and creative staff.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the focus is too much on providing content that the maximum number of people will listen to. If that is your sole criteria, why not let the private sector handle it? Why should it be subsidized? <br /><br />Stephen Harper's belief was there was no such thing as a public good, only private market interests. CBC has let itself go so far down that rabbit hole that it has undermined the reason for its existence.<br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09133542422688977134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-26521937999580965622017-08-24T12:48:12.146-04:002017-08-24T12:48:12.146-04:00Your first line of Part II says it all.
Your first line of Part II says it all. <br />clanchathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004284000568689587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-3930200835336467832017-08-24T11:46:44.585-04:002017-08-24T11:46:44.585-04:00CBC is a shell of its former self. Shows like The...CBC is a shell of its former self. Shows like The Current have jumped the proverbial shark having relegated themselves to a platform for victim and identity politics. It is a shame because CBC Radio used to be diverse and interesting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-19484300946908134332017-08-24T11:02:23.873-04:002017-08-24T11:02:23.873-04:00You are way off topic, Shit Hawk. Since you want ...You are way off topic, Shit Hawk. Since you want to talk about Foreign Affairs (ie Russian interests) how about mass-murderer Stalin revisionism?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12560965221772154640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-12393344896987803812017-08-24T09:47:09.167-04:002017-08-24T09:47:09.167-04:00Dear Shit Hawk, why the attack on Foreign Affairs ...Dear Shit Hawk, why the attack on Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland? You seem to be implying that Nazi collaboration is hereditary, and that is a really cheap shot. She is doing an outstanding job for Canada. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-8767253561778659892017-08-24T06:59:09.567-04:002017-08-24T06:59:09.567-04:00I agree completely with your "how do you feel...I agree completely with your "how do you feel" statement. And on AIH. Too many times I hear them ask, well, anyone, what they 'feel is going to happen' instead of waiting for it to happen and then reporting on it.<br />Colour Of Lighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14705682420882034876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-22735146979402379082017-08-24T05:39:43.596-04:002017-08-24T05:39:43.596-04:00Both my parents, and one of my grandparents---even... Both my parents, and one of my grandparents---even I---worked for CBC, radio and TV. Most of my life MoCo Radio was the only station any of us ever listened to.<br /><br />It changed, naturally, over these several decades, but I forgave the odd repeat, or a novice personality performing a bit below standard for a few shows.<br /><br />Then the cuts really started biting, repeats became more frequent and frequently repeated, and talent slipped a notch. Nevertheless, the CBC impressed by fulfilling its mandate inspite of funding difficulties.<br /><br />Something snapped for me when Gomeshi got sacked because, regardless the seriousness of allegations against him, CBC went out of its way, it seemed, to send him up before he went to court, featuring non-stop shows on sexual assault and incessant reports and interviews with witnesses, pre-trial, loaded with innuendo and opinion. I was appalled, not least because an offender might have easily evaded justice on the ground that his character had been so thoroughly smeared he'd never get a fair hearing. Further, witnesses against him may have been encouraged to unwittingly spoil their own evidence by the CBC's cavalier treatment of the defendant for months before the court case---to pile on, in other words, and probably to communicate with each other and coordinate statements which, once revealed by Gomeshi's lawyer, destroyed his accusers' credibility. We may also never know the full story or CBC's likely complicity in allowing bad behaviour in its workplace just to appease its star radio host. <br /><br />Journalistic integrity was flushed at that point, I suppose in an attempt to cover CBC's ass. <br /><br />I'm sad to say integrity appeared not to have recovered with the plainly propagandistic coverage of the fentanyl street crisis which CBC deigned to falsely characterize as a crisis in overprescription of opioids by doctors---a narrative that conspicuously contradicted its even its own local news reports. Plenty of blatant biasing of the issue has been noted and complained about by many listeners because the "overprescription" narrative broadcast happens to support physician colleges' unwarranted crackdowns on opioid prescription to legitimate patients (my theory, and many agree, is the OxyContin scandal that's still resulting in lawsuits 20 years later is probably the ulterior reason for the misleading propaganda and the unwarranted crackdown it tries to rationalize). These crackdowns arbitrarily harm patients who benefit and depend on proper pain treatment, the vast majority never abusing or getting addicted to their meds.<br /><br />Maybe I'm too old to accept that the wave of absurdism that has infested our politics lately has also spread to journalistic integrity at the nation's public broadcaster---the blatancy of it is absurd: it's so obvious.<br /><br />Not only is it making a hash of CBC, it is harming innocent chronic pain sufferers too. Makes me wonder why. Is this how CBC has to make its money nowadays? Spreading plain propaganda for powerful medical agencies that perceive culpability in overprescribing OxyContin (when the manufacturer had lied that its new drug was not very addictive)? What gives?!<br /><br />Increasingly mediocre talent and non-stop repeats are one thing, but... Maybe I should have given up on CBC back then. Maybe then I wouldn't have had to witness these major ethical transgressions.<br /><br />Yet I still listen---quite selectively now---but I'll forevermore take anything on CBC news with a grain of salt---which makes the fading MoCo much like every other radio station in that department.<br /><br />What a shame. Can it be redeemed----or is it too late?Jaundiced Eyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258322334582014655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-22088361986270386132017-08-23T23:53:16.535-04:002017-08-23T23:53:16.535-04:00Part II
