After a long, stress-free day of being retired, I like to further unwind before bedtime by watching something light, entertaining, and preferably funny on television. I avoid the news as much as possible as it only raises my blood pressure and cortisol levels. Streaming has made this so much easier as I no longer have to rely on network reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond or Married With Children to induce me to nod off with a smile on my face. Accessing subscription channels such as Britbox and Acorn means I can OD on my favourite British mysteries, comedy shows, or movies to soothe my soul and lift my spirits.

As more and more sports and other testosterone-loaded television programs are added to weekly schedules, I worry that new programming is happening at the expense of airing women’s perspectives. Several years ago I railed at Sirius Radio for discontinuing estrogen-friendly programs, and now it’s happening again but in the world of television. Losing Oprah on television and in print many years ago signalled the beginning of the end.

I enjoy watching CTV’s The Social but that’s a highly subjective selection that not everyone appreciates. They do a lot of author interviews which I always enjoy. Since retiring I had been a faithful follower of The Marilyn Denis Show on CTV. Marilyn retired last year and her show was not replaced by something with a similar target audience. Marilyn Denis also once hosted CITY-TV’s CityLine which ran successfully for forty years, first with Dini Petty, then Marilyn Denis, and for the past thirteen years by the popular and able Tracy Moore. These shows offered entertaining insights into fashion, decorating, wellness, and money management with advice from specialists like the amazing (late) Sandra Pittana, Brian Gluckstein, Kimberley Seldon, Lynn Spence, Bruce Sellery, and so many others. Now, CityLine on CITY TV has been cancelled too. What’s a girl to do? Where can we get our fix?

There’s always HGTV but much of their programming tends to leave me dissatisfied with my decorating and wanting to refurbish my entire home. Is wallpaper really back in? My fixed senior’s income has its limits. I have no doubt I could find the programming I’m looking for on Podcasts but that’s a medium I have not explored for various reasons which mainly centre around learning how to find programming I want to follow and when.

Several years ago I published a rant about the disappearance of women’s radio programming (Sirius . . . we have a problem) and now it’s television. Perhaps we should be more vocal in our objections or before long all radio, television and social media will be dedicated to sports, politics, and more sports. The American election is a non-stop toxic epic I am sick to death of and wish they were restricted to 90-day campaigns like we are in Canada. I avoid watching the news because my nerves can’t take the stress. I get my carefully measured doses of current events by scanning my skimpy, barely-there morning newspaper fortified by mugs of strong Yorkshire Gold tea.

What about the CBC?

As I’ve aged I prefer talk radio to music. I soooo miss the quality programming offered by the Vicky Gabereaus, Bill Richardsons, and Peter Gzowskis of the olden days. If I plan my time carefully I can tune in to book reviews on CBC FM Radio 1, which I always enjoy. These days, however, it seems CBC runs so many repeat programs (that aired only a month earlier), that I’m beginning to wonder if anyone other than a single technician works there to push the “Start Replay” button. Efficient use of taxpayer money.

Even the music they play is crap which is not meant to disparage CanCon but it hurts my ears.  Everything sounds bland, synthetic, and generated exclusively by Autotune. And, their comedy shows are painfully unfunny. Who is in charge of programming there?

Is the disappearance of women’s programming part of a larger conspiracy or am I simply not looking in the right places? I realize gender issues are becoming increasingly blurred but com’on guys. Can’t the decision-makers at large media organizations hire some female perspective to assuage this old lady? Use your imagination. I have spending power; I enjoy learning new things, and did I mention I have spending power? What my boomer demographic enjoys listening to no longer exists, except on 60’s Gold music stations. Despite still commanding a hefty forty percent of the consumer market it’s like boomers are invisible, especially female boomers.

Movies largely cater to teenagers with an unlimited supply of superheroes, sci-fi, and action flicks. Television caters to men with an abundance of sports, crime, and cop shows. Radio covers everything except women’s programming. I realize my taste in media conforms to boring gender stereotypes but, damn it, I like what I like and I am fifty percent of the population.

To search out and listen to women’s voices talking about intelligent, current topics is a challenge. Women also have voices and female broadcasters deserve to be heard. So many of my favourite programs, print magazines, and shows have disappeared in recent years. At one time I subscribed to eighteen (yes, 18!) print magazines a month. I’m now down to three. My radio and television programs are similarly threatened. I suppose I could search out podcasts that light my fire. If you have any advice I’m open to suggestions.  What, when, and where are they? I’m feeling very left out and ignored. Is it just me?