CBC Radio Nerdz VII

Well I was great tonight.

Matt Galloway isn't bad - he's not as chatty as Andy Barrie, and tends to let the people he interviews talk more, which I prefer.  My quibble with him is he likes sports (Andy didn't), and has lots of interviews with sports folks, which is something you get more than enough of on the commercial stations, IMO.

Today is Barbara Budd's last day on the job. 
Former host Mary Lou Finlay doesn't sound that happy about it:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/dance+portion+over/2959103/story.html
And did anyone notice a leaked internal poll from the national radio reporters who said they were entirely dissatisfied with the direction of CBC news and their place in the structure?
The Ceeb has been taking hits from all sides, and inside, over its current direction.
And now to the good side: summer is nearing, and that hopefully means Ghomeshi will be taking an extended vacation. What an utter waste of air time for a public broadcaster.

Well, he would certainly save the CBC from Conservative charges of behaving dangerously outside the box of rigidly suppressed thought.

Robert Fisher will never be found guilty of wandering from the news script. But, then, perhaps I should not have listened to Barbara's last program and her final "thank you."  And I was perhaps influenced by Gable's cartoon in the Globe (I think it was the same day) of a Harper "knight" figure, lance raised, thundering down on a CBC target. 

And I just can't figure your fondness for Fisher :)

I thought Enright's guest at the end was fascinating.  In her discussion about the movies made by M-G-M, she mentioned two good pictures that the company produced following its heyday, Blackboard Jungle and Cabin in the Sky.

Maybe it's that Sheilagh has a different time slot...not 3 p.m. Sunday ..and whatever other day for Writers and Company? And books are good any old time.

I don't normally like the drama programs that run at 11:30 am on Thursdays, but I've thoroughly enjoyed all eight episodes of Backbencher, written by former NDP MP Wendy Lill. That's probably mostly because I'm a political geek.

But, I'll start reaching for my off button again next week, when the gawdawful jingoistic explosionfest known as Aghanada (sample dialogue: "Get Down!") returns to the air.

And Obama does not have the answer for stopping oil leaks at a depth of 1 mile?  Whatever is the presidency coming to?  Just heard CBC radio reporting that BP now holds out no hope for stopping it before the second hole is complete...in August. 

It's kinda late, but a Saturday Globe story head says the industry "will be operating in a far more regulated and costly environment when exploratory drilling begins again."

Why wasn't the U.S. government more involved in the past?  Well, Halliburton Co. was working on the BP well that blew, if  Bush/Cheney can be substituted for Bonnie and Clyde.  And by golly, Halliburton stock value fell 8 per cent on Friday. And, you know, there is a connection between market valuation and the obscenities that occur south of the 49th...and everywhere else.  Oh, I know, a living, breathing human being like the president is easier to identify as "the enemy".  But that, really, only diverts our attention from where we should be focused, that very, very complex system of investments on which we ALL depend for our inter-connected living.

To paraphrase Kennedy, ask not what your country can do for you...  Obviously, people have never stopped asking just that, and have never begun questioning the source of all that largesse. Blindness prevails. 

As Raj Patel says in his The Value of Nothing":

"But here's the darker part of the story. The people under those governments, you and me, are also part of the market society. There is no position from which, untainted by the world around it, some everlasting truth can guide us to a brighter future...There can be 'community failure' just as there is market failure, in which minorities risk persecution or worse. The recent rise of far-right parties around the world - from India to Europe to the United States - can also be understood as the second part of a double movement. In the United States, Louis R.Andrews, chair of the National Policy Institute - an advocay group for white people - hoped to see 'the Republican Party destroyed, so it can be reborn as a party representing the interests of white people, and not entrenched corporate elites. Which, says Andrews, is why he voted for Obama."

Radio has that timeless quality.  It's not affected by style and trends as much as tv or writing.

Too bad the current CBC radio is not up to former standards. 

Basically I listen to The Current, As It Happens, occasionally Sunday Edition, and the various newscasts.  The cultural programming is grim.  Age of Persuasion is starting to bug me with its monotony.  I get it already - it's about advertising.  Who knew an advertising consultant would suggest such a thing! 

Spark is pointless.  DNTO is so bad that it really needs to be knocked on the head to stop the misery.

