At 12:15 Monday morning, as is our wont, the hardworking staff repaired to the Global Worldwide Headquarters to do a little ruminating and construing, as is also our wont.
And, as usual, we flipped on the radio to 89.7 FM, expecting for all the world to hear Jazz with Bob Parlocha, the way we have for, lo, these umpteen years.
But no!
Instead we were met by some guy prattling on about flat-screen TVs and the Wright Bros. and Samuel Pierpont Langley in a monologue that sounded suspiciously like a Ted Talk.
So we hied ourselves to the WGBH website, which seemed to indicate that Eric Jackson should be on.
But he wasn’t.
This is decidedly not a good sign. But it is a fiendishly clever way to make the hardworking staff listen to 89.7’s kissin’ cousin, 99.5 FM Classical New England.
It’s all very calming and very upsetting at the same time.
Campaign Outsider 
I usually have Parlocha on overnight. I woke up a few minutes ago and went to the computer to find out what went wrong. Parlocha’s been replaced by “PRX Remix”
“Remix sounds like the best of public radio on shuffle. This new format for public radio presents curated, smart, creative spoken-word programs, amazing podcasts, cool ideas, fascinating interviews, found tape and intriguing sounds.”
I would divide the adjectives into two categories. ” Smart”, “creative”, “amazing”,” cool”, and “intriguing”, have the retro flavor of a copywriter reaching for Roget’s.
Category two includes “found” and the Orwellian “curated”. The PRX website says that this new format is ideal for public stations who are buying up lots of frequencies. There is one guy who claims to listen to each of the segments once before the software scrambles them. Because nobody should have to listen to this stuff over and over except the public radio audience.
I could go on but I have to get some sleep so I can get up early and put out the plastic bottles . If I miss the truck I’ll have to curate them for another two weeks.
I have one thing to say to WGBH, Bob: “Remix THIS.”
When GBH stopped Eric from playing his signature Tommy Flanagan opening we ‘should’ have known it was the beginning of the end. How dare one have passion about music, or character !
As a non TV owner Eric was my evening for 30 years. Recently, he was the only program I listened to on that declining station. Now, no non- blah-blah personalities allowed anymore at gbh, only drones. It is, after all, the don’t walk around observing life and listening to the birds when you can be plugged in and turned off generation.
No people employed at gbh means no fund raising right ? Sure.
I feel your pain, Colleen.
WGBH is wrong to take Eric Jackson for granted and misguided in turning its back on jazz & other distinctive programming. I’m using a different tote bag in protest.
Let’s sue; someone call Trundle, Repare, Rhume, and Constrü, LLP.
It’s easy to mock, Mick.
Just having a laugh, staff.
Congratulations for living where WCRB-FM 99.5 can be received. I live a short distance from the Andover transmitter site, so I could almost get WCRB on my toaster. Monday in the wee early hours is usually turned over to pipe organ music. I wonder how many people living in apartment buildings or condos listen with the volume turned up?
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