Too much bitter and not enough sweet

The final On the Go broadcast from the CBC Radio building on Duckworth Street was something of a letdown. I expected to hear more of the history of the building, drawing upon the wealth of archived material in the vault as well as memories of people who have hosted or contributed to the program in some way.

There was at least one historical item (the show hasn’t been archived yet so I can’t confirm any others) and some coverage of contemporary issues. And host Ted Blades (right, CBC photo) did emphasize at one point that programming will continue and life will carry on at the new location. However, the program was dominated by ‘farewell’ material that had a melancholy, slightly bitter aftertaste.

The show opened with an indulgent, overdone segment in which Blades walked to work for the last time (as of Monday, he will have to drive to the CBC Building on Prince Philip Drive).

Blades’ point was that a walk down Duckworth Street – talking with people on the street, reading posters in shop windows and inhaling the rich harbour air – presents a bottomless well of story ideas that will be lost in the move to the parkway. Indeed, the downtown itself came across as a muse that percolates by osmosis through most of what is broadcast from the grand old building.

During the middle of the show, Blades spoke about the thousands of historically significant stories and interviews that originated at 342 Duckworth. The piece he played – a profile of a traveling butcher produced some years ago for Morningside – was good, but it was long; I would have preferred more of a montage that brought in different voices and issues.

The program concluded with Blades taking a meandering final walk through the building, his voice echoing in the empty hallways. It left the listener feeling sad and empty, which was no doubt Blades’ intent. But it didn’t work for me. There was too much bitter and not enough sweet.

The closure of the building reminds me of a person who has died at a ripe old age – we mourn their passing but ultimately celebrate their achievements.

That celebratory feel was missing from the show and I can understand why. Blades does not support the relocation across town and feels, as demonstrated by the opening piece, that something priceless will be lost in the move.

Blades' final walk to work was not great radio; I am sure it was edited down but it was nonetheless long and not terribly illuminating. I do respect what he was trying to accomplish. The item was seasoned with a dash of rebellion and a pinch of protest, something I applaud in all journalists. I share anyone’s apprehension about moving from an office to a cubicle environment, and wonder what management can do to address this. (With all the space in the TV building, do they really need to jam people into cubicles?) And I do agree that CBC Radio is part of the downtown character, and vice versa.

However, I think the contention that walking to work puts one ‘in touch’ with the heart of the city and generates new story ideas is exaggerated. A stroll downtown and a detour to Hava Java may net a story idea on occasion, but it should only account for a small percentage of program content, especially given On the Go’s province-wide audience.

There is absolutely no substitute for a well-established network of contacts within the various strata of society, including the arts, business, government and not-for-profit sectors.

In this respect, I feel that programming on all of the local radio shows will actually improve in the months ahead, as producers, hosts and reporters work the phones, email and Internet much more in the pursuit and development of new story ideas. They will also benefit from new perspectives gained through collaboration with their colleagues in television.

And downtown is not that far away. There is nothing stopping any of them from taking a dash downtown for lunch, coffee or even a walk up Duckworth Street.

I wish all the employees well in their new location, and will be checking back in the weeks ahead to see how they are feeling about the move.

A new beginning for Anne Budgell

I had a quick email exchange with Anne Budgell this morning, in which I asked her one question. Anne, as you must know by now, is retiring today after 34 years of service with the CBC in Newfoundland and Labrador. As this photo (taken during the last CBC strike, from John Gushue's website) would suggest, Anne has outlasted them all.

But first, a story. I prefaced the question to Anne by telling her about my own experience working in an old building. During the 1970’s, I served as a clerk at the Post Office in Toronto, at the main postal station on Front Street (in what is now the Air Canada Centre).

That grand old building was being phased out, with employees being moved to one of two new “super-buildings” further out in the suburbs. I was transferred to South Central, where they tried to train me on the postal coding machine; to key in the postal code on letters as they zoomed past, as fast as you could type. It was dehumanizing, as was the sterile environment with cameras everywhere. I told management to forget it; to send me back to the old building until it was phased out, at which point I would resign. (I did, and moved back home to Newfoundland, determined to ‘make it’ as a journalist, which is a story for another day.)