I loathe Q 90% of the time.  I don't think the fault is with Ghomeshi.  He's decent.  The content of the show is disgustingly pop culture.  Hey, let's toss up whatever band just released an album (which Ghomeshi instantly says is "very strong"), or whatever writer is touring through Toronto, or whatever American cultural story can be found.... and promote this stuff on Canadian public radio without an ounce of analysis or discussion.

And of all the things the CBC could concentrate its coverage on currently.... we get blanket world cup nonsense??

Ah, thanks for reminding me about that show, GV.  I heard a promo interview with Suzuki about it, then promptly forgot it was a summer show.

Radio is doing a poor job of advertising the summer shows.  There is, apparently, a show about divorce, another about the immigrant experience, Suzuki, and another round of Revision Quest.

Sub-Nerdz thread topic.

As It Happens will be replacing a host soon.  By late fall, at latest, I would suspect a permanent replacement for Barbara Budd - and that's from a commentary Fisher read in the early days following Budd's departure.

So far I have to say Chris Howden, the main writer for the show apparently and an occasional fill-in, is the best.  Fisher was too stiff and wasn't suited to the spot. 

One of the criticism about Budd, from what I read, was based on her non-journalist background (and degree).  I assume her role will be filled by a "journalist".  Awesome.  And if the show sucks because of that there can be only the management to blame. 

I don't know Howden's background, but AIH plays some awesome quips from him.  And he delivers them well.  It's almost like he's giving a big Fuck You to the Ceeb management.  He's been writing some pretty cutting comments, for a flagship CBC show. 

This link might help explain.  I note that the writer dumps on Peter Armstrong as a new reader.  I agree.  But he's co-hosting AIH right now with Howden and he's good in this role.  Or, better, I should say.   

http://wayoutinthemargin.blogspot.com/2010/04/media-cbc-fired-barbara-bu...

Who have you liked so far, GV?

Didn't catch that one, but I recall her position as largely liberal...if hardnosed.

A CBC interview that stands out from that time, and which I heard, was Peter Gzowski with Noam Chomsky.  Gzoski was totally unfair after being shown the contradictions in his Liberal positions.   He apologized the next day ...for unfairness, without admitting the failure of his political position.  

Who've I "liked" in the new batch, Fp?  Afraid I'm just an Enright/Suzuki fan on Sunday mornings so far, and they aren't so new, eh!  I'm always looking for less "balance", more ba..s.    Your nominees in that category?

GV, sorry, I meant who have you liked as co-host since Budd was kicked to the curb.  Howden gets my vote, but he's also the show's main writer and the radio cost-conscious Ceeb (vs the disgusting waste of TV and the net) seems to want to squeeze one of radio's best shows with its penny pinching stupidity. 

I think Peter Armstrong is a poor news reader.  But he was good filling in for Off this week on AIH.  He's married to Pia Chattapatti (sp err likely), who was filling in on The Current.  She needs to get off radio, I think.  I hate how the new CBC is shoehorning these TV clowns onto radio and expects good results.   

I need to listen to the Suzuki show. 

While driving chickens to the processor last night I happened to catch a half hour show called, This and That.  I had no idea this show existed.  And, I gather, it's supposed to be comedy.  Consisting of made up news and interviews, and hosted by squeeky voiced dudes, I was not impressed.

Yeah, I hear you.  I was listening the night she announced she was leaving the show.  I was not pleased, because clearly there was something going on behind the scenes.  Still, the show must go on... and hosts do need to be refreshed from time to time. 

The show, This and That, originates in Vancouver.  So you were close, GV.

I heard a promo for another summer show, by Khalil Aktar, on food.  Can't remember the title now, but Aktar puts together some decent food related stuff from his office.  I resent the fact that CBC radio has all these food experts and authors and so forth on, without any passable reporting on agriculture business\lifestyle\politics, but Aktar's show will likely be good listening.  There's all sorts of wierd niche farming going on in the western provinces and I hope he checks into some of that.

As It Happens is put together very well, and I don't miss the slower paced Carol Off...have yet to decide on the politics.

