[78-L] Too late to circle the wagons

[David Lennick]

Michael Biel wrote:
> 
> A 24-hour classical music
> format is the easiest, cheapest, most mindless, meaningless, and
> absolutely misguided and worthless programming format that a Public
> Radio Station could do.  Making a public station an all-ANYTHING station
> is a total waste of the resource. 

The rest of your comment refers to stations affiliated with institutes of 
higher learning and makes total sense, but aren't "public stations" those which 
are supported by listeners and which receive some of their programming from 
NPR? The stations in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse are close to all classical 
(Syracuse has some jazz, Rochester has originated some enjoyable nostalgia 
programming) and none of them is mindless or meaningless. All have live program 
hosts who know their music (some better than others). They also carry the Met 
(when nobody else does) and Garrison Keillor and Bill McGlaughlin, they carry 
no advertising, and the announcers know when to shut the **** up and play the 
music (unlike what we're stuck with in Toronto).


> Speaking as a long-time broadcast
> educator, if the station is related to an educational institution -- and
> most of them are -- having a single-format station is the worst possible
> use of what could be an important teaching tool, and if that format is
> classical music, it is of no use and no interest to the students.  It
> serves a minor audience, and it makes the college's president and the
> chair of the board of regents happy -- and nobody else.  It is a format
> that provides absolutely no educational purpose in training broadcasting
> students.  

CJRT evolved from a student station at Ryerson to a semi-professional operation 
in the sixties, with professionals and students, carrying a wide variety of 
programming..much classical, much jazz, and "Open College"..educational 
programs which led to degrees, as I recall. By the 70s the students were out 
but they had their own station which continues to thrive. CJRT became a leader 
in classical and jazz programming, with Ted O'Reilly's nightly jazz program a 
much-admired and long running feature..educational programs were still featured 
as well. And The Goons and My Word. Support came from various levels of 
government and the pockets of loyal listeners. A few years ago it began 
accepting advertising and became JAZZFM91 (or some cute phrase like that).

We now return to our regularly scheduled rant.

dl

Of course the rap format of my daughter's college station was
> not any better, but at least the kids were interested.  SOME of the kids
> were interested.  My daughter had to break format to do her program, and
> she eventually was manager of the station.  A COLLEGE RADIO STATION IS
> NOT THERE TO SERVE A LISTENING PUBLIC, IT IS THERE TO PROVIDE TRAINING
> FOR BROADCASTING STUDENTS.  ANY COLLEGE RADIO STATION WHICH DOES NOT
> TRAIN A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS, BUT INSTEAD HAS A PROFESSIONAL
> STAFF, IS A TOTAL WASTE OF THE SCHOOL'S MONEY AND SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN.
>      
> 
> The stations I managed at Temple and Northwestern were open-format
> (including classical music programming produced by students who wanted
> to do classical music), and had huge student staffs.  WRTI-FM at Temple
> became an all-jazz station the year after I left, and when the last
> classical station in Phila close down they hired that professional
> staff, became half jazz and half classical, and moved the studios
> essentially off-campus, becoming totally worthless for teaching.  I
> would say that during the four years I was there and the one year after
> when my roommate managed it, we had more student staffers in those five
> years than all of the 40 years that have passed since combined.  
> 
> I'm not saying that there should not be any classical radio stations,
> only that it is not appropriate to waste a college radio station license
> on a single-format station.  
> 
> Professor Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  
>