notloB Music: WGBH drops folk and blues programsNov 07, 2009
Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself.
Today on Eric Jackson's Facebook page we read
Changes at WGBH are coming. My evening show is going to be eliminated. I will be on the air Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 PM until Midnight. Steve Schwartz will be let go and my position will be scaled back to part time. I am not sure if there will be any change to Bob Parlocha's show.
In 2009-2010 many of us attended community advisory committee meetings, sent letters to senior executives and the board of directors and withdrew support via volunteering and memberships. All to no avail. WGBH management's answer then was, on the advice of "industry experts" there was room in the Boston market for an all-news/talk public radio outlet (the other being WBUR) so it was going "single format" (all news and talk). It appears today WGBH management, with the support of the board of directors and the members who elect them, are holding steady by reducing jazz broadcast hours. What's next, the complete elimination of jazz and reduction/elimination of "A Celtic Sojourn?" That would be the logical course in keeping with the "single stream" business approach. We chose to use the word "business" as WGBH has become an operation run as a for-profit business, not a not-for-profit rooted in serving the public. Remember the public, it's the operative word of "public radio."When WGBH management pulled the plug on folk and blues programs, Jim Kweskin provided the following quote:
"I can only assume this has something to do with the almighty dollar. Isn't this supposed to be public radio and aren't we the public. Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself. Well, as Ma Joad said, "We're the people and you can't stop us and you can't lick us. We just keep coming, 'cause we're the people."That was true on November 11, 2009 and, unfortunately, remains true today.
Captured from the WGBH website before it goes down the memory hole.http://www.wgbh.org/listen/jackson_eric.cfm
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"Eric Jackson has been the dean of the Boston jazz scene for 25 years."-Boston MagazineFirst album I ever owned: I bought my first three records all on the same day — Chicken and Dumplings by Bobby Timmons, Soul Clinic by Hank Crawford, and Soul Message by Richard Groove Holmes.Five desert island albums: Anything by Coltrane or MilesGreatest place to see live music: I love outdoor festivals and concerts.Favorite book about music/musician: The Music of Black Americans by Eileen SouthernWhen not listening to Jazz, I listen to Stevie Wonder, PrinceIf I wasn’t a radio host, I’d be a psychiatrist.The best part of my job is hearing lots of new music and meeting lots of people.
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