I heard this show the other day.  The guy was talking about cilantro while I was washing a bunch of cilantro! He said cilantro is an ethnic food that one likes only if one has grown up eating it. I have to disagree with him on that, as I had never encountered cilantro until about 8-9 years ago. I didn't care for it much at first, but now I really like it. My backyard is full of volunteer cilantro at the moment.

I was makjing cilantro chutney while listening to that programme. I put a jalapeño pepper, some cumin, lime juice, a tomato and a bunch of cilantro into the chopper and let 'er go. It's as good as the store-bought stuff, yet doesn't have the weird chemicals and dyes that come with commercial chutneys.

I hope some others have been able to listen in to Michael Enright's old interview with Oscar Brand this a.m. (on right now)   Just heard Jonni Mitchell  singing under her first moniker, Joan Anderson.

David Suzuki's The Bottom Line to follow at 11 a.m.

AND the late Saul Bellow is heard from an old interview on Writers and Company at   3 p.m.    today.

@ thorin_bane

There's that.... and if they are going to do a puff piece on festivals why do they wait until the summer is half over, when most of the big ones (out west, anyway) are over already. After all, they do a book thing every year before the start of summer, and unlike festivals, books don't have an expiry date.

' "Introducing" classical music to kids'

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/programs/2010/08/introclassical.html#more

'People sometimes talk about "introducing" classical music to children, as though it was medicine. Wrong, all wrong. Why not just play great music (of all kinds) for kids? That seems to work well. (Speaking from personal experience.)

'Although it's true that if you are a composer you have an added advantage. You can write music you think will particularly charm and entrance children. For instance Claude Debussy wrote music for his daughter, Claude-Emma, nicknamed Chou-Chou. (Not much is cuter than that.)

'Today Tempo's featuring the "Children's Corner" suite, the music big Claude wrote for little Claude. It's where the wonderful Golliwogg's Cakewalk comes from. ("Golliwogg" being perhaps second only to "Chou-Chou" in terms of words that are fun to say.) ...'

Agreed...I enjoy classical, thanks bugs bunny and my grandfather. It wasn't till I was in my 20s that is was important to me, but at least I turned the corner. Still dislike modern jazz(sounds like a piano falling down a staircase), though big band is good.

@george I have noticed that our federal cons have used this tactic a lot. A lot of times they are unavailable for comment or decline etc. On p&p evan will then "to be fair" ask questions or defend the governments position. I say tough luck. If you can't be bothered to at least put forward a statement or to debate at all. Then the opposition should get free reign period. No need to be fair if they can't even be bothered to respond. Its not like a one edition a week paper from a small town we are talking about(which you could still leave a comment) its the national broadcaster. Just another stonewalling tactic on information from our accountable and tranparent conservatives.

GV's wishes become reality:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2010/08/06/richard-stursberg.html

Stursberg (partner of Carol McNeil) is gonzo. The man who reportedly called news and current affairs programming "the black hole" has left Fort Dork. I can only imagine what he thought of CBC radio, with no chance at ad dollars or American programming (outside of the continually absurd Q).

Unfortunately, he's being replaced in the short term by Kirstine Stewart, who's main claim to fame, from what I understand, is The Strombo Show.

Hey, easy on Dolph.  He was also The Punisher...

Q is a poor program.  Ghomeshi is off on summer vacation, and standing in this week is Jonathan Torrens, who has filled a variety of media roles in his career, most notably J Roc on Trailer Park Boys.

But as an arts and entertainment host he's not sounding all that effective or happy to be in the seat. 

I suspect Q's days are numbered.  Or maybe that's hope that with the end of the Stursberg era, Radio One will cease and desist programs like Q which are clearly misplaced on a public broadcasting schedule.  I don't mind Ghomeshi as much as a loathe the celebrity humping content of the show. 

I used to criticize Sounds Like Canada for being a little soft and sweet, but remembering the show now, I can only hope for its return.  Shelagh Rogers used to speak to, you know, Canadians who were happy, sick, dying, politicians, activists, with nary an American or international celeb "name" to speak of.  SLC was not free advertising for whatever press releases were being issued that week. 

Stursberg's departure has been attributed to a conflict with the CBC's next five year plan (cue, or Q, the jokes re. five year plans).  I suspect some brainy upper management types got together and have realized that a publically funded broadcaster should probably not chase the same stories and presentation styles as the private sector.  Stursberg was, from what I've read, all about "eyeballs" and ratings and implementing metrics from US broadcast consultants.

