WETA board approves all-talk format

[CBHagman]

Well, I'm not surprised, but I was still extremely disgusted to learn that one of the D.C. area's two public radio stations has finally approved a decision to eliminate all music (save for Mary Cliff's "Traditions" program and the broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera) from its schedule. When I first moved to the D.C. area, I immediately became a supporter and a fan. They lost me when, during Arthur Cohen's tenure at WETA, they chose to cut back on classical music. The cuts continued, and now the final blow has been delivered.

"After the vote, the station immediately annouced the new lineup, with round-the-clock news, analysis and interview programs, that will debut Feb. 28. Only the Saturday afternoon broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and "Traditions With Mary Cliff," the Saturday night folk music program, will remain for music lovers at 90.9 FM. Currently the station broadcasts 15 hours of classical music on a typical weekday."

I should note that the music runs mostly during hours when most people are at work or perhaps asleep. There's a period between 9:00 and "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, and then it's back to news until well into the evening. They even run WETA TV programs on the radio during peak listening hours.

The only classical station in the area now is the commercial station WGMS. There's a Baltimore station, WJBC, that broadcasts classical music, but not everyone can receive it, I believe.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15840-2005Feb10.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Classical radio is an endangered species

:-(

How is classical music going to develop an audience if it's not available on the radio and there's no music instruction in schools?

[demnan]

2. I'm awfully sorry to hear this

I've listened to WETA for years and have been a supporter. I do like the news but also the periods between the news - especially when they play lesser known pieces (although this has been declining for years).

We still have WGMS - but their DJs snobbishness turns me off at times and they tend to stick to a "Greatest Hits" of Classical music.

[CBHagman]

3. Yes, most stations are not adventurous.

Some won't play vocal music, period, and many of them play only the usual stuff we've heard many times before. At least WETA introduced people to less familiar material and had programming themes, such as supernatural works for Halloween. They also used to play Schickele Mix, but I suspect that's been dropped, too.

Lately I try to catch Classic Arts Showcase on a local community college station. They show music videos and other clips, such as dance performance and classic film. One minute they're showing a Lang Lang recital, and the next there's footage of Lauritz Melchior or Robert Merrill or the like. It keeps me sane.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. Can you get WBJC in Baltimore?

Their programming is much more interesting than WGMS. I wish I knew why station owners insist on hiring snooty-sounding announcers. I never cared for Robert Aubry Davis, on WETA either. The good announcers know better than to analyze the works they're about to play.

I enjoy hearing little tidbits about the compositions, though. I'm really going to miss Jean Inaba...

[CBHagman]

5. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get WJBC.

I've tried to tune it, but so far I have no luck.

I think I'm the only person I know who actually enjoyed Robert Aubrey Davis. My old boss refers to him as "The Radish" (i.e., RADish).

You must have the same strong emotional reactions to announcers that I have. Mary Cliff's delivery drives me nuts (too dithery, too many digressions), and Jean Inaba used to have this whispery delivery that was hard to follow (She has since changed it a bit).

In a perfect world, the playlists and the announcers would all be to our liking. For now, we've got to drum up support for classical music in the first place! The classical music scene has taken a real beating in several areas of the country.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. I can't help feeling that the media is largely responsible...

by airing commercials that denigrate classical music and its listeners, and by encouraging the notion that classical music is for snobs.

[ramapo]

7. Same thing mostly happened in NY

WNYC cut out a big hunk of its classical music programming a couple of years ago. They used to have a great Morning Music show but it's now talk/news all morning. There is still an afternoon music show, a live concert here and there, and a couple of other music shows scattered through the schedule. The station does have music overnight, starting at midnight but they are more a news/talk format. I don't listen or donate any longer. To me they've joined the corporate media.

The only other NY classical station is WQXR which is pretty much a top-40 classical format.

I've sought refuge at WKCR in NY which is Columbia University's station. It offers an eclectic blend of music, a range that just isn't found any longer with today's focus on narrowcasting, even at college stations.

WKCR plays a lot of jazz (all types), new classical, some bluegrass/country and distinguishes itself with special events like the yearly Bach festival which is something like 10 days of 24-hr Bach.

WKCR is on the web although that doesn't do you much good in the car.

[ChoralScholar]

8. University of Arkansas-Little Rock

solved their problem by airing two stations:

KUAR - 89.1 - NPR Affiliate, NPR talk programming during the day, jazz at night
and
KLRE - 90.5 - Also NPR Affiliate, only airs 1 or 2 NPR programs, completely classical for the rest of the time.

It works out well for Central Arkansas listeners.

[CBHagman]

9. Now that's a sane solution.

If only the (very bad word) at WAMU and WETA thought that way. Both stations have been slicing and dicing music for years. WAMU, which is affiliated with American University, faced a huge listener outcry when it unceremoniously eliminated its folk music programming a decade or so ago. I think it kept the bluegrass programs, but since I haven't listened to the station in some time, I couldn't tell you.

A few years ago, WETA began chipping away at its classical music, first by -- get this -- duplicating WAMU's programming during the morning hours. First WETA eliminated a solid 24 hours worth of classical music programming, then moved even more into a talk format, adding game shows (!) and the like. Again, there was a huge listener outcry, and the station actually lost members, but it has continued down the path of eliminating its classical programming. I think the only music left now is on A Prairie Home Companion and Traditions with Mary Cliff, plus the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

That leaves WGMS, the commercial classical station. How much motivation do you think a corporation has for keeping classical music on the air?

And the public stations have completely abandoned us in the D.C. area. I joined WETA on moving to the area but refused to renew my membership after they started cutting back on the classical programming. I still get the obnoxious fundraising letters, though fortunately they've stopped calling me at home. I told the last WETA telemarketer who called that the station had figuratively bared its rear end at me and wasn't going to get my support. She seemed to understand my point of view.