The new CBC is pro-corporate and pro-big ...Part II<br /><br />The new CBC is pro-corporate and pro-big tech, hiding this behind the shadows of liberal identity politics. Ontario Today, which appears on weekdays at noon, is particularly bad at this – I’ve heard about a dozen times the hosts present some trivial topic, then someone with a critical or incisive comment call in, after which the host quickly gets them off the air to move onto yet another victim of some tragedy like the loss of air miles. Example: they did a show on “how does the Sunshine List make you feel?” Well, I don’t care how others “feel” about this – the real question is whether the salaries it lists are just and deserved by those who get them. A caller calls in to point this out, and the host (I think it was Rita Celli) gets flustered and gets rid of him. Yet if you do a show about the Sunshine List, isn’t raising the issue of economic equality logically implied by the topic? In other words, the hosts have been told by their producers to avoid substantive debates. The result is bland pabulum, or sneaky and offensive politics of blame that targets groups without having the courage to name them. <br /><br />The emphasis on individual “feelings” is disturbing, anti-democratic, and anti-enlightenment. If it were a matter of gauging immediate responses to a disaster, fine; but it often seems to be about “feelings” of one or a few people who most listeners can’t reasonably connect to. <br /><br />A lot of the political, economic and cultural analysis is fading away. Another case in point is the decline and fall of Q. It used to be a must-listen, multi-faceted morning show, whatever you thought of Jian Gomeshi. But under Tom Power, it’s little better than a MTV music chat show. For one thing, Power, a nice guy, seems to know very little about things outside his narrow musical interests. I really don’t care what most musicians have to say about how tough it was to make their latest album. I do care about national and global politics, technological changes, and even sports culture – why in the world did they get rid of the excellent sports culture panel, a highlight of Q up to about a year ago.<br /><br />Radio comedy is in decline, though still there. I take it radio drama is gone. As others have noted, Internet podcasts have taken over from CBC One when it comes to humour, political commentary, or critical analysis of popular culture. Two of my favourites are “Imaginary Worlds” and “Canceled Too Soon”: why can’t CBC do shows like this? The latter has only two presenters and a microscopic budget! <br /><br />Tied to this is the fact that some of CBC’s presenters can’t pronounce common English words. That’s probably because they spend half their days on social media and watching the trash TV they’re trying to copy. CBC should hire Michael Enright as a dialect coach. <br /><br />In short, CBC One has lost its way. Back to the Vivaldi. <br /><br />Doug Mann<br /><br />Doug Mann 77https://www.blogger.com/profile/08133064215760030456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2732335530726828393.post-16295881814379302342017-08-23T23:50:21.273-04:002017-08-23T23:50:21.273-04:00Part I
Hi Nick.
And here I was thinking I was t...Part I<br /><br />Hi Nick. <br /><br />And here I was thinking I was the only one who noticed this!<br /><br />I’ve listened to CBC One for most of my adult life. This summer, I’ve been switching to Radio Two’s classical music in disgust to escape the new style of programming that now dominates the prime channel. This can nicely be summarized as:<br /><br />Victim narratives + identity politics + wallowing in individual feelings = good radio<br /><br />It’s not. It’s boring and grating, unless you happen to be part of that micro-group that shares the victim narrative in question. <br /><br />Some of the new shows you mention, such as Sleepover, are mind-numbingly painful. This one sounds like it was made by a morally righteous 16-year-old. I’ll take Vivaldi over the “new” Sook-Yin any day. There are still some good shows such as Spark and As it Happens, but the CBC’s cognoscenti are sadly mistaken if they think their nouvelle vague programming is going to bring in 18-year-olds hooked to their smart phones in en masse. So it’s the worst of two worlds: you don’t get the kids, and you alienate at least half of your regular audience by dumbing-down your shows for your audience. <br /><br />There are so many problems with this new wave stuff that I don’t know where to start. First, it’s not politically innocent. It wallows in liberal identity politics, but as soon a real left-wing caller shows up, the hosts try to shoo him or her away as quickly as possible. So CBC spends several hours a week on trans-gender issues (representing, according to surveys, 0.3-0.6% of the population – and even they might be bored by some of the CBC shows!), while ignoring class, poverty, the power of large corporations, McDonaldization, globalization, i.e. pretty well all the burning economic issues of the day. <br /><br />Further on identity politics: I have nothing against native people, but it’s getting pretty tiresome to blame every single native problem on residential schools. They’re gone and never coming back. Yes, the feds could do more for native people – but CBC shows mention residential schools more often than they do capitalism, the economic system that 100% of Canadians live within. <br />Doug Mann 77https://www.blogger.com/profile/08133064215760030456noreply@blogger.com