🚀 go-pugleaf

timmer@io.org (Remain Calm!) wrote:

>You have hiliighted the flaw in your own (and Coren's) reasoning:
>Democracy is *not* based on who has or spends the most $.  Democracy
>is a representation of all the people, not just the ones who buy pizza
>or the ones in the largest "demographic chunk" ie. your elvis
>anaology.  I agree wholeheartedly that every station in T.O. would
>churn out orchestral static if they could determine that the best
>commercial advantage could be gained by doing so.  This advantage
>would not necessitate representing the tastes of everyone; rather it
>would require the best demographics based on who has $ to spend on
>advertizers wares and (think about this a minute) who is most easily
>manipulated by advertizing.  So what about the others?

Your point is well taken.  But the government has done a fine job of
supplying 'fringe' needs in two areas.  One by providing many
different CBC oriented outlets, AM/FM/TV which provide a large
diversity of programming.   Secondly, via college and university
stations which cater to the fringe that is left out-there after the
CBC has taken it's share.  Surely that's enough.    The others are
being covered well, considering they can't support themselves.  If
they could,  they would be mainstream.

>Ok, 8.  How many commercial stations are there on the band playing
>exactly the same song right now?  How many stations do we need playing
>top 40 trash from the US?  We have a lot more than 8 stations of pizza
>commercials.

But those 'others' are self sufficient.  They don't ask for your
monetary contributions either via taxes, or via 'telethons'  They
provide what they believe the largest common denominator will listen
to, and if they are wrong they either switch formats or go bankrupt in
the process.    I guess this is the bone of my issue, and that is that
by taking yet another FM frequency in Toronto, CBC is going to cost me
more as a tax-payer, and mean less revenue for private broadcasting
companies in the country.  By the way, there was a good chance that
this 99.1 frequency was going to a 'world-beat" (Black) radio station.
Now, does the issue change if I say that the frequency is being taken
over by the government, while leaving minorities standing in the dust
with little to no concern about the monies spent.    Personally, I
don't believe that the format can survive in Toronto, both from a
financial aspect and a political one, but I think it should at least
have been given a chance to succeed.  

There are many people out there who resent how 'commercialized' CFNY
has become, for example.  How on earth does this black shirt crowd
figure that CFNY stays on-air ?  It takes money, and in private
broadcasting, money is generated by ratings, ratings generated by
public acceptance of what your station is doing.   

Iain.