Big Picture

WGBH stages virtual concert in Second Life

May 16, 2008 by Mike Janssen

Here’s a great example of a classical broadcaster trying something different in the new-media space. On Tuesday, May 27, acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk will visit Boston’s WGBH to perform live in their studios and on the air. Nothing new there. What’s different, though, is that at the same time a digital version of Denk will perform in WGBH’s virtual performance studio in its world in Second Life. After his performance, Denk will answer questions from his Second Life audience.

In case you’re not familiar with Second Life, it’s a vast online cosmos where visitors create computerized alter egos, known as avatars, to interact with each other and explore the user-created world. According to Wikipedia, about 38,000 users are logged on to Second Life at any given moment. (The image to the left depicts an avatar playing the grand piano in WGBH’s realm.)

“WGBH Radio broadcasts well over 100 live performances every year, on 89.7 and on the web, and now it’s time to tap a new audience in an environment that’s beyond those platforms,” says WGBH’s Gary Mott, who is managing the Second Life project. “It’s thrilling to be a part of something we’ve not done before, in virtual space. The media landscape is constantly evolving, and it’s exciting to be changing with it.”

No Drama

May 15, 2008 by Marty Ronish

The Democratic primary has been a terrific display of Performance Art — improv theater at its best. Journalists reveling in their juicy onstage parts have created their own political fringe festival, at the expense of more important stories, like wars and natural disasters. Everybody loves the drama of two powerful onstage protagonists, with their rival gangs. It’s a real life West Side Story. In the biz, we’ve always said that controversy is great for radio. It’s what makes talk radio more popular than music radio. And the lack of conflict – “drama,” … Continue Reading

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Some Mother’s Day Thoughts

May 9, 2008 by Marty Ronish

Mother’s Day is not just a Hallmark holiday. As a mother, I can tell you it’s about wanting your kids to be safe — not fighting in Iraq, for instance. You want them to be educated, and happy, and kind to others. Honest and fair in their dealings. You want to protect them from liars and charlatans. You want them to have discernment and not fall for the crap that passes as popular culture.

And you want them to appreciate the the transformative nature of great music, something that is easy for our generation but a lot harder for young people in today’s cultural climate.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, was quoted as saying

The decline of arts education in the U.S. and the paucity of international cultural exchanges will take decades to repair.

You can see a copy of the article here.

I confess to a little bit of hero worship of Dana Gioia. Here is a man who grew up as an immigrant in L.A., the first one in his family to go to college. He didn’t fit the usual demographic of a cultural consumer, but he defied the stereotypes and developed a mad passion for the arts.

In his speech at the Stanford University commencement last June, Gioia pointed out that we’ve become passive consumers of culture instead of active participants. And he blames it partly on a decline in arts education:

At 56, I am just old enough to remember a time when every public high school in this country had a music program with choir and band, usually a jazz band, too, sometimes even orchestra. And every high school offered a drama program, sometimes with dance instruction. And there were writing opportunities in the school paper and literary magazine, as well as studio art training. I am sorry to say that these programs are no longer widely available to the new generation of Americans….The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.

The whole speech is worth reading. Click here for a copy.

Station profile: Classical WETA 90.9 FM, Washington, D.C. (continued)

May 7, 2008 by Mike Janssen

Second of two posts

After WETA-FM became the sole classical radio outlet serving Washington, D.C. — you can catch up on the back story here — the benefits of claiming the city’s classical franchise were immediate. In the first Arbitron ratings book after the switch, WETA’s market share jumped to a 4.9 — more than double its 2.1 prior to the change. That took WETA from 17th among the market’s radio stations to fifth.

The station went on to average a 4.5 share last year and had a successful fundraising drive in February. “Public service is being transacted here,” says General Manager Dan DeVany, “because people are listening.”

WETA aims to present a mix of classical music that appeals to a broad audience — “anywhere from those who would be considered aficionados of classical music to those who enjoy it but don’t necessarily know much about it,” says DeVany. “Being broad-based in our appeal has certainly been an effort on our part, and it’s paid off.” The station couldn’t sound like the old commercial WGMS-FM “even if we wanted to,” DeVany says, because the lack of 20 minutes of ads an hour offers more programming freedom.

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