The death knell of jazz radio in Boston

[Gentle Giant]

I'm breaking a self-imposed exile to post this highly distressing news. WGBH Radio in Boston is swinging the axe at two legendary jazz DJs. Eric Jackson, host of Eric in the Evening, is having his nightly show move to just 3 hours a night on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only; while Steve Schwartz, who in addition to hosting his own show also produced live performances at the station, is being let go altogether, effectively July 2.

Even if you're not local, GBH streams its signal over the Internet so its exceptional jazz programming has been broadly accessible.

This is an outrage. If you agree, let WGBH know.


Jazz programming on WGBH-FM being scaled back, a blow to local jazz fans

By Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff

To the consternation of loyal listeners, WGBH-FM (89.7) is dropping jazz programming on weeknights, moving longtime host Eric Jackson to weekend duties only and eliminating Steve Schwartz’s Friday show.

The changes, which take effect July 2, amount to a serious downscaling of jazz programming on Boston radio, where Jackson and Schwartz have been mainstays for three decades, exposing their listeners to artists old and new and promoting concerts and other events that have been vital to the local jazz scene.

“Jazz on WGBH With Eric Jackson” will no longer run from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, airing instead from 9 p.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday. Schwartz’s Friday evening jazz show is disappearing altogether, and he will no longer produce live performances for Jackson’s show. The hosts learned of the changes Tuesday from station managing director Phil Redo. As of mid-afternoon, WGBH had yet to release a statement confirming the new programming schedule.

Jackson, who celebrated 30 years on air last spring, was told his show was being moved — and cut back to nine hours weekly — to make room for more news and public affairs programming. “The station has been moving in that direction for a couple of years,” he said Wednesday. A month ago, he and Schwartz heard their shows would be cut one hour apiece, he added, but moving his show to weekend nights only was “a total surprise.”

To the local jazz community, “this is major,” Jackson said. “The music has always been there in the evening. To put it on the weekends at 9 p.m., when families won’t necessarily be listening together, is not the same thing. It’s a different vibe.”

Live interviews and shows featuring a single artist may no longer be tenable, he continued. “I still love doing radio, and Boston still needs jazz radio, because jazz is a major part of American culture. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think my show has been a major part of the jazz scene around here.”

Schwartz, who’s been on the local airwaves for nearly 27 years, said change was imminent a couple of years ago, when WGBH shifted its classical programming to another station. Then, “the other shoe dropped,” said Schwartz as he was told that having two jazz hosts no longer fit with WGBH’s plans.

“It wasn’t a total surprise, but it is a loss,” Schwartz said. “The station is losing a consistent format spread across the week. And the Boston jazz community is losing an important venue for musicians to promote their events.”

The moves could also have a negative impact on WGBH membership, Schwartz added, since membership in the WGBH Jazz Club includes access to live concerts that will no longer be produced.

As news of the changes spread, many in the local jazz community reacted with shock and dismay. On Facebook, a “Save Eric in the Evening” page — a reference to the show’s former title — elicited postings ranging from sadness to calls for a protest petition directed at WGBH.

Saxophonist Ken Field noted how well-known and popular jackson has been among artists from all over the area, and the world. “Reducing his airtime is a step in the wrong direction, for people in Boston and people outside Boston,” he said. “Eric has been so supportive of not only international musicians who come to town but also local jazz musicians.”

A lot of people he knows are angered by the news, Field added, and wondering why they should continue to support WGBH if it drops shows such as these.

“That’s some tragic news,” commented pianist Danilo Perez, reached by phone in Colorado Wednesday afternoon. “In a culture where we are so much in need of hope and optimism, that’s what jazz is all about. As long as people listen to radio, it’s crucial to have jazz [featured] there.”

Beyond that, said Perez, “People like Eric and Steve love and know the music. To a listener like myself, it’s almost like having a History of Jazz class on the radio.”

[Rob Damen]

Hey ...

Welcome back!

Cheers,

Rob

[Ron Thorne]

This is outrageous, ignorant and short-sighted, to say the best.

I'm afraid that if the GM and board are dumb enough to summarily dismiss about 30 years of professionalism and fine programming in one swell foop, there's little hope of "reasoning" with them. I plan to send a message, nonetheless.

Wonder what Bob Parlocha thinks of this?



