A magazine published by the University of Southern California features a lengthy profile of KUSC-FM, the classical public radio station licensed to the university, and Los Angeles’ most popular full-time classical station. The whole article is worth reading for its depth and its historical scope, but I’ll highlight here what I found particularly noteworthy about KUSC and the thinking that guides its hosts and programmers. Other classical stations should take note.
Mike Janssen
Australia’s 4MBS: community engagement to the utmost
Some U.S. classical radio stations promote live performances, sponsor occasional talks or find other ways to get out in their communities, promoting local arts while elevating their profiles in the process. But I’m willing to wager that even the most active station would look like a hopeless underachiever next to Australia’s 4MBS Classic FM.
4MBS stages a dizzying array of musical and cultural events in its hometown of Brisbane, throughout Australia and even on the high seas — concerts, plays, contests, cruises, lectures, classes and more. These activities make 4MBS much more than just a radio station. In fact, General Manager Gary Thorpe credits 4MBS’s growth over the past 15 years to its efforts to engage audiences in so many different ways. The station boasts an annual income on par with that of classical stations in Sydney and Melbourne, homes to many more people than Brisbane.
“We want to show people that the radio station is just the start of the process of connecting with the community,” he wrote in an e-mail. “There are so many other relevant and meaningful things we can do to enhance their lives and the 4MBS experience — broaden their horizons within the classics.”
Could the CBC orchestra stay in business?
Anyone following the fate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s Radio Orchestra ought to read a thorough article in the Toronto Globe and Mail about the unresolved fate of the orchestra and other CBC Radio projects that may be on their way out. The CBC inspired widespread criticism and public protests in March when it announced that it would shut down the radio orchestra, the last of its kind still operating in North America.
Dogs join worms in classical radio’s sanctuary of calm
We might have a new recurring feature on Scanning the Dial: “Zoology Fridays.” Or at least as long as scientists continue to study the effects of classical radio on animals. Last week’s installment focused on the worms of Abram Sparks, which, as you might recall, became agitated by rap music and soothed by classical. This week we learned that British researchers found that classical radio had similar effects on dogs housed in a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter. The scientists listened to recordings of the dogs made … Continue Reading