Bring Back Nancy Wood – An Open Letter to Pia Marquand of the CBC.

8 March, 2010 - News

Note: This post originally appears on my personal blog michaellautman.com

I sent the following letter to Pia Marquard at the CBC today. You can send her your thoughts at pia.marquard@cbc.ca. Not sure what to say? Just copy this message and paste it into your email.

Ms. Marquard,

It was with great chagrin that I read of the impending dismissal of Nancy Wood from CBC Montreal’s Daybreak. Nancy Wood is a popular and engaging radio host, who leads the morning team with wit, humor and intelligence.

Since the departure of Dave Bronstetter, listeners have been treated to a revolving door of replacement hosts, and then Mike Finnerty. Not to diminish Mr. Finnerty’s talents as a journalist, Nancy Wood is a far more appropriate choice for the position than he ever was.

My understanding of the situation is that the management at CBC is concerned about ratings. It is unclear to me why this should be the case. Ratings are mostly a concern for private broadcasters, who must justify their advertising rates. The role of the CBC should be to provide quality programming, without regard to commercial considerations.

I am a devoted CBC listener, and strong supporter of public broadcasting. I have long believed that the best and brightest in Canadian radio and television always end up at CBC. The list is impressive: Sook-Yin Lee, George Stromboulopoulos, Heather Hiscox, Jennifer Hollett and even Frank Cavallaro here in Montreal. Nancy Wood is as competent and charismatic as any of these, and she should not be discounted simply because she has devoted her career to the CBC.

Your decision shows a profound lack of respect for CBC Radio 1 listeners in Montreal. Since you have chosen to remain silent on this issue, we – your listeners – can only assume that you and the rest of the management at CBC Quebec are either misguided or incompetent. As a public institution, the CBC is morally obliged to provide accountability for its actions.

As a taxpayer, I am always glad to see that the CBC as a whole, and CBC Radio in particular, remains a vibrant source for intelligent news, culture and debate. It is an intellectual haven in a spectrum so cluttered with bland music, uninformative news broadcasts and cookie-cutter personalities; to say nothing of the advertising.

I understand that Nancy Wood’s engagement as the host of Daybreak was for a one year trial. This makes sense, yet by pulling the rug out from under her already, you have not given her the opportunity to even fulfill that trial.

We, the listeners and taxpayers, are your employer. Remember that your duty is to serve us. As your boss, I am very dissappointed in your performance so far. I hope that the growing public outcry over this matter will cause you to reconsider your decision, and that you will offer Nancy the opportunity to finish her contract without prejudice. I am certain that she would treat you with more grace and dignity than you have shown her.

Sincerely,

Michael Lautman, Ph.D.