Jazz on WGBH with Erik Jackson




Steve Schwartz - Jazz From Studio Four

[Mike Schwartz]

There's considerable action on this at Steve Schwartz' Facebook page along with the email address of the dope who made the decision.

[Tom Marcello]

I agree, this is terrible news. I don't live in Boston, but like Mike, I know and respect Steve and Eric. They are top self professionals.

[hornplayer]

I'm outraged. And I've sent them a message to that effect.

Also shared the article on Facebook last night.

[bigtiny]

I think it's time people stopped supporting these stations. You know, idea behind public radio is to provide AN ALTERNATIVE to commercial radio programming and practice...

I mean, has anybody listened to WGBH in the afternoons? It's abysmal, local talking heads drivel.....

bigtiny

[makpjazz57]

There are two separate facebook pages/petitions and hopefully, they will merge. One is specifically addressing Eric Jackson's "Eric in the Evening" show and the other addresses both Eric and Steve Schwartz:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/240392992745242/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/122003261274426/

If you are on facebook, feel free to join either or both.

Marla

[RainyDay]

The only way jazz radio has survived in the Bay Area is to go subscriber supported. KCSM receives little or no funding from the college and relies heavily on public pledge money. We are lucky that enough people step up to make donations. Other stations feature jazz on certain days at specific times but the days of AM/FM all jazz all the time radio seems to be just about gone. I know there is satellite (and internet) radio but I'm done paying for yet another monthly subscriber something or other. I want to turn on the radio at home or in my car and hear what I want to hear.

Sort of off topic but the other day I caught a story on the radio about record stores and Tower Records' legacy. Except for smaller, if not tiny, indy stores, there are fewer places to go to hear new music and ask questions about music. The folks at Tower knew music and you never knew what you might hear when you walked into the store. I miss that terribly. The person being interviewed said that you can now do everything on the internet from the privacy of your home without having to interact with the outside world. She suggested that society is losing something from this. I agree. hankfully, we still have Rasputins and Amoeba in these parts. I think this is related to the idea that music should be free and people can pirate and download music and not pay for it so who needs records stores?

[walto]

It's not a good day for jazz radio in Boston, certainly, but I don't know about "death knell." There's still an awful lot of jazz on WHRB/Harvard. (More than I'd like, actually, since the other classical radio station is now so terrible that WHRB has a lot of ground to cover.)

But Jackson and Schwartz are icons around here, and it's always been nice to hear their voices.

[Valerie]

i am beyond distressed about this news! don't even want to check my blood pressure! it's bad enough that Eric has less hours but that Steve has no show at all makes me see red!! i love Steve and because i'm in L.A., i stream his Friday night show whenever possible. he's the "Keeper of the Flame" and so much more. i've written to both Redo and Abbott at the station but don't know what else to do. i certainly won't contribute to the station ever again, unless things change.

[Lois Gilbert]

Online Petitions by iPetitions.com

[Mike Schwartz]

Online Petitions by iPetitions.com

How about this post be it's own topic and a sticky?

[Lois Gilbert]

It is in Jazz News

[bluenoter]

How about this post be it's own topic and a sticky?

It is in Jazz News

Sticky: Sign Petition to Protest Cut Backs of Jazz on WGBH

[Valerie]

i have signed it, of course, and sent it along to almost everyone in my contact list.
i know lots of folks are signing and passing it on. there are many, many people who are very passionate about this.

[Dr Dave]

Cutting back Eric in the Evening to three days is like telling the Sox they can only be at Fenway three games a week. There is no upside.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

I was on KERA-FM/90.1 - Public Radio - for 21 years, a show called Miles Out in Dallas. 3 hours nightly M-F. Then the managers decided to go to "singer/songwriter", and I continued to defy the playlist with jazz/improv/nu jazz/avant jazz...etc. Then came the time that they wanted talk radio, and the weekly (required/non-paid) 2 hour "meetings" one-on-one with station managers to try to brainwash me to change.

I walked in one day and said that it wasn't fun anymore and quit.

That was back in 2001, and they've never looked back.

I'm surprised it took so long in Boston. And my heart is sad again!

[Valerie]

i am devastated for Steve and his fans. at least Eric still has some hours on! there are going to be deep repercussions for the jazz community AND WGBH!!. i am hoping that some additional jazz activities will open up for Steve. he is revered by so many. something good has to come out of this! and he didn't just do his show for these decades, he's done lots of interviewing, producing, recording, etc.

