I miss the old NPR. Anyone else?

[bif]

It's still a good source of news. But I sure miss Bob Edwards and the the old, non-commercial feel to the network. It's become so slick these days, it's almost like commercial radio. And a few shows like the Takeaway, are downright annoying.

[deutsey]

1. I stopped listening to NPR in 2000 around the election theft

but, yes, I used to love NPR (and was a loyal supporter) when I started listening in the late '80s and through much of the '90s.

[xchrom]

2. i used to love it. nt

[mucifer]

3. Depends on where you are. Chicago's NPR has great local programming

www.wbez.org The local programming is definitely more liberal than NPR's national programming. There is a wonderful show called "Worldview" (very popular amongst taxi drivers) that gets deeply into international politics and has a liberal activism bend to it.
http://www.wbez.org/worldview

[CatholicEdHead]

12. So is Minnesota Public Radio

Local stations can really add to it if they have the resources. MPR is one of the best in the country.

[mopinko]

29. what she said.

i was pushing a link to it just the other day. they had excerpts from dwight eisenhower's farewell speech, and had his granddaughter susan. they talk about all kinds of places and stories. this being chicago, he has access to a huge variety of viewpoints and stories.
then there is this american life, wait, wait don't tell me.

just the best. but hey, it's CHICAGO public radio.

[Demoiselle]

4. I get apoplectic when they do their new id.

"NPR....National Public Media." MEDIA!!! It's a frickin radio station. Yeah yeah, I know they have a web site. So does every radio and tv station I know of.
Yes, I agree, "Takeaway" is annoying. There's also a financial show on Saturdays (I think) in which the talkers feel the need to be cheery to the point of giggling.
"The entire US economy went to hell in a handbasket today" (vocal smile, titter titter.)

So if you should wander past my house and hear someone yelling "RADIO, you bastards! Thats National Public RADIO!!!!" It's just me. Venting.

[bif]

5. Marketplace is another annoying show

It's so slick it makes me sick. "From the Frank Stanton studios in L.A., this is Marketplace. And the way he says "This is Kaiiiii (pause) Rysdall!"

[tigereye]

7. I love Marketplace- a radically different view than most

"business" type shows. I always learn something from it.

[stuntcat]

15. i love Marketplace too

I never understood financial news really, til I started listening to Marketplace.

[Common Sense Party]

20. If you listen to podcasts, subscribe to Planet Money.

You will love it and learn a ton.

[stuntcat]

22. oo nice

I'll look that up this morning, ty!

[CatholicEdHead]

13. Marketplace is really good

It comes from Minnesota Public Radio, not NPR, and their approach to business is so eye opening and straight forward compared to CNBC. It is one of the most balanced business shows in the media.

[tigereye]

6. yeah, they seem to get some of their stories straight from

youtube. Sigh. :boring:

[rurallib]

8. you would have loved it back when ATC started in the '70s

but no doubt, the day Edwards was - uh - removed NPR took a sharp turn to the right.
Unfortunately, around here NPR is the only thing not extreme right. Clear Channel and Cumulus own most of them.

[progressoid]

9. I want Bob back!!

:sigh:

[bif]

10. I've been listening since the early 70s.

Actually our local NPR station had the best music shows ever. WDET Detroit. Now it's all talk radio, and pretty crappy shows at that. Michael Eric Dyson, The Takeaway, Tell Me More, Pretty boring programming.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. WDET brought in Michael Coleman to run the place

it seems like all he did was fire all the music d-j's and turn the station into a repeater for national or NY NPR talk. He broke it.

I have to wake up at an ungodly early hour. The clock radio used to come on with the some very strange and beautiful music. Now I hear a British accent giving me the latest news Zimbabwe or Zanzibar. Probably more informative, however ...


:hi:

[bif]

14. I used to love Judy Adams and Martin Bandyke

And I forget the guys name who was on from 11-1. Chuck Horn? Man did they ever destroy a great station.

[Crystal Clarity]

16. Well, it beats conservative talk radio crapola w/out exception

And if you've no choice between the 2 (like me) NPR wins in my book. But I like it enough to probably still listen even if I DID have other choices.

Plus, as far as tv programing goes, I enjoy 'Frontline', 'Independent Lens'. 'Global Voices', 'Charlie Rose', ect. All of which I get on Basic Cable ($19.99/month) A LOT of interesting stuff there imho! I miss (the retired) Bill Moyers though. One of my favs. :(

[bif]

17. I agree.

I listen to it on my commute. But that's also because all the other radio in the area is horrible. Actually, I sometimes listen to the CBC which is rather refreshing.

[Crystal Clarity]

18. Oh I would love that, getting CBC

and I get some, but it is all French to me, literally! I live not far from the Quebec border. Many folks in my area speak Canadian French. I've picked up a little, but not nearly enough.

