Time to start blogging again ..

Good morning, friends. The reason why I started this blog in the first place is so that my friends can keep track of me when I travel.

So far, this blog has covered India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Kenya. With stops at airports in between. Closer to home, I've been to Vancouver, Bear River Nova Scotia, Ottawa, South River Ontario, Windsor Ontario and places I've forgotten about.

And now I'm going to be adding Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. I leave next Sunday, the 14th .. Valentine's Day and my nephew Anthony's first birthday ..

I'm doing another installment of documentaries for The Green Planet Monitor, the podcast/radio series I have been working on with my buddy Dave Kattenburg for many years now.

Today, I'm summarizing my story list, trying to figure out where to stay in San Salvador, whether to stay longer in Guatemala City and take the TICA bus to San Salvador .. many questions.

And as is my usual state of mind before a big trip, I have the usual moments when I just sit immobilized in my comfy chair as I say to myself "I can't believe I'm doing this .."

More later .. much more later.

Amazing Small World ...

I am constantly amazed when people from my past pop up in surprising places. It happens all the time. And these days, not just in my own hometown. This morning, I reconnected with someone in Africa who I had met in the Netherlands.

I was trying to set up an account with an organization called One World Radio

One World Radio is an international radio exchange where producers can post material to have other stations use it. I emailed the Editor, whose name is Kelvin Chibomba to ask him some questions.

I got an email back from him this morning saying "Do you realize that you are talking to someone you tutored in The Netherlands 2001? I am kelvin Chibomba guy from Zambia. This is a small world indeed. I owe you a lot, you and Bruce Girard. I have since moved from Maz Community Radio to OneWorld Africa as Radio Editor."

When I first saw Kelvin's name and the fact that I was sending an email to him in Zambia, the thought briefly crossed my mind. But it was a quick thought because .. after all, Africa is a very big place.

The course that I facilitated was a three day intensive training for community radio station managers in the developing world. It was at the Radio Netherlands Training Centre, a division of Radio Netherlands which focusses specifically on training media people in the developing world.

Out of the ten people in the class, I have heard from/about three of the participants .. Kelvin; Fernando who moved to Toronto a couple of years after the workshop; and Diana who works with a women's radio station in Ghana (Ghana has amazing community radio).

I just love it when this happens ... and this also reminds me I should send off another CV to Radio Netherlands because I would love to do this again ...

The Future is Radio 2.0

I have been looking for a way to describe the convergence which is happening between radio and the internet. There is a big shift underway which is somewhat about radio, somewhat about the internet ... the bottom line being that something is changing and I couldn't define what it is.

Today I got a post from an international development radio colleague of mine called Local Radio 2.0. And finally I got the description/term I was looking for.

It comes from the term Web 2.0, which is the phrase referring to the new interactive capabilities of the internet as demonstrated by sites like Facebook, myspace and other social networking sites. It refers to a more general phenomena -- as Internet guru Wayne MacPhail so aptly puts it "the internet is now a conversation". And the internet allows all of us to contribute to the dialogue about the ongoing progress of the world ... we are not just passive consumers of information. We are producers.

The internet is also turning radio into a conversation. The biggest thing is that we can all create our own radio stations, and our own audio content. We can do podcasts, we can have shoutcasts, we can post sounds and images of ourselves. The internet is our transmitter.

How this will affect the transmitters we have come to know ... and the radio stations that use them ... remains to be seen. If you turn on the radio right now, you won't hear that it's significantly different than it was fifteen years ago. That is going to change, though. I don't have my crystal ball (or my crystal transmitter) handy so I am not yet hearing what that's going to mean. But it will mean something, and that something will be huge. The change may be quick, it may take place over a long time.

All I know is that we in traditional radio have to start thinking laterally and start to think of radio as the conversation that the internet is becoming.

If you want more food for thought about this, there is a conference in Kuala Lumpur in December addressing some of these issues. You can find the information on the site of the World Electronic Media Forum.

