CBC Radio 2 gets a makeover September 2nd. Billed as “a new 2 on September 2”, the Canadian broadcaster announced its plans amidst a splashy launch party held at the CBC building in Toronto last week. Divine Brown, Alex Cuba, and the Gryphon Trio played to a lunchtime crowd as the network unveiled its new schedule, along with new programs and hosts, over snacks and the excited chatter of various so-called “mother-corp” executives.
| Susan Mitton, the Interim Executive Director of English Radio for CBC, called the new, multi-platform Radio Two “the most Canadian-reflective showcase” for artists, and noted that the network is going to be modernizing not only its sound, in some respects, but its approach to marketing itself, with more podcasting, blogs, and audience-interactive websites and streams. Identifying the network’s three pillars of “passion, knowledge, and creativity”, Mitton was careful to emphasize the balance between Radio 2’s much-loved classical sound, and the more modern approach the network will be taking come September 2nd. It would come to be a familiar theme throughout the launch. CBC has faced a backlash of criticism since the announcement of the network’s overhaul this past spring, with many longtime listeners and public broadcasting supporters worried that Radio 2 will turn into another bland, Adult-Oriented-Rock (or AOR, as it’s known) station and be virtually indistinguishable from its commercial counterparts. Chris Boyce, Programming Director for CBC Radio, was quick to nip this perception in the bud, calling the fall schedule “historic”, and noting it was a real team effort to get all the new programs and sounds of the network in place. The network’s aim, he said, was to make Radio 2 sound like the shuffle function on an I-pod; in other words, the playlist will feature a bit of everything. It will be a wildly diversified sound indeed, with longtime CBC favourite personality Tom Allen continuing his morning hosting duties, but under a new program name: Radio 2 Morning, running from 6am to 10am weekdays. Gone is Here’s To Here’s To You, the mid-morning request program that currently follows Allen’s morning show, along with Studio Sparks, hosted by classical music expert Eric Friesen. Replacing them both is Tempo, which will run from 10am to 3pm weekdays, and be hosted by opera singer Julie Nesrallah. The attractive singer/host confessed that the experience of working in radio has been “just like staging a major opera”, and said Tempo’s playlist will be “deep” with the three Bs: Bach, Beethoven, and Ben Heppner. |  |
 | Gothe, who is the food and wine editor of NUVO magazine, and has authored several books related to Disc Drive, including Disc Cookery (which pairs recipes with classical composers and pieces), will still be heard on Radio 2, though in a very minimized capacity. Relegated to a one-hour program called Farrago on Sunday afternoon between 5pm and 6pm, Gothe will be sharing bits and bobs from his own personal record collection, and, one may safely assume, more anecdotes about cooking, music, and travel. Terfry meanwhile, is the new drive-home host of Radio 2. With his trademark gruff voice, he listed off a dozen popular alt-pop names at the launch as being perfect playlist candidates for Radio 2 Drive, and said, half-joking, half-serious, that “there must be something in the collective Canadian gene pool” to produce so much ubiquitous talent, mentioning Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Ron Sexsmith as prime examples. Saying Radio 2 Drive “is really about the song”, he added that he hopes to have live music featured on the program weekly. It’ll certainly be a switch for older listeners to tune in and hear Basia Bulat in place of, say, Brahms, but again, it could be effective in attracting the coveted younger, Radio 3-oriented demographic CBC are hungry for. The one person who might be most successful in attracting both older and younger listeners, thus bridging the demographic gap, is the new host of the weekend Radio 2 morning program, singer Molly Johnson. Calling her education in radio hosting “a bit of a bootcamp”, Johnson seemed genuinely excited about her new gigue with Radio 2 Morning. Unlike Tom Allen, who already has a built-in listenership, Johnson has minimal experience in hosting radio, and yet she brings an undeniable sass, not to mention a sexy energy to a network in desperate need of both. Acknowledging her CBC history (she was on Mr. Dressup as a child, and later was a pop columnist with Peter Gzowski’s beloved Morningside), she, along with the other hosts, emphasized the importance of diversity within the network’s sound. |
| Another important aspect of the new Radio 2 sound is the emphasis the network aims to place on live shows. Boyce noted that since the launch of the hugely successful nightly program Canada Live one year ago, more than 700 concerts have been recorded, providing a perfect outlet for both established and up-and-coming Canadian artists, and creating a perfect opportunity for Radio 2 to expand its range and listenership in the process. Canada Live will continue to be broadcast nightly, from 8pm to 10pm, and as it has done, will feature a variety of sounds, including classical, world, pop, and jazz. Also staying intact are late-night shows The Signal, hosted by the venerable Laurie Brown weekdays (with Winnipeg-based Tim Tamashiro hosting on weekends), and Nightstream, hosted by Jowi Taylor. Judging from the range of music acts, as well as the diversity of Canadian music faces amongst the crowd at last Tuesday’s launch, it would seem that CBC executives are attempting to move away from the creaky, doily-loving schemata which Radio 2 has slipped comfortably into over the past two decades; come September 2, they’ll be embracing something new, if not entirely unfamiliar. It might take a few tries for longtime listeners to get used to the changes, and a few months for new ears to find the new shows and hosts. CBC does run the real risk of pleasing no one through its placation of older listeners and call for younger listeners, but in embracing the wide variety of sounds on offer through other (mainly online) media, Radio 2 is attempting to stay two steps ahead of the listenership game. You want a live concert? Download it from the website, or tune in at night. Want singer-songwriter sounds? Tune in to Terfry’s show. Classical during the day? Nesrallah has it. No one can accuse them, with such ambitious plans, of catering to supposedly baser tastes, much less of selling out in a commercial sense. If they want to reflect the taste and diversity of a Canadian I-pod user, however rough, inconsistent, or strange it may sound to some, it’s far braver than most commercial FM radio programming out there. It’s also far more Canadian, reflecting not just the tastes of a small segment of the population, but a large, and ever-growing one. Radio 2 are making it okay to wear jeans to the opera –something most of us have done for years now anyway. |  |
For more information about Radio 2 and the September 2 schedule changes, go to www.cbc.ca/radio2