paulcrosstoronto’s Podcast

Cross Talk: Season 3, Episode 6

"How to Listen to Radio, Part two: Apps and Streaming". From November 8, 2019. A follow-up to Season 3, Episode 4 - which deals with listening to AM Radio over the air.  This time: searching and listening for radio using apps or online searches; how to find a broadcast radio station almost anywhere in the world.  Makes fair dealing use of audio bits from BBC London; LBC London; CJME Regina; RTHK Hong Kong; CITI FM Accra, Ghana; 1540AM ZNS-1 Bahamas; Nationwide FM Kingston, Jamaica. 

Cross Talk: Season 3, Episode 5

"On War of the Worlds - On World Audio Drama Day" From October 30, 2019.  World Audio Drama day is recognized on the anniversary of the October 30, 1938 live broadcast over CBS Radio Network affiliates of the Mercury Theatre adaptation of The War of the Worlds, written by H.G. Wells 40 years earlier.  Continuing my case from Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8 from October 2018, this episode maintains the extent of any "panic" from the show was overstated by the lead researcher, and reporting in an unfair and unbalanced way by a hostile print media.  Those phenomena have led some teachers and professors over the decades to perpetuate myths against radio. Makes fair dealing use of bits from War of the Worlds (1938), The Fall of the City (1937), CBS Radio News (1938), BBC Radio News (1938). Includes look at newspaper reporting mentioning CFRB Toronto. Reference to The Invasion from Mars: A study in the psychology of panic by Hadley Cantrill (1940) and Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the World and the Art of Fake News by A. Brad Schwartz (2015). For more on the reaction, research, and the dozens of signs the show was obviously fiction, please check Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8.

Cross Talk: Season 3, Episode 4

"How to Listen to Radio" - Part One.  From October 18, 2019. The term "radio" gets applied to a variety of types of access to audio.  My focus here is on broadcast radio. Listening to radio gives me access to the world.  In this episode: using a radio receiver to explore and discover, to hear what you can tune in. Makes fair dealing use of bits of air check audio from WBBM Chicago; WABC New York; WJR Detrpoit; KMOX St. Louis; WTAM Cleveland; WDCX Buffalo; CHAM 820; CFMZ 740; CFTR 680 and more, as I turn the tuning dial. For educational purposes.

Cross Talk: Season 3, Episode 3

"On a Reporter's dilemma." From October 11, 2019.  When a wave of environmental protest spread through dozens of cities around the world in early October, listeners were well aware it was coming.  Radio reported extensively for days before it happened.  Reporters dutifully staked out bridges, waiting for the protest to start.  But what to report? In Toronto, protestors did not rush a major bridge and block traffic. No! They moved out onto the bridge...after police blocked off traffic so the demonstration could happen. That's not how it was reported, though.  Some thoughts on that story, and on reporting on mass protests.  Makes fair dealing use of bits of audio air checks from 680News, NewsTalk 1010, CBC Radio 1, and CTV. 

Cross Talk: Season 3 Episode 2

On how "There are no breaks in Radio". A listener should never hear a host of a podcast or radio show talk about taking a "break" or doing something "after this break". If mid-rolls or stop sets "break" your program, that's a fault of the way they're written, structured or delivered. It's poor program execution.  Because they are, of course...part of the flow you want the listener to hear! Follows up a conversation started on Twitter, advancing the case I've made for years: the term "break" does not belong on the air.  Reference to @airchecker. Makes Fair Dealing use of audio bits from NPR Politics podcast (2019), Blue Coal presents "The Shadow" (1937), TM Productions "You" campaign demo (1975), History of the 90s podcast (2019).

Cross Talk: Season 3 Episode 1

"On the difference between News and Talk". Listening to talk radio is not the same as listening to the news.  At a time when traditional mass media news is under attack, it may be even more important for broadcasters to help listeners and viewers be aware:  Is this news? Or it is talk? Makes Fair Dealing use of short bits of audio from Fox tv, CNN, BBC Scotland, Newstalk 1010 CFRB, AM640 Toronto, Canadian Press national newscast. 

Cross Talk: Season 2 Episode 15

On the Future of Listening.  From May 17, 2019.  Listeners will continue to find things to...listen to.  Final episode of season two.  Season three is coming in September 2019.  Makes fair use of audio bits from Downton Abbey, Audible spot, Serial Box show intro.

Cross Talk: Season 2 Episode 14

On comedy and satire in political commentary.  From May 10, 2019. The further away news organizations get from real news analysis, and the deeper into acrimonious opinion panels...the more room they make for someone else to do the analysis.  Jon Stewart found a huge hole to fill with deep dives on issues of the day, peppered with biting commentary.  He called it "fake news" when he found some news organizations upset with his style.  There's still lots of room today; since most tv "news" channels feature opinionated hosts, and panelists with entrenched positions.    Most of what we see on "news" channels is not news; it's "talk". So it's a good thing that nightly or weekly shows can take time to dig deep into an issue, and wring it tight with sharp commentary. Makes fair use of bits from CNN Crossfire, The Daily Show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Rick Mercer Report.

 

Cross Talk: Season 2 Episode 13

On propaganda passed off as news:  From May 3, 2019.  When the premier of Ontario went to New York City to visit influential corporations and appear on a tv talk show, his office made sure it did not advise Toronto news organizations until the day before the event. Whether local media needed to go, should have gone, or would have found real news value can be discussed.  But in the absence of legitimate media coverage, the premier's own audio-visual crew traveled with him, and posted public relations -- propaganda -- pieces on social media.  Would that be less unpalatable...if the premier was not so anti-media lately, even though he built his political brand on talk Radio? Makes fair use of bits of audio from Fox News tv; and Ontario News Now -- which is part of the premier's office, funded by the public. Commentary.

Cross Talk: Season 2 Episode 12

On High Definition Radio and Sports Play-byPlay.  From April 26, 2019.  High Definition Radio is just the latest attempt to enhance the sound of broadcast Radio.  But do listeners know about it?  Will broadcasters make it successful? Part one of at least two episodes related to HD Radio; this time, with a focus on the sound of sports play-by-play in HD Radio. Makes fair use of bits of actual play-by-play broadcasts of Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays games.  Copyright is owned and explicitly claimed in on-air broadcasts by the organizations involved.  Fair use of short pieces here for education and media analysis purposes. What does HD Radio sound like in comparison to AM Radio? Listen!