Needless to say I would LOVE to go. But I can't go anywhere for a bit .. meanwhile, I just got an invitation to speak in Norway in March ... Malaysia will have to wait for now.

Want to be an Independent Producer?

People frequently ask me "how can I do what you do?" Here is a list of qualifications to be an independent producer -- by Catherine Vibert, an independent producer in the United States, from the Association of Independents in Radio listserve.

I would only add one more: for those who don't have the luxury of someone in the household with a good income -- keep the expenses low. (Easier to remember if you remind yourself frequently that this isn't just your job .. it's your life ...)

Skill Set for a Media Indie:
by Catherine Vibert, independent producer

The required skillset for independent contributors to the current media marketplace is manifold. For radio submissions alone, an indie must be skilled as:

An audio technician.
A computer junkie.
A great interviewer.
A bitchin writer.
A persistant journalist.
A brutal editor.
An awesome storyteller.
A narrator with "the voice".
A sociologist or anthropologist and/or extremely well read.
Sensitive and compassionate about inequities.
A musician (Actually, not necessary but it seems so many are, indeed one wonders how many came to public radio due to their involvement in music.)
A thorough researcher.
A good marketer.
Excellent at sales and followup.
Able to create extra time out of nowhere to listen regularly to every episode of all the programs on all public and foreign outlet radio so they are thoroughly prepared to pitch to that show�s exact style and flare.
Able to drink 10 cups of coffee in a single shot, 10 times a day.
Fearless
Rich, or married to someone who can support them.

Keeping current with contemporary media options, (and one must or they may be left behind, because as one knows, this is The Way of Progress) add photography, videography, web design, blogging, web presence management, video editing, creative slideshow creation, hours spent on researching solicitation opportunities online, oh, and the ability to pull money out of nowhere to pay for the endless supply of equipment and updates needed. If one can master all of the above, one finds they have themselves a skill set to reckon with!

And truly, once one has mastered a skill set such as that, should one really have to ask for fair remuneration for their efforts? Yes, methinks, to ask, perchance, to eat

Korogocho

It always takes me a long time to process what I've seen and experienced when I've been away.

Of all the places I went during my Africa trip, Korogocho is the one which is occupying most of my thoughts.

I met a wonderful young woman named Leah Murugi at the conference I was at .. The International Association of Women in Radio and Television. Leah was invited to speak because she works at Koch FM, a tiny radio station deep in the heart of the Korogocho Slum. Korogocho is the third largest slum in Nairobi, with half a million people living in a space the size of six city blocks.

We connected because I did a workshop on listening and collecting sounds, and she wanted to use some of my ideas to work with children. I was really happy about this ...

Then she invited me, and my friend Frieda (also from Canada) to visit the radio station and her home. I felt very honoured and privileged ... it must have taken some kind of trust for Leah to have the confidence to say "this is where I live ..." and not be worried about being judged or getting a bad reaction from us.

Also, Leah is a journalist. She understands that things never change unless people are shown the things that need changing. As her bright red Radio Koch T-shirt says:





Since returning home, I have read some articles on the internet by other people who have visited Korogocho. Many of these articles focus on the despair, the filth, the poverty, the City of Nairobi garbage dump that is so close to the slum that it's part of the slum.

I didn't feel this sense of despair, and as I thought about it on the plane (and when I gave myself the space to shed a tear or two), I asked myself why. And I think the reason is that Leah doesn't feel despair. She is a woman who is working to make a difference.

She sings a song, the words of which are "It was not my wish to be born in Korogocho, but God help me to do good while I am here".

She's lived there for all twenty of her young years, but the vision of her life doesn't include living there for the rest of her life. She has a plan .. to go to journalism school and get a job to move her, her mother and her sister out of the slum. I believe she will do it.

