Welcome Joe Goetz: Scanning The Dial’s New Primary Author

After more than six years at the helm of Scanning The Dial as its primary author, Marty Ronish is moving into retirement and handing over the reins to Joe Goetz, Music Director for WFIU 103.7 FM in Bloomington, Indiana. Goetz’s inaugural post went up yesterday where he lays out an overview for what you can expect at one of the leading online hubs for all things related to classical music broadcasting.

So, what should you expect, as readers, going forward? My goal is to make this blog the leading forum for both passionate listeners AND broadcasters to discuss all the issues we can that surround classical music and its place in radio (both public and commercial). As I am actively employed by two stations, I will do my best to refrain from judging the programming and personnel decisions made by other stations, but I’m not afraid to call attention to what I feel to be particularly outstanding or egregious events. Any opinions I offer will be mine alone, and not will not reflect the opinions of my employers.

What do I expect? I expect to learn things from YOU. Everyone, whether they are station managers, program directors, music directors, hosts, listeners, or employees of other arts organizations, has a different opinion on the role classical music plays both in the community and on radio, and all those opinions are valid. That’s not to say, however, that I won’t disagree with a comment or even a guest blogger from time to time. But if we all agreed on everything, that wouldn’t be so fun, would it?

I have been very impressed with Goetz and think he is going to fit in just fine with the cast of Inside The Arts’ authors. Ever since launching a culture blog dedicated to issues about classical music in broadcasting (a sorely underserved field throughout the culture blogging community), it has been gratifying to see what its authors have covered and I’m looking forward to see where Goetz takes the Scanning The Dial in the years to come.