Deryk Barker wrote:

>I have remarked before - probably on this very list - that North
>American culture and particularly US culture, is almost fanatically
>anti-intellectual and opposed to anything which smacks of intellectualism.
>
>Why this should be, I'm not sure.  Something to do with the pioneers
>spirit? Getting away from everything those effete Europeans stood for?

This is all regrettably quite true, but I think there is more than that to
the question of why no BBC-type national CM radio. (The following comments
are limited to the U.S., as I am not familiar with the Canadian situation.)

Even commercial radio in the U.S.  used to have more CM (e.g., Toscanini
and the RCA Orchestra/NY Phil.) when I was young, in the late 40s and early
50s; this was before the advent of today's public radio.  I think that the
Met broadcasts are the only remnant of that era (don't ask me to explain
why they are hanging on).

Commercial broadcasting has been inexorably driven by economic forces to
the least common denominator of programming, especially since the
appearance of TV, so of course that dooms CM in that venue.

That leaves public radio.  I think there is no U.S.  "BBC" for the same
reason there is no national educational system -- Americans are extremely
suspicious of any Federal influence on anything that smacks of culture or
education (as can be seen from the eternal perils of the National Endowment
for the Arts), because they are deathly afraid that some sort of
bureaucratic dictatorship in Washington will mess with their and their
children's minds, turning them into Bach-loving zombies who will no longer
swoon to Garth Brooks, as all true red-white-and-blue-blooded Americans do.
So the public radio/TV systems are basically loose networks of local
stations, with dwindling government support.  (Apparently, the new governor
of Minnesota, the ex-wrestler, has announced that he favors killing state
support for public radio there.) Where a local station happens to be in the
hands of people who have a fondness for CM, it makes room for it.
Otherwise -- sorry, Charlie, we only do news, chat shows, and auto mechanic
brothers cracking car jokes.

>Perhaps its as simple as this: there is no (or not enough) money to be
>made in it...

That definitely applies to commercial broadcasting.  In an indirect way,
it also applies to public broadcasting, since they have to appeal to a
reasonably broad (and affluent) audience to get enough contributors to
support themselves, which more and more has to be their main source of
funds.

What mystifies me is this:  in the Philadelphia area, there must be a lot
more fans of legitimate CM than of John Tesh and Yanni.  So why does the
local public TV station pander to the latter when it comes time for a
beg-a-thon? Oh, I forgot -- they also devote a lot of time to Bocelli.

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]