One thing I noticed most of all about CBC radio's delivery was the incessant self-promoting of CBC programs that were not radio broadcasts.  The idea was presumably to use radio's ad-free space to advertise for CBC.ca and CBCtv.  Because, to someone like Stursberg, radio's lack of ad revenue negatively affected the ledger; it was almost a waste.  So radio, clearly the stronger of the two broadcast operations in terms of content, has been used as a marketing tool for tv and online to make up for its damning lack of revenue possibilities. 

And the Globe informs us  today that the CBC will miss next summer's deadline for switching its signal transmitters from analogue to digital. the vp and chief regulatory officer with CBC/Radio-Canada, Steven Guiton, said they "don't have the cash to be doing this kind of invetment." They asked CRTC for a one-year extension. Total cost of conversion: about $50 million.Rogers, CanWest (Global) and CTV expect to be on time with conversion.

Here's a report that may shed some light on Stursberg's departure:

http://vimeo.com/14001641

Alas, it appears that the teamakersblogspot - started when CBC mangement under Stursberg locked out the CBC employees in 2005 - has come to an end.  Too bad.  It was one of the very few blogs I read consistently, and at times teamakers was an invaluable resource into the inner workings of the corp, or the corpse as the CBC was often called on teamakers.  But of late the blog had been taken over by relentlessly awful gossipy bits about Ghomeshi and Strombo and little else of substance except some funny posts about how the CBC was attempting to use bullshit social media devices to appear more hip and with it.

Au revoir, Ouimet. 

I get the impression that CBC Radio, post Stursberg and beginning last week, started taking a more serious turn and that can't just be due to vacation season being over. 

Interestingly, to us nerdz, is the ongoing contest to replace Barbara Budd.  I listened last night, and some dude named Andrew Moddie was doing the Budd job.  His voice definitely caught my attention but his delivery was spotty.

Tonight the dude is nailing it down tight.  He's my vote for replacing Budd.

In an odd twist, I gather from his twitter feed that he's more of an actor than journalist.  That, apparently, was one knock against Budd near the end, and was used as justification for replacing her.  After a summer of journalists, perhaps what's left of the Ceeb management got their shit together long enough to try someone like this in Budd's role.... ie someone like Budd.

http://twitter.com/AndrewMoodie

It's about time that Joe Fan had his own show.

[ed.]

And Jackie Farr's The Radio Show was the best Saturday afternoon show ever.  Captain Jack should return.

Sure I'm a dreamer; there's no way the mediocrats running the Mother Corporation would allow talent such as that of the Old Fighter back on the air.

Bambury is keeping the time slot with a new show called "Day Six".

What is Bambury's new show about?  Does CBC radio ever advertise it's own programs, or bother to intro them to the listeners?

Hmm, interesting observation, Foth-Phipps. 

I won't argue that a lot of the non-new and current events shows tend towards lame and middle ground, almost as if they aren't really trying that hard.  I do like Tapestry, because I think Mary Hynes is awesome.  I can listen to that show and not ever agree with any of the guests. 

DNTO wasn't always this shitty. Sure, there was a strong geek and urban trend humping side of the show, but some of the pieces they used to run were fun: little stories and small docs about odd things.  And then there was Nora.... Now we get Sook-Yin and seemingly random people talking about whatever pops into their heads.  I assume DNTO has become "the voice of the people", a lame replacement for Outfront, which was occasionally a very jarring program.

The six pm newscast has tweaked format, I think.  There are fewer stories, but the stories are longer, and there's only one newscaster instead of two. 

Moodie did a nice job on AIH last night. 

I enjoyed DNTO when Nora Young hosted it - the program was longer and segments more varied. Since then DNTO keeps shrinking on all fronts. I've also noticed that the pool of people interviewed on whatever simple theme they feature is often limited to fellow CBC contributors, hosts and producers. There seem to be less random people on the street interviews or story-telling.