That's why I didn't feel hopeless. Though I do feel sadness for the children without adequate health care who are fighting worse germs than any of us ever will. For the friendly boys we met who Leah told us were high on glue ... for the people who don't have the hope they will ever get out of there.

But it's too much to think about all at once. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness, they say. And Leah is one bright little candle ...

And here's the front side of Leah's T-shirt, and Leah's smiling, beautiful face:

a radio goodbye ..

It was with a heavy heart that I received the news this morning of the death of Robert Chesterman.

Rob was a radio features and drama producer with CBC for many years in Vancouver. I went to Vancouver in the early '80's .. one of the reasons being that I wanted to work with this man. I had heard some of his arts programs on CBC Stereo when I was back in Windsor in 1981. I even sold a piece to his national network program "Audience" ... an interview with renowned flautist Jean Pierre Rampal. Something about the spirit of Audience and the respect with which it treated artists made me want to be there. I don't know why. I knew nothing about Robert Chesterman except that some of the people I worked with at CBC Windsor spoke his name with reverence. And that I liked his show.

It took me a couple of years in Vancouver before I was able to get up the nerve to approach him to ask him if I could work with him. When I did, he was very welcoming and we connected right away. He invited me to contribute to the BC Arts Program "Monitor". One of the things I remember the most was his approach towards artists. The most refreshing thing I have ever heard from a CBC was "I don't want to interfere with your creativity". Rob was the only producer ever to have said that to me within the corporation's walls. He never vetted a single script I wrote for the show .. something unheard of at CBC. He trusted me to write what I thought was best for the show. And he always liked what I came up with.

In 1985 I was offered a job as his production secretary .. not a job I would have done if I was working for anyone else. It was in the last days of his work with the Corp ... he was being edged out the door on early retirement and he did not want to go. He freely shared his feelings with me about broadcasting, about CBC, about his career and his life in radio. And his frustration and yes, anger, at having to leave before he thought his time should be up.

At the time, he was also transitioning into his film career ... I did a lot of support work for him on his second film "Which Way to Carnegie Hall?", about the challenges of young musicians trying to develop a career in music. He had finished his film on Kings College Choir a few years earlier, called "A Boast of Kings". It was a rare opportunity to work with a very talented person who was creatively moving into another form of art as his previous art form was starting to wind down.

It was also a crazy time at the CBC ... CBC went through a huge programming shift in the mid 1980's (some, including me, would say the beginning of the dumbing-down of the Mother Corp) ... I was working for three producers at the time -- Robert Chesterman who represented the old and fine intellectual tradition of the CBC, Tom Deacon, the producer and co-creator of Disc Drive (whicn was received which much scepticism from some quarters, ya, it's a pretty effortless listening experience), and Susan Englebert, the new Area Exec Producer of Performance Programming whose background at that time was primarily in radio variety (Great Canadian Goldrush, Gabereau and other well produced, but shall we say "lighter" fare?"). It was quite a study in contrasts.

Two out of three of that diverse group have now passed away .. Susan Englebert just last fall, and now Robert Chesterman. And that's sad. Susan and I never really never really connected in that heart-to-heart way .. we worked together okay, and I respected her, but not the same way I respected and related to Rob. Partly because he represented the intellectual, thoughtful tradition of CBC of yesteryear that many of us miss ... and also largely because he was an intellectual, thoughtful producer who considered himself an equal partner of the artists he worked with ... no doubt his funeral will be a who's who of artists in Vancouver of his generation. Because they respected him just as he respected them.

I am sad he's gone. I wonder what he was working on when he found out he had cancer. And that now will never be finished ....

Say Radio Meow!

This guy will not be working at Radio Meow. He's an example of why it's needed.

Radio Meow is India's first talk radio station aimed at women. This is remarkable in so many ways. First of all, if there was ever a place where women need to speak, it's India (and a lot of other places, too of course. It's just that I haven't been there, so I don't feel as compelled to write about it).

