The End of The Connection

I’ve been mean­ing to com­ment on the can­cel­la­tion of the NPR morn­ing pro­gram The Con­nec­tion, and the firing of host Dick Gordon.

Though I’m sorry to see one locally-​produced show get axed, I can’t say that I’m not giddy to see Gordon go. First, there is his thick Cana­dian dialect, and predilec­tion for all things Canadiana… hope­fully we won’t be sub­jected to another hour on Arca­dian fiddle music. But, it seems that fellow ex-​CBC reporter Jen­nifer West­away is get­ting a lot of air time recently, and I think she is quite good.

So, if it’s not nec­es­sar­ily the hoser accent that turns me off, it must be Dick him­self — he’s always seemed a bit dis­con­nected on air. While I won’t fault Gordon for trying to embody the show’s high-​brow billing, he never suc­ceeded in hold­ing my inter­est longer than it took to switch the sta­tion. He may be an excel­lent reporter, but charisma is some­thing he lacks. Even his defend­ers are boring, and quite obvi­ously of a cer­tain age.

But, there is hope! On Point, which will move into The Connection’s slot, is an excel­lent show. Host Tom Ash­brook does have an inter­est­ing radio voice, and the show topics rarely bore. Also, the pacing is quick, and Ash­brook is adept at man­ag­ing debate. Plus, he’s just a like­able guy.

Moving for­ward, I wonder what (if any) changes will be made to On Point, as it tran­si­tions to morn­ings. And, whether or not the NPR affil­i­ates that cur­rently broad­cast The Con­nec­tion will con­tinue once the switch to On Point is made.