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Topic: It is hard to say now what will happen.

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Posted by scooter on 09-22-2009
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Public radio WGBH (89.7) reportedly bid $14m for WCRB (99.5), Boston's fledging privately held 100% classical radio station.

Reportedly the idea is to make 89.7 a pure news format, whereas it previously was a hybrid including classical music. WCRB will continue as all classical. So there will be less classical FM programming in Boston.

That said, perhaps WGBH will follow the recent lead of WNYC and sack the entire staff at WCRB, and improve the format from a top-40 of classical which is, frankly, unbearable. Maybe sound quality will be improved also...

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/22/wgbh_bids_for_broader_presence_in_public_radio/

Posted by Romy the Cat on 09-23-2009
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The logistics of the buyout were not outlined and without it would be very difficult to predict what would happen. I feel that the demise of WCRB is not a big lost for Boston. I wish then were not bought but to die out s they deserve this end. The quality of sound and the quality of programming was there horrible – so why would I care if one shitty Boston station stops to exist?

The separation of WGBH on two station – the NPR talk/new and All Classical is a good idea I think and I very much like both. The 89.7FM has very good own talk/new programming and they have BBC broadcasts – the NPR/PBS + BBC is the only news station that I can listen in US without disgust. I bit concern is that the new talk only WGBH will be in “conflict” with my another favorite WBUR 90.9 FM – which has virtually the same programming. Perhaps the WBUR would drift toward to the interview-type, call-in station vs. the WGBH-Talk would be mode journalism station.

What however, is more important in context of this site what would happen with the new WGBH-WCRB- All Classical? I have enormous respect to the WGBH classical production team and if they have a whole station in this disposal then it might be interesting. If they take the Friday and Saturday live BSO broadcasts from the dead and barbaric WCRB hands then it might be very good.

http://www.wgbh.org/support/keepclassicalalive_main.cfm

However, it is not clear of the WGBH buy the WCRB juts to kill the competition of they did it to get their recourses. Will the neat WGBH-classical use the horrible WCRB transmitter facility located in Andover? The WGBH current transmitter located at Blue Hill in Canton, MA that covers Boston very well. They have an additional WCAI/WNAN network that covers the Cape. If they have set the WCRB transmitter as a repeater that would covers north MA and sound NH then it would be fine. If they have the current WGBH transmission power allocated to WGBH-talk and let the former WCRB transmission power to care the WGBH-Classical then it will be a total disaster.

So, let see what happen and how it goes...

The Cat

Posted by Romy the Cat on 09-23-2009
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It is in the today Globe

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/09/23/wgbh_deal_may_spark_boston_news_radio_battle/

do not miss the comments on the article today’s and yesterday’s.

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