[Kablooie]

19. I still like Neal Conan. He has such a smooth, balanced way of presenting material.

I was shocked to find out he looks kinda like Gabby Hayes.

[Common Sense Party]

21. I hate it when Neal is on vacation. His substitutes can't hold a candle

to him.

[hippywife]

27. He's one of the few we can't stand.

He slips sometimes and comes of like a right-wing apologist, so we have a good idea where his sentiments lie.

[a kennedy]

31. I was going to mention that too hippywife....

I think he's terrible, and I don't listen anymore to the National shows....I only listen to our local Wisconsin Public Radio.

[Orrex]

23. I complained in GD about NPR's commercial-heavy format just last week

Within the space of an hour they ran two commercials for YouTube, one for NetFlix, and another for Extranormal.

Of course, these were disguised as news reports, but they were little more than exhortations to patronize the sites and consume their content.


I don't have the Bob Edwards reverence that seems pretty widespread around here, but I can certainly say that NPR has gone way downhill in the decade or so that I've been listening.

[Paladin]

24. I Can't Listen To NPR Anymore.

Compared to the quality level it used to maintain, it's just too depressing......

[Odin2005]

25. I am sick of Kookie Roberts every Monday morning.

[BlueIris]

26. I really despise what NPR has become.

I can't even think about donating anymore.

[hippywife]

28. I'm still listening to it, except when I have to take myself

out of the news cycle for a while. I think it and PBS are still the best options available on radio and non-cable TV. It's always on in the car and the house. Always.

[mopinko]

30. i miss nina tottenburg and cokie roberts telling the truth.

i get really sad when i hear my old favorites bending language to assuage the powers that be.

[1gobluedem]

32. Some insights, if I may

I've worked for an NPR affiliate for almost twenty years and, yes, it has changed considerably. I'm not defending everything that's been done but I'd like to offer some insights if I may.

First, the homogonization we've seen slowly taking over is the direct result of the 104th Congress and Newt Gingrich's promise to shake things up. One of the first things he proposed was to eliminate funding for public broadcasting because "everyone has cable." That ignited a backlash from the public and he backed off from eliminating the funding completely but did succeed in getting the criteria for federal funding changed. Before the 104th Congress, federal funds for public broadcasting were based on market size which made it possible for public broadcasters to reach out with eclectic and non-traditional programming. My own station had a wonderful program that consisted of a husband and wife team who brought in a suitcase full of doo-wop 45 records every Friday night. It was a great program which had a very small number of dedicated fans. Unfortunately, the criteria for funding changed from market size to audience size as determined by Arbitron. Our fun little show didn't even show up in the ratings so we had to replace it with jazz, our main musical format, making our programming a little more predictable. It broke our hearts to drop it but we had no choice. This is a big reason why so many stations made the switch from music to news/talk. News/talk attracts more listeners.

While funding wasn't eliminated at that time, it was reduced, making NPR, PBS, and all their member stations more dependent on corporate and individual funds. The networks, NPR and PBS, are particularly dependent on corporate support as they don't raise funds directly from individuals. So that's why you hear more corporate messages on both networks and, while I have no actual proof of that, it's probably why network programming has gotten blander. NPR and PBS aren't corporate mouthpieces the way their commerical counterparts but they also know the need for corporate contributions to keep them afloat and perhaps (and I stress the perhaps because I really don't know) that has kept them from some of the more radical and hard hitting programming we prefer.

Finally, public broadcasting is faced with an aging audience. The baby boom generation is at its peak giving years but that will begin to fall off in the next five to ten years. New audiences are essential to keeping the industry alive and viable and the next generation is very different from the previous. For one thing, it's about half the size of the baby boomers. Second, it's far less idealistic and much more cynical than its predecessor, and third -- and probably most important -- it has many, MANY more media choices. Public broadcasting has to find a way to appeal to this generation if it's to survive. While we love the measured thoughtfulness of Bob Edwards on Morning Edition, the next generation prefers the glib snarkiness of Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne. NPR tried to balance this by having Renee Montagne co-host with Bob Edwards but Bob refused to take a co-host. I personally can't stand Steve Inskeep, both because of his snarkiness and because of what I see as his contempt for the US auto industry and his personal love affair with Toyota (which I've brought up to him), but the new generation of listeners do like him. And if I want my station to survive, I have to accept that. I'd still prefer to listen to him than any commercial broadcaster.

NPR and PBS have their flaws but our media landscape would be drastically and detrimentally changed without them. There are already three bills introduced in Congress this session to reduce or eliminate funding for CPB. If that happens, thousands of people across the country will lose their jobs and many communites will lose their only balanced voice for news and public information. More than 170 million Americans use public broadcasting every week and a grassroots advocacy effort has begun to have those users let Congress know that we need public broadcasting (warts and all). You can find more information at www.170millionamericans.org.

Thanks for reading.