Yes, Seeker, it is true, The Great Eastern will no
longer be broadcast by the CBC.
This does not come as a complete surprise. Before the
1997-1998 season CBC management expressed the view that
The Great Eastern was “too foreground”, was demanding too
much of its audience, and directed the creative team to
make the show “more broadly accessible”. We failed to
accommodate this request.
No one should be under the misapprehension that the CBC
moved the posts. The Radio service’s programming is
intended to be benign, a “companion” to the listener.
The CBC took a profound risk programming The Great Eastern.
In the end CBC felt the show’s content was inappropriate
for Saturday mornings. They proposed moving the show to
another time slot with a younger but considerably smaller
audience.
Then, of course, there’s the money. The CBC greatly
reduced the resources it was willing to commit to the show.
This would have seen the creative team’s compensation
decrease, an abbreviated season with a higher proportion
of repeats and lower production values. More attractive
professional opportunites presented themselves and we had to
reject the offer.
So instead of The Great Eastern you will hear, in our
former time slot, an extra 15 minutes of Basic Black and a
15 minute re-broadcast of Thursday’s Dead Dog Café. This
decision addresses issues relating to programming philosophy
and costs the CBC nothing.
We trust you found the journey enjoyable. It has been
one of the most rewarding creative experiences of our lives.
To the lifeboats, Seeker!
We’re staying with the Ship.
Yours in the warmth of coal-fired radio,
Steven Palmer Edward Riche Mack Furlong
Let the CBC know what you think....
cbcinput@toronto.cbc.ca