So my question to Anne was, did you time your retirement around the closing of the building on a matter of principle?

While her reply was diplomatic, Anne did confirm that the impending move had some influence on her decision about when to retire.

“I have been thinking of retiring for some time and it's been a tough decision since I do enjoy my work and have a lot of freedom to do what I want with this show,” Anne wrote. “Also, working with Paula Gale has been fabulous and there was no guarantee we'd be able to continue to work together. I went up to the other building to have a look at "my" cubicle and I was dreading having to work there. Paula and I have a small office with a door we can close and we close it numerous times a day. It's the only way we can hear ourselves think.”

“I am lucky because I have enough years of service so my pension will provide an adequate income,” Anne continued. “Being financially able to retire, in combination with other factors, like the building closing, it seemed like the time was right. I don't feel like I'm the only one leaving because everyone is packing their stuff and the place is emptying out. I'm going to take a few trips and I've got a book project to work on. Summer is coming and I've got a grin from ear to ear.”

If you read this on Friday morning, be sure to tune in to CBC Radio Noon to catch Anne’s last show. Also, visit the site to see all the neat stuff that has been going on with the show in recent weeks (and have a look at that movie poster, which has Anne’s head superimposed on Halle Berry’s body).

CBC Radio Building falls silent today

It’s been part of the heart of downtown St. John’s for 54 years. And today, it all comes to an end.

The people and facilities at the CBC Radio Building on Duckworth Street are all moving to the TV building, up on the Parkway. The building has a long and colourful history, as we learned in the excellent retrospective series by Juanita Bates. It once hosted the Total Abstinence Society, the Capitol Theatre and was the location of the first public performance of the Ode to Newfoundland. But its most important role was no doubt home to CBC Radio, which has had a tremendous impact on the character of downtown St. John’s.

I love old buildings; love their convoluted passageways, uneven floors, dusty alcoves and locked rooms packed with artifacts. I have been in the building several times to be interviewed, or to meet with people there, and know that it is a special place (and quite haunted, according to some of the staff who worked late at night).

We will no longer hear Jeff Gilhooly talking about the brilliant sunrise over the narrows, or run into the staff on the street or in the lineup at Hava Java. The shows, of course, will continue and – who knows – they may even get better as a result of the move… though I know it won’t be the same for the staff, who move from the lively artistic and intellectual ferment of Duckworth Street over to the barrens of the parkway (say what you like, it is not the same environment over there).

If you want to learn more about the history of the building, go to the Total Abstinence Society site and this interesting tour of the old Capitol Theatre – with great photos – presented by the Newfoundland Urban Exploration Society.

Today, we mark the closure of an important chapter in our cultural and social history. You can expect to hear special programming all day long – the Morning Show had some great stuff, including interviews with former hosts of the show – so tune in if you can and, if you can’t, look it up in the archives later (go to the CBC site, click programs, then archives). Don’t forget Anne Budgell’s final show today on Radio Noon – it’s her retirement on top of everything else – and you can be sure On The Go will also bid a fond farewell to the building.

I tried to arrange an informal tour of the building, to talk to whoever I ran into and capture some quick memories (plus some photos), but my request was rejected by the public affairs people because there was too much going on with the move. I did pop in for a visit on Wednesday, to pick up something (a tape recording of an interview I did with Joey Smallwood that I lent On The Go, which aired last Christmas). During that visit, I snapped the photo at right of Ted Blades and Ingrid Fraser, host and producer of On The Go. I could easily have walked through the building and recorded a bunch of farewell interviews with whoever I encountered, but decided to behave myself. I already regret that decision.

Whilst standing on the sidewalk to take the photo above, the meter reader guy with the city walked by and said, “Downtown won’t be the same without it.”

I stopped, marvelling at how we all talk with the candor of neighbours calling over the fence, and said, "Yes, it’s gonna feel pretty empty around here.”