About Listeners for MusicAmerica

MusicAmerica, hosted for eighteen years by Ron Della Chiesa, was an essential Boston cultural institution. It has been the area's sole source for classical American music: the works of our great songwriters, vocalists, and musicians; the music of Broadway and Hollywood; big band and swing; cabaret; jazz in all its forms; and more. There is now no time and no place on the radio dial to hear this kind of music-music that transcends age, ethnicity and race to define our national culture.

In addition to providing entertainment and companionship for its listeners, we note that:

MusicAmerica fulfilled public broadcasting's educational mission by preserving and promoting American music, by teaching us the history of this music, and by giving us an appreciation for it.
MusicAmerica helped to bring classical American music to people who are not regular listeners, but who ultimately are exposed to this music through the program's many secondary effects.
MusicAmerica fulfilled WGBH's local broadcasting mission, serving the community by introducing regional performers, showcasing their work, and by informing its listeners of the many fine live entertainment opportunities that otherwise would go unnoticed and unheard.
MusicAmerica introduced younger audiences to a musical treasure important enough to be conserved by the Smithsonian Institution.

Bringing back MusicAmerica would revive the only Boston radio program that kept our classical American musical heritage alive. The revised schedule we propose-Monday-Friday, noon-4 pm-also offers the following important benefits:

It in no way interferes with, The World, the exciting new program produced by WGBH in conjunction with the BBC.
It delivers MusicAmerica's large, loyal, and dedicated audience to The World at 4 PM.
It restores the hours lost from MusicAmerica during the past few years.
It preserves the financial support provided to WGBH by lovers of classical American music.

Supporting our position, we believe that...

Daily programming of 3-4 hours for MusicAmerica is intrinsic to its mission.
- The breadth of the genre (swing, musical theater, ragtime, big band, jazz vocalist, etc., etc.) requires no less than this amount of time to give just limited exposure to each of its many segments.
- The proposed schedule allows listeners to integrate this music within our cultural lives, making it more than just an occasional curiosity.
- Many listeners can tune in for only a portion of the program, and a reduced schedule would have a disproportionate impact on the public's access to this kind of music.
Asking Della Chiesa to host a classical program in the morning squanders his knowledge of American music and the listener companionship afforded by the interviews and commentary intrinsic to MusicAmerica's program format.
WGBH's continuing copycat programming strategy is not in the public interest.
- The use of public and private contributions to duplicate programming already available from WBUR, another Boston public radio station adjacent to WGBH on-the-dial, is wasteful.
- The use of public funds and private donations to compete with advertiser-sponsored programming on WCRB is not good policy. Furthermore, WGBH's success means weakening WCRB, threatening another essential Boston cultural asset that would be difficult to revive.