Andrew Moodie seems to be well-suited for AIH, Farmpunk. Nice voice and delivery overall. I also agree with you about Tapestry. I never tire of the show even when I think the topic will bore me to tears. Mary Hynes is great. I found that Inside Track with Robin Brown had a similar effect. I don't follow sports but I was often intrigued by the interviews she presented.

Not specifically, but I recall one show about gluttony that evoked some discussion .... being raised SE Asian Buddhist their concept of gluttony was not quite the same as mine (can't recall the specifics of the differences, I just remember that after that show they would joke about my gluttonous habits  at the diner table (eat too fast) which for them was not something they would normally associate with their concept of the word, or at least the word they most closely associated with the term in their language.)

I think the point being is that DNTO has a theme each week, and sometimes that theme doesn't always have the same context in other cultures as it does in our own ... DNTO is like North America popular culture 101. Not sure if that's what it is meant to be, but because of the circumstances and timing of the show with our lifestyle, that seems to be how we use it.

Will have a look, thanks.

Good post, Laine.  Thanks. 

Your take?  Was Margaux good?  The dude replacing her seems, and I can't put this diplomatically, old.  Maybe she was tired of hosting the show...

Ha, as soon as I hack the Ceeb for not advertising Bambury's new show, I just heard a promo for Sixth Day which makes it sound neat, a current affairs type show.  I just hope the show doesn't steal a tactic from Q and simply follow up on topics that The Current has already covered.

Plus, AIH had a weird thing from Rober Fisher.  Apparently the second edition of something he did earlier for the show.  Sounded kinda odd to me.  But at least the show is trying some news things. 

Harper lackey thats all you need to know. Just look for the brown nose.

I only caught the last 10 minutes of Cross Country Check-up so I can't fairly assess Solomon's performance. The good thing about that show is that you do get to hear opinions that go against the host's comfort zone and gets them hot under-the-collar. I love it when Rex looses his cool when schooled by someone who has a contrary and well-expressed opinion.

As a follow up. I don't understand why the CBC has certain people like Evan and Amanda lang everywhere while laying off Brian Stewart(unless he quit given the direction of the ceeb) The canadian talent pool is getting shallower each year. No one is trained or groomed. Just look good and read the teleprompter. Like you mentioned Farmpunk, Soloman sounded uncomfortable. No cue cards to ask questions of MPs means he actually has to try to make an intelligent answer.

Just watch the 2 parts to this old Hot Type interview with chomsky and how he make ES look like a complete noob as both an interviewer and someone talking about the middle east. Evan hasn't learned much in the last 10 years either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10rTPSSmOFw

I did laugh at the guy who kept calling him Yvon instead of Evan on CCC...made my day.

I remember Heph calling "Afghanida" blatant propaganda at EM when this radio drama first started. I've probably listened to a handful of episodes annually and although it sometimes has compelling story lines, and the tone is sort of balanced, I still think its propaganda. More subtle than blatant, but it certainly seems to paint a portrait of our military being very compassionate and committed to an honourable mission. The closest I've seen to a Canadian bad apple is a naive, trigger happy soldier in one episode who gets schooled for nearly screwing things up bad. There might be a few officers that come off as too officious at worst. I'm amazed that it's into its fifth season.

I can't listen to it. Normally Radio One is my constant listening companion at work. When Afghanada comes on, the feed gets muted.

Cosatas Halavrezos retired today.

Costas was born on Boxing Day in Saint John, New Brunswick, where his parents operated "Nick's Coffee Counter". The busy short-order restaurant was the perfect training ground for public broadcasting as Costas got to meet people from all walks of life and read all the latest newspapers, magazines, paperbacks and comic books for free. Costas studied physics at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, but after getting a B.Sc., he returned to take a year of Arts courses. If the St. F.X. Jazz Program had been offered back then, he'd probably have ended up playing in a smoky club 'Round Midnight instead of hosting a radio show 'Round Noon.

Costas began freelancing for CBC Radio in the mid-70s and was hired as a producer in Saint John in 1978. In 1982,he began hosting the local 4-6 show. From 1985-87, he worked with CBC Radio in Quebec City. Aside from duties on the daily shows, he wrote and hosted the network program Radio Active, which showcased music and performers of the Francophone world.

http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/personality/costas_halavrezos

ETA: I used to drink coffee at his parents coffee counter when I was in high school.

