Sonic IDs

I'm back at the Broadcast Centre for a little while, filling in at Radio Syndication. On my way out today, I ran into a colleague who's working for CBC Radio One's new Sirius channel. I don't have a satellite radio, so I haven't yet heard the channel. But apparently, it's mainly repurposed Radio One content, minus any local information. This, of course, leaves gaps to fill. So what do you fill it with? I immediately thought of American Public Media's Sonic ID project. Basically, a Sonic ID is an extended station ID:

short portraits and stories that weave the broadcast day of WCAI/NAN/ZAI with the voices, sounds and stories of our region.

They run a minute or two apiece, and are a good way of getting new and different voices on the air. I don't know why CBC doesn't commission a ton of these at the local, regional, and national levels. They'd be great. And for filling some of the gaps on Sirius, they'd be perfect. I produced three Sonic IDs for CKDU a couple of years ago. Have a listen to the IDs on APM's site, and if you want more, listen to mine:

• Carol on thong underwear (my favourite)
• Frank on planting a red maple tree
• Shawn on cutting the eyes off fruit flies