[Ron Thorne]

I quite agree, Valerie!

This was (obviously) a mindless, soulless act.

As infuriating it is to think about Eric's programming being condensed from a Mon.-Thu. 16 hour/week schedule to a Fri.-Sun. 9 hour/week schedule, despite the shift in demographics available ... Eric is still on-the-air!

Steve's 27 years of dedication and wonderful attention to detail and production values has been summarily dismissed. Why? It makes no sense! This smells seriously funky.

This kind of nonsense makes me angry. It also makes me ill. Further, it makes we wonder how we can ever convince some folks of the importance of art over dollars.

[bigtiny]

What I really hate about this is that (to my mind anyway) public radio is supposed to be about presenting the stuff that DOESN'T GET EXPOSURE on commercial radio.....I'm tired of hearing about how WGBH has decided that their listeners want to hear more talk radio....bullshit! They should be going out of their way to spend a significant amount of their programming day playing music that people are NOT as familiar with. I mean, I can hear some blithering idiot talking about reproductive rights anywhere!

And what about the educational aspects of their programming...does WGBH have NO responsibility in this area? Can a young kid get exposed to jazz on the radio only by staying up all night on the weekends to listen?

What are these stations FOR anyway? All they seem to do is play the same satellite download of 'All Things Considered' and hours of talking heads babbling all day anyway.

Like many other things in our (anti-) culture, I will simply no longer pay attention to public radio or television anymore....they're simply irrelevant.

I predict a plethora or podcast and internet streaming jazz stations in the near future.....

bigtiny

[steve(thelil)]

Like many other things in our (anti-) culture, I will simply no longer pay attention to public radio or television anymore....they're simply irrelevant.
bigtiny

Public radio is not a single monolithic broadcaster. I don't understand broadly blaming public radio for the relative lack of jazz programming when public radio stations are basically the only ones broadcasting jazz. At the very least, the overwhelming majority of regularly scheduled jazz programming is found on public radio. As are so many of the best informational and talk programs.

This one wrongheaded and unfortunate act of a single station doesn't prove the total irrelevance of all public radio or television. With the free public radio app one can find several if not dozens of public radio stations playing commercial free jazz at any time of day or night.

[Coda]

I live about a half mile from WGBH. It's a huge modern building with every possible luxury known to broadcast. I can only imagine the amount of public money that goes into this wreck of a business model.

I was inside the studio once. State of the art doesn't give you a full appreciation of the type of budget they have. To cut back on music is just shameful. Send that Grand Piano my way, you don't need it anymore.

Who ever mentioned the weak signal....that tells you all you need to know. They could care less about radio. This station has become another arm of the DNC. Sad, so very very sad.

Send me a link to Steve and Eric's podcast. I'll listen.

[Dr Dave]

I live about a half mile from WGBH. It's a huge modern building with every possible luxury known to broadcast. I can only imagine the amount of public money that goes into this wreck of a business model.

I was inside the studio once. State of the art doesn't give you a full appreciation of the type of budget they have. To cut back on music is just shameful. Send that Grand Piano my way, you don't need it anymore.

Who ever mentioned the weak signal....that tells you all you need to know. They could care less about radio. This station has become another arm of the DNC. Sad, so very very sad.

Send me a link to Steve and Eric's podcast. I'll listen.

Yeah, it's all true. But once upon a time, you could tune in GBH and hear Robert J. Lurtsema, Ron Della Chiesa, Steve, Eric...it was a great thing while it lasted. I don't think this kind of radio will completely disappear, Pandora can't do what a dedicated DJ does, blah-blah-blah. Allston ain't what it used to be, now is it?

[Ron Thorne]

This station has become another arm of the DNC. Sad, so very very sad.

Round up the troops and head for the DNC, where we can cut off an arm and save everything from jazz radio to the art form itself.

Wow.

[bigtiny]

Public radio is not a single monolithic broadcaster. I don't understand broadly blaming public radio for the relative lack of jazz programming when public radio stations are basically the only ones broadcasting jazz. At the very least, the overwhelming majority of regularly scheduled jazz programming is found on public radio. As are so many of the best informational and talk programs.

