Internet Has Yet to Kill the Radio Star.
Better Internet access may have revolutionized media access on the beach but good old radio still reigns as the universal medium here.
It’s so pervasive that you can be listening to your favorite CBC radio show in your cabin, hop into your truck, continue listening, and pretty well count on hearing it still when you step out at your final destination. Any home or worksite that has a radio will have it tuned into the CBC.
Not just because it’s the only station that most people can get out here but because, well, it’s the CBC, a national treasure.
There are no subscription fees or special equipment. Even the most off-grid of the off-grid has a radio. Whether it’s an old ghetto blaster stuffed with D-cells or a fancy windup-solar unit, the truck radio or duct-taped hearing protection with radio built in, the CBC is a constant companion for many a lonely and not-even-lonely cabin-dweller here. As it is for many in rural Canada, I’m sure.
What comes across the airwaves on the CBC is pretty much the only source of news from the outside world for many. The content forms the basis of conversation and is considered an indisputable reference source. If you really want to spark lively debate, just start a discussion about which radio hosts you like or can’t stand. Sook Yin Lee, Jian Ghomeshi, Randy Bachman, Eleanor Wachtel, Jonathan Goldstein. Even Michael Enwright was the subject of a fight between a couple in a cabins down the road. I’ve found that it’s almost impossible to correctly guess which CBC hosts a particular person will love up or hate on.
My hypothesis is that you can tell much about a person by their preferences in CBC hosts. I don’t yet have sufficient data points to develop a meaningful framework for profiling purposes but when I do, I’ll be sure to share.