Music
CBC Radio 2 might be taken off the airwaves thanks to service cuts
by Mark Teo
May 23, 2014
Last month, Canadian public broadcasting suffered a huge blow: After losing Hockey Night in Canada, the CBC had $130 million slashed from their budget, resulting in the loss of 657 jobs. Long-time journalists like Linden McIntyre and Alison Smith stepped down; pundits suggested that the CBC would start emulating the models of private media companies; Jian Ghomeshi suggested that the budget slashes cut to the bone.
But if those cuts reached the bone, the next round might very well reach the marrow: According to watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, CBC execs are planning deeper service cuts, including taking CBC Radio 2 off the air. That means that a staple of our commutes—which broadcasted the beloved Radio 2 Drive, as well as classical and jazz offerings—will bite the dust.
According to the Toronto Star, the cuts will be made when the broadcaster’s board of directors meet on June 17 and 18 in Ottawa. Citing “high-level” sources in the CBC, watchdog spokesperson Ian Morrison pointed the fingers at Stephen Harper’s government.
“This is very serious stuff. Eighty per cent of Canadians like public broadcasting, and they’re going to be very angry when they hear about this,” said Morrison.”This is the result of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s antipathy to public broadcasting. We’re going to see it play out in about a month’s time and what we’re doing today is blowing a whistle.”
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, meanwhile, have been monitoring the CBC cuts closely. In fact, they have been running a campaign called Free The CBC—check the video below.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that Radio 2 will be disappearing entirely—it’ll be re-focusing its offerings online. It’s a space CBC should be familiar with—Radio 3, beloved among the Canrock set, is also a digital offering, available on Sirius XM and CBC’s website.
Radio 2, however, is among a broader group of service cuts: According to Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, programs likeRepublic of Doylecould get the axe, while some English and French programming may be merged. Local programming may also be cut, too: The National Post,for example,says that local Thunder Bay news may disappear, while Quebec-based programming will shrink, focusing around Montreal.
CBC, for their part, haven’t issued an official response, but, notes the Star, they’re welcoming debate. [UPDATE: A CBC spokeswoman, France Belisle, said the reports were “speculation, inaccurate and misinformation.”] So, what do you think: Is CBC due for a restructuring, or are we set to lose a major force in Canadian music?