Second of all, it's a commercial radio station. In a country that has only 68 (!) commercial radio stations, it's pretty significant that there's a women's station at all in the bunch. (Commercial radio has only been allowed on the air for a few years, which is why there are only 68. If you divide up the population of India, over 1 billion, by 68 radio stations .. well, my math skills aren't that good so I can't calculate how many pairs of ears per station that would be. How many zeroes in a billion?)

If India follows the broadcasting style of the west, likely the on-air content will be restricted to fashion, the home and other things that won't get the men terribly upset. But it's a start. Even the idea that there is a place on the airwaves devoted to women is an important political symbol.

In terms of real on-the-ground change, I still think that community radio has more capacity to change society (and community radio is now legal in India too, with many in the planning stages preparing to go on-air). But having stations like Radio Meow in Mumbai might help women realize some new possibilities. There are many, many, maybe even half a billion, women who never ever thought a woman could or should go on air. So it's a step. Maybe it will inspire some of them to find a community radio station and go on air themselves. Or even go to get into radio as a career.)

For those of you who are going to be travelling to Mumbai, Radio Meow is on 104.8. Bring me back a tape of the programming if you go. Better still, an interview.

Meow stations are also due for launch in Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Patiala, Shimla and Jodhpur in the coming months.

A question for those of you who know Indian culture .. I am puzzled by the name. I can understand why a radio station aimed targeted at women over here would be named after a cat. But never in my travels in India did I even see a cat ... are cats a female symbol in India too ??

Blackberry Digital Hash??

(Photo: unripe blackberries in Harrison Hot Springs, BC)

No, Blackberry Digital Hash isn't a new kind of fruity illegal substance.

Those of you in the recording business may find this interesting. The Blackberry transmits a more powerful signal than an ordinary cellphone. So when there's a Blackberry in the room, it can interfere with your recording.

This is true of ordinary cell phones too. Even when they're turned off.

Berlin, are you there .. Prague .. come in ...

I spent the afternoon today in a radio studio celebrating Art's Birthday. Art who? ART. With a capital A. As in AHHT ... dahling.

My job was to search the internet and pull audio clips from all the Art's Birthday celebrations from around the world. Which would mean mostly Canada and Europe. Japan had a live netcast too, but their day was all finished by the time we got to the station. That international date line thing, you know.

I did a lot of listening today and a lot of surfing too. The best thing about it was that this was the first time I've used internet broadcasts as a programming tool. And I learned a lot.

First of all, you have to get up early in the morning to grab your material because by the time the afternoon rolls around, the net gets very congested and slow. And some streams don't even appear at all ... we techologically based artists are pretty good at this stuff but we're not infallible. I never could get Prague to come in.

And speaking of Prague, I sure wish those Czechs would put the little loudspeaker symbol on their web page so I don't have to figure out what the word "Listen" is in Czech. Some of these web masters make it awfully hard to figure things out. Respect the conventions of UWL, (Universal Web Language), folks.

I also realized that you don't ever plan a whole afternoon on live netcasts. Or, if you do, you always have a good backup plan in case Prague doesn't show up for your party either.

The other things I learned were about Art himself (who decided that Art was a guy, anyway?) After listening to a whole bunch of artists paying homage to their master, I have come up with the conclusion that Art is a pretty cool guy. Damn cold, as a matter of fact (actually, it's a matter of perception, not fact).

Art is a real machine these days. All those computer generated sounds. Beeps, squawks, machine sounds. So I have to ask, where is the humanity in all the beep squawking that is going in galleries these days? Where are the human voices? Where are the real world sounds? Where is the stuff that stirs the soul?

I enjoyed the workout that the left side of my brain got today, though. I'll visit my right brain again tomorrow and be glad that for me, Art's a whole lot softer than all that.

If you want to listen to some Art's Birthday celebrations yourself, click here.