This one wrongheaded and unfortunate act of a single station doesn't prove the total irrelevance of all public radio or television. With the free public radio app one can find several if not dozens of public radio stations playing commercial free jazz at any time of day or night.

Steve, you aren't seriously arguing that this is a phenomenon local to the Boston radio scene are you? This has been going on across the board in public radio stations for a while now, across the country. Public television bit the dust a long time ago as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know what the 'public radio app' thing is that you're talking about, but you're not going to find a lot of jazz on the air around here.....unless you're talking about digital radio or the internet....

bigtiny

[Ron Thorne]

Public radio is not a single monolithic broadcaster. I don't understand broadly blaming public radio for the relative lack of jazz programming when public radio stations are basically the only ones broadcasting jazz. At the very least, the overwhelming majority of regularly scheduled jazz programming is found on public radio. As are so many of the best informational and talk programs.

This one wrongheaded and unfortunate act of a single station doesn't prove the total irrelevance of all public radio or television. With the free public radio app one can find several if not dozens of public radio stations playing commercial free jazz at any time of day or night.

Steve, I didn't read bigtiny's post the same way as you.

It's not a "single monolithic broadcaster" problem, but cuts in music programming, especially jazz programming, is endemic in public radio. Public radio took up the mantle of arts and music long ago, yet have let it decline miserably, and don't seem to care any longer.

This "one wrongheaded and unfortunate act of a single station" is yet another example of uncaring, and far broader and more impactful than your comment implies. Single station by single station all across the nation, we're losing something far bigger than Eric and Steve. I've been watching this process for over a decade, and it's scary.

Free public radio apps? Is everyone who enjoys music supposed to have a smartphone and "apps" in order to "survive" and enjoy the music? I don't even have a smartphone. What am I to do?

I do have terrific headphones ... lots of them.

[Valerie]

Steve, I didn't read bigtiny's post the same way as you.

It's not a "single monolithic broadcaster" problem, but cuts in music programming, especially jazz programming, is endemic in public radio. Public radio took up the mantle of arts and music long ago, yet have let it decline miserably, and don't seem to care any longer.

This "one wrongheaded and unfortunate act of a single station" is yet another example of uncaring, and far broader and more impactful than your comment implies. Single station by single station all across the nation, we're losing something far bigger than Eric and Steve. I've been watching this process for over a decade, and it's scary.

Free public radio apps? Is everyone who enjoys music supposed to have a smartphone and "apps" in order to "survive" and enjoy the music? I don't even have a smartphone. What am I to do?

I do have terrific headphones ... lots of them.

big "amen", Ron!

[hornplayer]

WBGO -- Newark Public Radio -- 88.3 FM, wbgo.org -- is still broadcasting a 24 hour a day Jazz format, with intermittent news, R&B, Blues and Soul in the weekend mix, and the required hours of MPR programming (which also includes several Jazz programs). We celebrated 33 years last month.

I still get Jazz fans who say BGO doesn't play enough of the kind of music they like. So I ask if they're a member. Usually the reply is "no" with the response in the previous sentence. My reply is that if they were a member, they would be listened to by the station as to what kind of Jazz they'd like to hear. We play what our members want to listen to! And since I listen a fair amount every day, I can say with certainty that we play all types of Jazz.

So why do we have trouble raising the $450-$500k we need from the public three times a year? We're one of the only stations left, and if Jazz fans don't support the station, it won't be there!

Curious what percentage of WBGH members are known to the station as Jazz fans, or if the station even bothers to identify the listening audience.

[ormsbop]

Well, remember just up the road Eric and co. have a rival NPR station at Boston University. And they are literally just a notch or 2 apart on the dial. WBUR went all talk/news a while ago (early 90s?) and have since promoted themselves as the Nooooz station while GBH call themselves the Arts & Culture station. The result, News has been cleaning Arts clock in the ratings ever since. I googled ratings and the last publication showed the March numbers for this year and BUR was number 4 and GBH well down the list at 22 (a little over a 1 share). The fact is, it's tough to be listener supported when your target audience isnt listening. There's only so much demand for tote bags.

Yes, I did sign the petition to keep more jazz on GBH, I like Steve Schwartz and his show, I miss Tony Cennamo (RIP) and I especially like that Eric promotes local talent. I have a friend whose band has appeared on Eric's show a couple of times. But the fact is I'm a hypocrite, I just don't listen to GBH much anymore.