Source : Ottawa Citizen

Watchdog fuming over schedule change

OTTAWA - The CBC will announce a radical revamp of its Radio Two network today with the introduction of more popular and cross cultural music and a de-emphasizing of classical content.

The Radio Two revamp, called "its most dramatic makeover ever" by CBC English services head Richard Stursberg, is prompted by what the publicly funded broadcaster has said is a desire to attract younger listeners. A re-branding, backed by a national advertising campaign, will likely see Radio Two referred to simply as "Two" or "The New Two."

The focus during an invitation-only event at CBC's Toronto headquarters today is expected to be the network's new weekday and weekend shows and three new hosts -- jazz-pop singer Molly Johnson, Halifax hip-hop performer Richard (Buck 65) Terfry and singer Julie Nesrallah.

The new schedule, to launch Sept. 2, will be controversial among many loyal Radio Two listeners who have already criticized the CBC for downgrading classical content.

Ian Morrison, spokesman for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting accused the CBC yesterday of planning to abandon a loyal audience of about one million Canadians and, in the process, "ghettoizing" classical music.

"It's good for CBC radio to be playing a variety of musical genres," he said, "but this is a radical change. It is moving away from something only the public broadcaster can do to something many private broadcasters already do. And they are shoving classical music into the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. low audience ghetto."

The Radio Two makeover is also a departure from CBC's mandate as defined by the Canadian Broadcasting Act, said Mr. Morrison.

"The Canadian public broadcaster has a responsibility to transmit world classical culture to new generations of Canadians," he said. "They are substantially moving away from that responsibility. They falsely assume that world classical culture is not something that can be marketed to appeal to younger audiences."

© Ottawa Citizen