Gains and Losses

VPR — Vermont Public Radio — announces increased classical service:

VPR Classical is now broadcasting at 99.5 FM, reaching a population of 36,000, including the communities of Montpelier, East Montpelier, and parts of Barre.

And farther north, Winnipeg has launched a new classical station:

Golden West announced … the launch of Classic 107.1 FM…

The station will be a “daily go-to source for information on the sizzling arts and culture scene in Winnipeg and will the place for local emerging musicians to gain visibility and experience,” Golden West’s release said.

That’s the good news.  Listeners in Iceland are not so happy.

Iceland’s state broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) announced the departure of 60 staff on Thursday – 20 per cent of its already-trimmed workforce – and unveiled severe cuts to programming which some insiders believe could see an end to broadcasts of classical music and jazz. Just under half of the corporation’s music staff were told they no longer had jobs last week and some were told to leave immediately. …

Iceland’s cultural radio station Rás 1, which before Thursday accounted for just 7 per cent of the broadcaster’s total budget across two radio stations and a television channel, has been particularly badly hit. The future of RÚV’s classical output looks bleak. Already off the air are the station’s baroque music show, its only jazz and world music shows, and the two shows which featured new music writing and contemporary music performance. Thursday night broadcasts of Iceland Symphony Orchestra concerts look precarious; the long-time presenter was made redundant last week, as was RÚV’s only remaining ‘tonmeister’ for producing broadcasts and recordings.

As Sarah Zaslaw of Georgia Public Broadcasting points out on the AMPPR Listserv, that’s a lot of staff for a station that serves a national population of just over 320,000.