The Radio Host and Piloted Listening in the Digital Age: CBC Radio 3 and Its Online Listening Community

Abstract

On 9 March 2015, CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence announced that the network would be discontinuing hosting from its programming and would move to an automated stream of music. The cutting of finances and personnel raises questions about the ability of public stations to connect with listeners and circulate the creative work of their citizenry. By tracking the activity of Radio 3’s listener community over the course of 2015, this article argues that a radio host maintains a fundamental presence that facilitates conversation and contextualizes new and independent music. The radio host is deemed, by his or her listener community, to be an authoritative and credible individual who guides or pilots the listening experience and the related online conversation.