WETA is back to all classical!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012200579.html

Sadly, WGMS, after almost 60 years, will no longer exist. This, in my opinion, is a disgrace. It seems to me that there's plenty of room for 2 classical stations in Washington DC. WGMS, which depended on advertising, served in recent years as a "light classical" station. I see no reason why it shouldn't continue to do so, and leave WETA to more complex fare...

But, I guess we've got to be glad for what we've got.

[CBHagman]

1. The fact that it was coordinated interested me.

On the one hand, I have been vilifying Bonneville International for what it's done to the DC community. But when I heard that WETA and Bonneville had sat down to coordinate WETA's transition back to classical music (including the passage of all WGMS's CD library to WETA), I don't feel quite as uncharitable.

See Paul Farhi's story in the WP for details. Farhi has been great with the coverage.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. Today's news leaves me a little dissappointed however...

Fortunately, WAMU will be picking up Prairie Home Companion; but I'm going to miss Mary Cliff's show.

I really don't understand why our listening area can't have full-time stations for folk and jazz. :(

[CBHagman]

7. Remember when WAMU dropped folk?

As soon as I moved to the DC area, I joined WETA TV (It's my practice to support the local PBS station). I also became hooked on WETA and WAMU. Then WAMU dropped its folk programming and got an earful from its listeners about that.

But it was even more perverse when WETA first eliminated the equivalent of a full day of classical programming each week. The writing was pretty much on the wall regarding eliminating the classical programming. When that step was taken, I was one of the members who not only complained to the station but stopped contributing.

What was infuriating about the talk format at WETA was the fact that much of it virtually duplicated what was on WAMU at the same time. Now Paul Farhi reports that there are complaints from members about WETA dropping talk, but believe me, the shift before was more dramatic and a larger betrayal.

G of G, you mentioned the spike in demand for classical music post-9/11. One thing that also appears to have happened after that horrible event was that New York City's classical radio was negatively affected due to the destruction of a major classical station transmitter on that day. I remember reading that had lasting effects on the city's classical programming.

But getting to your larger point, yes, we should have a balance in programming in this country and not do every damn thing based on the fact that the advertisers want to sink their hooks into younger listeners and therefore certain demographics (and indeed audiences) are ignored or even disdained. Jazz (variety, not just "smooth"), folk, country (again, variety, not just the current radio approach), blues, bluegrass, big band, pop vocals, classical, and everything else belongs on our airwaves.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. I just found out that WAMU is also picking up Mary Cliff's show from 11-1

on Saturday/Sunday.

I'm hoping they'll eventually expand her hours. She's always been wonderful about supporting local live acts.

I really don't get the anti-classical whiners who pushed for all-talk WETA. Not only were the same programs repeated throughout the day; but WAMU was carrying some of the same shows at the same freaking time! I'd blame it on rethugs, only I can't imagine them sitting through NPR news and talk...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. The article may be wrong about classical music as a "declining format"

Look at my thread about Twin Cities radio, where the classical service of Minnesota Public Radio is the only one of its three services that has gained instead of lost listeners. :-)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. I've been saying for years that the day will come when young people

rebel against their parents by listening to classical and jazz. ;-)

The Twin Cities have always impressed me as being remarkably progressive when it comes to the arts. Sounds like something is going right in MN!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Even back in Portland, KBPS (allclassical.org) enjoyed a spike in

listenership after 9/11. People called in and said that they needed to listen to something with substance and emotional depth, and they also appreciated the fact that the top-of-the-hour news headlines were from the BBC.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. I wonder why substance and depth

need to be limited to sad or traumatic occasions?

Am I really so weird for preferring a staple diet of that sort of fare? I like a little junk food now and then, too; but too much makes my brain rot.