P.S. the guy with the cake above is Pierre Filliou, the guy who decided over a hundred years ago that Art's Birthday should be celebrated. He was French. You probably figured that out ....

So Long, Catfish John

I just got the very sad news that Catfish John, co-host of the Sunnyside Up Gospel Hour at WMMT is no longer with us.

The news was emailed to me via L'il Willard of the Bluegrass Express Show, also from WMMT. I met Catfish Jean and Catfish John when Barry and I were living down in Kentucky. Barry was managing the radio station, I was taking a break from working and learning about the things I missed while I was working.

WMMT had a rule ... you could sing about God, but no preachin' and no prayin'. The Catfishes walked that line really closely. Devout Christians themselves, but they appreciated the station and its rules. And in all of the time I've talked to them, not once did they say anything that expressed anything other than love and respect for other people. Truly a model that other Christians would do well to follow.

One especially memorable day, we went to the home of two WMMT folks who could no longer do a show. Mallie and Levie Gross were their names. So they did their weekly radio program of gospel tunes with a guitar, a voice and a really tinny Sears tape recorder and microphone that no broadcast professional would ever let near a radio station. They did their show anyway and it was broadcast, every week. And what it lacked in depth of sound, they made up for in depth of spirit. We went up to Levi and Mallie's house, along with Catfish Jean and Catfish John, who played in the ensemble on his slide dobro. He was a hell of a (whoops ... I meant "heck of a") good musician.

I'm glad I still have the recording that I made of that day, and I will listen to it and think of Catfish John. I am sure Catfish Jean's heart is really breakin' right now. But her faith is so strong that I don't believe she doubts for a minute that there is a heaven, and that Catfish John will be waiting for her when she gets there.

Reminds me of a song I learned when I was in Appalachia:

"I'll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan
I'll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand
And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout
And I'll come running through the shallow waters reaching for your hand".

Where is everybody?

Radio ads and radio guys .. the same everywhere (a billboard in Bangalore, where commercial radio has only been legal for a couple of years.)


My email is slowing down to less than a trickle. Come on, everybody ...

Still in Mangalore .. this morning I went down to the harbour to watch the fishing boats come in and sell their catch. Had breakfast in the Fisherman's Association Restaurant ... really good food here .. because I know local people I am getting away from the standard touristy restaurants (though room service in the hotel at night is good and really cheap -- I'm only spending $4 a day maximum on food). After all the meetings all day it's good to eat by myself accompanied only by Hindu TV, the Discovery Channel and non-stop American movies.

This afternoon I am going mosquito busting with a citizens group that is trying to stop the spread of malaria. Then off to meet city councillors. Tomorrow is All India Radio (they've set me up to meet the Chairman of the whole Corporation, which is very cool. I am going to talk to him about how he sees All India Radio working with community radio). Further on the radio front, I was amazed to learn that the first commercial stations only went on the air 4 or 5 years ago. Another 326 are coming on line in a month or two. And the predictions are that there will be 5000 new stations on the air within five years.

From what I've seen, commercial radio isn't going to be any more exciting here than it is in Canada. The marketing is the same too -- big beefy guys with cool sounding names who are trying to be funny and entertaining. Sigh ... this is not a stylistic export from America that I am happy to see here.

(Later Postscript -- when I was doing community radio interviews on Oct. 16 in Bangalore, the continuous lament from Indian community radio folks was that the government was never going to legalize community radio. Despite the legislation being on the table for 9 years. On November 16, just two weeks after I got home, it was legalized. That is big news ....)

Over and out for now. More tomorrow. Write to me!

Definitely getting more used to being here. Canada has started to become a bit of a haze ...

The Same Road Bill Gates Uses

Needed -- Four Lane Highway for the IT Industry
Whew! What a day!

I am in busy, dizzy, Bangalore. I came here specifically because my friend Frieda wanted me to meet her friend Indu, a fireball of a journalist who is 70 years old and going stronger than me.

She asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to focus my time on talking to community radio folks. First thing off the plane yesterday I called her and she said "The people from Voices (community radio group) want to talk to you but they'll only be there until four. Call them (It was 2:00) So I took a cab right over there and got to work right away.

This morning she picked me up and took me to meet a woman with a dynamic development and communications group. Just about all women, doing marvellous work. And I picked up a great idea from them .. they have negotiated to give every woman over 45 an extra 15 days a year in "wellness" time because they realize we're at an age when we need to slow down and take care of ourselves. I say Yay!

Indu also took me to All India Radio and I got a good conversation with the Director General of the Southern Region about how AIR regards community radio.

The reference above (the road Bill Gates Uses) refers to the drive Indu took me on to go to Electronics City, the big fancy shiny place where the big high tech companies live. The road to the City is dusty, crowded, noisy, hot .. and Indu said to me "even Bill Gates has to take this road". It stuck with me.

Another thing I saw today -- the Man with the Big Hat from Curious George. Seriously, it's the outfit the people who direct traffic (or try to direct traffic) wear.

Lots of other notable things -- fewer cows in the city here in Bangalore. An occasional goat, but fewer cows. And a lot of stores that I recognize .. Bangalore is a moving, happening, modern city. Of all the cities I've seen, this is the nicest.

Indu has arranged some interesting digs for me too. I am staying at a private club called The Bowering Institute (don't worry Dave, it's within budget anda everything here in Bangalore is much more expensive. So it's a good deal). It's a club set up by the British in 1847. At the time, Indians weren't allowed to come in. Except as servants. Now it's all Indian, the room is sparse but comfortable with hot water even (have I told you that most of the hot water taps here are because you can't buy a set of taps without a hot water tap? Purely decorative. It's got air conditioning too.)

It's hotter down here in Bangalore but I am not doing too badly. Not swimming in sweat like I thought I would do.

So, tomorrow, first thing. Plane flight to Bangalore where I will meet a person who I met in Hamilton in our living room three years ago. He runs an Urban Research Institute and we will have many things to talk about. There is also an exchange program between Hamilton and Mangalore that has been going since the '60's. So there's some good stuff there too.

Must check my email. Just wanted to pop in so y'all wouldn't worry.

Life in Hippie Heaven

I am on the road for a few days visiting my friends Ken and Donna on spectacular Gabriola Island. Gabriola Island is one of the gulf islands, between the mainland and Vancouver Island, where a lot of hippies went in the '70's and decided never to return to civilization.

Ken is working on starting a community radio station here. And wherever two or three are gathered in the name of community radio, there I also am.

I will have some great pictures to post once I get back to the mainland. Today I went into the village with Donna and met 5 Alpacas being led down the street. Sort of a little Alpaca parade (my mom told me a couple of years ago that she wanted an alpaca for a pet. I can see why. They are so cute, cute, cute. For those who have never met an Alpaca, they are mini llamas.

Ken is cleaning out the truck and we are about to set out to see the sights of the island. Tomorrow I'll go off hiking by myself, hang out at a few beaches, read and have a real nice time exploring. Friday we head back to Vancouver, stopping first at many Value Villages along the way and making a side trip to the (sadly) infamous Squamish Oil slick. (Ken is a fervent environmentalist so we're going on a fact finding mission). Hard stuff to look at. I have my video camera with me so I'm sure I'll do some documenting.

As far as what I'm going to do with it, I don't really know yet. Right now, I"m just getting used to the art of doing work with moving pictures so it won't be anything ambitious. Maybe I'll do my first video podcast.

Must go .. the tour bus is waiting. Pictures in a couple of days. Sooner if uploading from Ken's computer isn't a big deal ...

Thank you for listening to me

It is now day 3 of the World Urban Forum. So far I've done 2 interviews with another one scheduled for later this afternoon.

