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September 8, 2010, 6:14 pm

My thoughts on the CBC Radio One Schedule Changes - Spring 2007

I started hearing the rumours back in the winter. You're right; they weren't rumours, they were the official announcements. I was a little concerned, but it was off in the future, and of course, sanity would previal and everything would work out in the end. Right? Right?

Well, apparently not.

The last 'Between the Covers' was on Friday night. (Today is Sunday, April 15, 2007.) 'Northern Lights' has been gone for a while now. No more Jazzbeat. Daily schedule ends at midnight. No more soft late-night music.

And it is having some negative effects on my life. Look at how bad it is - I'm even ranting about it here on the intertubes - and I'm not a blogger or a journalist. Boo-hoo, you say. Who listens to CBC Radio One anyway?

Thanks for asking. Well, I'm male, 45 and CBC Radio has been more and more of a refuge from the commercial stuff. For most of my adult life, the CBC has been part of the soundtrack of my life. In the 80s and 90s, there was Basic Black and good quality comedy like Double Exposure and the Great Eastern, thought-provoking Ideas, etc. etc. For at least the last 15 years, CBC Radio One has gotten me out of bed in the morning, been my evening listening, and put me to bed at night. There's always been a bedtime story (Between the Covers) and then gentle classical music (Northern Lights, and before that, That Time of The Night) to see me off to slumberland. Soothing, quiet and dependable radio. My schedule wasn't always aligned properly, but the CBC was always there, rock solid, with good evening programming.

Until now.

Over the past couple of months, we have seen the loss of:

There have also been some "adjustments" to the schedule. Saturday night shows all start (and finish) an hour earlier. Well, everything ends an hour earlier, for that matter. Daily programming ends at midnight instead of 1am, except for Friday.

And what's wrong with all these changes?

Thanks for asking again. I can't listen to the CBC past 10pm now, and I am having a hard time finding replacement listening. I have spent several nights scanning the dial, looking for something quiet and unobtrusive to listen to. Nothing yet.

Weeknights, I used to get a bedtime story and soothing classical music. Now I get reruns of weekend shows, which I've already heard - you guessed it - on the weekend. Sure, they're interesting - that's one of the problems. I go to bed these days somewhere between 11:30 and 1:00, and Quirks and Quarks keeps me interested, even though I've usually already heard it. I'm trying to drift off to sleep. I don't know what they're going to do in the summer, when we usually get the reruns earlier in the evening. Three times a week, maybe?

"But that's kind of insulting to the hosts, don't you think? I like your show because it makes me fall asleep." I can't really argue that, but the shows, Northern Lights at least, appear to be marketed towards that - a show for the end of your day, a show for winding down, etc. And the soft soothing voices of the hosts - Andrea Ratuski and Sister Kate.

"Have you tried Radio Two?" Sure have. Some of it's nice, but in general, it's too edgy for falling asleep to. Too dissonant or too atonal or too ... something. Too eclectic, anyway. I couldn't handle the stress, never knowing if a rousing anthem would be on next.

"Just get Sirius satellite radio! Some of the shows are still there." I don't think so. My taxes are already paying for CBC, so I'm not about to fork over $$$ for the radio and the subscription and whatever else I need to buy. It's just wrong. It's bad enough that I even have to hear the call sign all the time - it's free advertising for them, and I like CBC because it's usually commerical-free.

I'm not sure who thought up this brilliant series of changes - maybe it's the 'new Canadian government' doing some social engineering and trying to get us to go to bed earlier. Makes us better God-fearing early-risers - more likely to be awake for church, and vote right-wing, I guess. I certainly would like to have a name to attach to this schedule change, just so that I have someone to curse at by name. The stated goal is to reach a younger demographic. I'm not that old, but they certainly have alienated me.

I don't know - I've looked around recently, but I haven't found the groundswell of voices raised in anger that I was hoping for. (No, I didn't really expect much. It's probably pretty tough to get behind the slogan "Give Us Back Our SleepyTime Radio".) So that's why I've written this page - it's a central focus for the new campaign. It's an open letter to the CBC. It's a call to arms. Well, a call to write letters or something. So get out there and write a letter to the CBC and tell them what you think. Write your elected representatives, if you think that would do any good.

Since I can't find any worthwhile replacement listening, I am currently working on a replacement computer jukebox system.

Did I miss something? Please write to me and tell me your thoughts.

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