The Radio Times

It is inevitable that with moving to a new place one will always compare new experiences with old ones. I think it's about time I start to compare and contrast some Canadian things with what I had grown used to in the UK. I think a good place to start is radio so lets have a showdown!

the CBC vs. the BBC

Her Majesty's governments' funded broadcasters

In my time in the UK, I had grown to love the BBC in general, but most particularly Radio 4. Canada's equivalent to Radio 4 is CBC Radio 1. Since Canada is a large country, geographically, CBC Radio 1 combines both local and national programming, and so I'll be discussing what I hear in Toronto.

Most of my radio listening is done in the mornings and evenings. I used to enjoy every morning waking up to the Today Programme on Radio 4. For those unfamiliar, Today was three hours of quality journalism teeing up the day's news stories. John Humphrys no-nonsense no BS style of interviewing is quite refreshing in a world of pushover journalists and politicians who think they can get away with murder. The equivalent in Toronto, Metro Morning, lacks the same sort of journalistic rigour, but that might be more due to the fact that it's more public interest than a current affairs programme. Matt Galloway, who hosts the show does an excellent job of tapping into the heartbeat of the city and brings to the surface what is really happening in Toronto and matters to Torontonians. I think the most interesting difference between the two shows is probably their times. Today runs from 6-9am whereas Metro Morning runs 5.30-8.30am. I think this is reflective of the much earlier start to the work-day in Canada.

My favourite programming on Radio 4 had to be its comedy, especially Monday and Friday comedy shows. In fact, I loved knowing that Monday to Friday I could turn on the radio at 6:30pm and hear something mildly amusing, if not hilarious. CBC Radio 1 devotes fewer minutes to humourous programming. I have caught one show, The Debaters, which seems to be in the style of the panel shows and comedy shows heard on the BBC. The show pits pairs of comedians against each other on various topics in a very formulated debate. It kind of reminds me of my days doing Lincoln-Douglas debates back in school. The aim is to persuade the audience to their point of view, and humour helps. However, the humour employed, I find, tends to be quite brash and lacks subtlety or sophistication.

In the early evenings, I used to love catching PM. This was more common when I was an undergraduate and was home early most days. Its equivalent in Canada would have to be As It Happens, but both are very different programmes. Both have a similar light-hearted approach, but As It Happens has a very unique format. Firstly, it airs later in the day, just after dinner time and right after the 6 o'clock news. AIH investigates stories that have been floating in the recent news and tries to go as close to the source as possible. This is done by conducting interviews over the telephone with people directly associated with or affected by a certain story in the news. This gives it a very human aspect and is a refreshing reminder that stories in the news are about real people and affect real people. Like Metro Morning, some of the stories require a bit of digging around for on the part of the production team, but are worth it. For example, this evening the co-curator of an obscure cafe/museum in Cornwall was interviewed. Her museum features leftovers and scraps left by celebrity patrons to her cafe.

My favourite programme on the CBC has to be the Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McClean. VC takes the format of an old-time radio live recorded variety show and focuses on music and stories. The show tours around the country hosting different Canadian musical artists each week. The host, Stuart, reads a story each week about a character, Dave, who runs a record store called the Vinyl Cafe, and his family. Most of the stories focus on Dave's hijinks and how they usually land him in trouble. Other stories focus on family members such as Dave's wife, Morley (the stories are usually referred to Dave & Morely stories), either or both of their children, Sam and Stephanie, or any number of characters in the neighbourhood. A particular favourite character of mine is Kenny Wong who owns and runs 'Wong's Scottish Meat Pies' just down the street from Dave's record shop. I don't think I could really do the show justice trying to describe it further here, so I highly recommend having a listen. It's broadcasted online on the weekends and can also be downloaded weekly as a podcast.

Well, that's what I've been listening to--both in the past and now more recently. I may be found complaining about the CBC at times, but no more than I would about the BBC. But I have to say, both are of a high calibre and are a testament to the quality of public broadcasting around the world. Sometimes, I guess, giving people government money and a (nearly) free remit can indeed produce some top quality work.