Letter writers Peggy and Bill Hartman (“Don’t stop the music,” CDT, Wednesday) are right; WPSU is carrying out a hatchet job on classical music programming, which has seen a steady diminution over the years.
There is no classical music on WPSU from 3 p.m. Friday until Sunday night. Yet the weekend is a time when many music lovers would enjoy hearing something other than talk and endless folk music — most of it not real folk music at all.
Again, last year late-night and early-hours classical music disappeared, replaced by jejune BBC talk shows.
As a British native, I have the greatest admiration for BBC radio’s domestic superior programs, but the stuff we are getting is vox-pop phone-in opinions and highly prejudiced news analysis. Do people really want the dregs of British radio?
Many will recall WPSU’s high-handed and secretive attempt some years ago to remove the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. That move was reversed only by a public listeners’ outcry.
As the Hartmans note, WPSU may be seriously misjudging its community listener support. Perhaps classical music lovers should reconsider their contributions to a station that takes their support and tolerance for granted.
Paul Lawrence Rose
State College
