RADIO
March 29, 2020, Sunday
We haven't had a television set for more than 25 years, and we don't stream shows over the internet. But I like to listen to the radio --- primarily KQED, the San Francisco public radio station --- especially when I'm doing something kinda boring, like folding laundry or cleaning up the kitchen.
I also have favorite shows that I listen to every week. These are usually broadcast in the evening, and instead of hunkering down in front of a TV, I cuddle into bed and listen for an hour or two before I fall asleep.
But the coronavirus has disrupted the whole radio schedule. Fortunatley KQED has recently up-dated their internet site and it lists the schedule for the current day. Some programs have changed their regular broadcast time to make room for new programs about the current pandemic. But there are frequent last-minute changes for press conferences from Washington and Sacramento.
I'm not complaining. The station is doing very well considering that many of their commentators and announcers are broadcasting from home. My favorite program is Political Breakdown, a program about California politics, and it usually includes an interview with a state office-holder. Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos, the presenters, are so well-informed and work so well together. Scott is currently broadcasting from his spare bedroom, and Marissa is broadcasting from her garage to avoid interruption from her two young sons who are at home. They've also been pulled in to fill gaps in other parts of the broadcast schedule. They do a great job as do other program hosts. It must not be easy to be constantly adapting to new conditions and schedules.
So thanks to KQED for keeping Californians informed with up-to-date and balanced reporting.
I like to listen to the radio too when I'm doing things that don't need intellectual concentration. Here in Canada the public broadcaster is CBC; that is what we listen to. However, since the corona virus pandemic, every program seems to center on that. I find it too stressful to hear about it constantly, so have had to find other sources to listen to. Here are some of them: CD's not played for years, courses on CD (right now we are learning the history of jazz), our google-mini will select music by genre or artist, our satellite TV service includes listening music by genre. Twice a day there are CORVID-19 updates that are accurate - a daily briefing by Justin Trudeau, our prime minister; and a daily briefing by the BC health officer. At the end of the day I read a summary of the day's news on googlenews. That's enough news. The CBC does have some interesting non-news programs that I can catch too.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that listening to the radio involves more brain cells than watching telivision?