Re: Afghanada

Without regard to the show's considerable artistic merit, have you noticed that the radio troops tend to die heroically trading fire with the enemy, as opposed to getting unlucky and stepping on an IED? They're still selling the myth of the warrior, albeit very entertainingly.

Oh, and I simply cannot remember where I read this, but apparently the CBC brass had a presser recently.  Insidethecbc.com, maybe.  The heads of radio and tv and news said there's going to be a strong emphasis on "content" as part of the "news renewal" that started a year ago and gave us a variety of annoyances, like the new National and Peter Armstrong barking into the mic every morning (to be fair, he is better now).

This dovetails with the departure of Stursberg and I'm left to wonder if Kind Richard really was mucking up the news and radio divisions.  The radio people have sounded much more comfortable on air, and the stories have been longer and stronger, more CBC.  There still isn't a single reporter or producer doing anything in Hamilton-Kitchener-Guelph and I have no idea when the Ceeb will get around to realizing they are missing the boat in Southern Ontario.

Missed most of Michael Enright, Sunday AM, but woke after midnight to get the bit about a teacher who raised her late daughter-in-law's son, suffering from the ravages of fetal alcohol syndrome, through 15 years of hell, and finally seeing him off to study music at Mohawk College.   Inspirational.  

Hope I'm in the vicinity of a radio when Radio One gives us "White Coat, Black Art" at 11:30 AM today. 

F-Phipps, solid points.  It's probably back to management led formatting.  The US or private radio style is to have boat loads of short, punchy, stories, lots of promos and teasers.  The big Ceeb casts - World at Six, World this Weekend - work best when they flow smoothly.  So when the reporters are told to chase a certain story, in a certain way, they don't really have a lot of choice. 

That's what I think has changed - the length.  Cudmore has filed some long pieces lately, and there's been a lot of nearly two minute peices being played. 

I'm not sure the Dispatches style would work for daily news.  Those are heavily vetted stories, carefully chosen and edited, crafted.  That kind of detail can't be accomplished daily - it'd be like writing a short story every day. 

Dispatches varies.  Occasionally I get the idea that a lot of MA grads spend four months dreaming up an idea of where to go outside of Canada to get on Dispatches.  The romance of the foreign correspondent and all that.  Then it comes across in the dispatch - hey, things are different outside Canada!  Still, when Jennifer Westaway or Germain or any of the pros tie into a good story, it's very hard to beat.

Yeah its pretty good. Goldman does a nice job of revealing a few things his fellow practitioners might not want you to see.

I really like it.

Some episodes are far better than others but I'll try to stumble through with an explanation. His series of re-telling of bible stories is both funny and tragic. He builds up the story, describing so many character nuances that you can't help but hang on for the ride.

The first episode I ever heard (caught the end of it), he was reading from letters a character he created had written. They were very funny and believable and then they took this bittersweet direction. I guess I often find myself laughing and crying. There is an incredible touch of humanity to his performances.

Plus he introduced me to Heather O'Neill who told her story about a kid named Jesus. Her novel, Lullaby for Little Criminals, is a brilliant piece of work.

CBC tv has started advertising on Rightwingnut Radio (CFRB and AM640)...and the ads often run within seconds of the Belly Crackers (doyle, Stafford, oakley, bynon, dave agar etc) mocking the public broadcaster (and the '$1 billion' spent partially on radio network that doesn't sell ads)! Surely the CBC brainiacs know they wasting the money! it seems that giving public monies to reactionary radio which constantly advocates killing public broadcasting is wrong.

Jennifer westaway once (2003) did a piece about 'crazy relations of US presidents' and natcherly she mention 1)Ted kennedy, the drunken lady killer 2) Billy Carter, the beer swilling country bumpkin and 3) Roger Clinton, the drug addicted exconvict who's on welfare.   And? That was it. Nothing about the bush family. Nothing about anything that challenged  westaway's rightwing viewpoint.

'GO' had banbury one time (in 2004 i think) run a '5 reasons Al Gore lost the 2k election' when it turned out Gore WON the election and only lost due to trckery around the Florida recount, and the US supreme court.

http://rabble.ca/babble/media/cbc-radio-nerdz-viii

Onto round 8