The interviews have been good, but the most value is learning a lot more about all the issues I'll be covering with Green Planet Monitor. Specifically, I've been to several sessions about post-tsunami reconstruction and I think I have a better handle on what needs to be covered as part of this very huge story.

One of the big things I am learning has nothing to do with issues, though. It has more to do with how the first and the third world relate to each other. A phrase comes up continuously at the end of panel discussions -- "thank you for listening to me". Granted, first world people also usually end their talks with the obligatory thank you as well. But there's something different about the way it's phrased when .. for lack of a better term ... we Anglos say it.

For us, it's more a matter of formality. I get the impression that there's no real heart in it ... I'm sure it's meant on some level but it seems to be more like a habit.

The people I have heard from the third world have a gentler way of saying it. "Thank you for listening to me". As though they are surprised. There's also a real expression of gratitude .. like they have no expectation that being listened to is a right and are really happy for the chance.

From now on, I am going to try to say "thank you for listening to me" more often. Because, in this world, we are given a gift when people listen to us. And by saying thank you I am acknowledging the gift.

I also believe that being listened to is also a right .. but if we all said thank you to each other we wouldn't have to demand our rights. We would give AND receive the gratitude we all need.

Voiceless in Radioland

I have my voice back again. I got a really nasty bout of almost bronchitis and had to really concentrate on not losing my voice so I could speak at the National Campus and Community Radio Conference yesterday. Tough work, being at a radio conference and trying not to talk.

As most of you probably figured out, I didn't totally manage to be mute all week. But I did cut back on the use of my vocal chords and the two workshops and soundwalk I did yesterday went really well.

I am in Ottawa, by the way, in case you've lost track (I lose track of myself on a daily basis, so quite understandable if you do too).

I really like this city. If I was going to live anywhere in Ontario, this would be it. Having a really good time getting together with friends I haven't seen since I lived here five or six years ago. This city is so pretty. And so polite ... not much Windsorness or Hamilton-ness to it at all (though I do appreciate the realness of both those cities -- Ottawa has a lot of smoke and mirrors -- there is a lot of pretending done here)


There is an upside to living out of a backpack and not needing to be any place at any particular time.

Keep in touch, y'all ... FYI - I am back in Hamilton on Tuesday and Wednesday, heading Toronto way on Thursday, then flying out to Vancouver on Friday (the 16th). Yee haw.

The State of the Airwaves

This is a repost of a message I put on Airdaily, the listserve of the Association for (of?) Independents in Radio in the States. This is a good read for anybody who is interested in radio, music and/or cultural nationalism.

******************************************

Hey folks -- if you're interested in finding out how commercial radio is faring in Canada, the latest submission by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters is a fascinating read.

"That Was Then .. This is Now" can be found here.

Even if you're not specifically interested in Canadian broadcasting, the summary of how all the different kinds of audio delivery are affecting commercial radio can be applied to other national contexts as well.

In terms of the language of this report, you will find a lot of similarities to the position and tone of the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters, the lobby group for the commercial stations in the States). I am very thankful that up here in Canada, the CAB and commercial radio does not have a lock on the airwaves like they do in the US. They're still trying, though.

The CAB's position papers always start with the premise "the sky is falling". And if it's not already falling, well then, it's about to fall. And of course they resist any kind of regulation .. unless of course it's to their advantage and then hey, save us Big Mommy Government.

Fascinating reading, even if the whiny tone is real annoying ...

Vive la Canadienne,
Victoria

Quick Update

Well, things are moving ahead really nicely down here. My art installation "Mixing Addictions" is going together really well and I actually have the self-discipline now to work on it in both a systemic and spontaneous way (this is one of my biggest challenges).

AND ...

I have been offered a sessional instructor job teaching radio broadcasting at the University of Windsor. I am still pretty amazed .. I've done some teaching before but not at the university level. This is a very good thing. Maybe I'll even start to think about doing a master's ... not sure where all this is going but it's a good direction.

More later. Got to get to the studio.