Laurence Glavin writes:

>There's an organization called the Radio Research Consortium
>that studies public broadcasting and reports on it from time to time.
>Their latest report just out chronicles a DECLINE in ratings and
>time-spent-listening over the past year.  Locally, WGBH-FM Boston cut
>back quite noticeably on its classical music fare, and I understand
>Washington, DC's WETA-FM did so also.  Both in markets with positively
>dreadful commercial classical FM's.  For those of you with a few free
>minutes to peruse this short report, it's at the Radio Research
>Consortium's
>website:

In all fairness it should be pointed out that WETA eliminated all
classical music in one stroke, while WGBH trimmed it and - on weekends-
moved it earlier in the day so it could take the sacred NPR feed on the
later side.  Nonetheless the vector points in the same direction in both
cases.

The NPR stations were misled by the consultants who told them that a
station could only do one thing, and given the NPR commitment to news
and information, classical music had to go.  Anyway, NPR does not really
consider classical music as real music, because it is not, to use a
deplorable phrase,"the soundtrack of our lives'.  But now news and
information are all over the place on the web.  You have to go to great
lengths to avoid it.  And there is such a thing as too much news and
information- more is not necessarily better.  Futhermore nobody can
seriously believe anymore that knowledge is power.  Hence the listener
falloff- or so I believe.

NPR should diversify just as investors are urged to diversify.  Add some
classical music to your portfolio and see it grow!!  Maybe.

Bernard Chasan