NPR announced today that it needs to cut back its spending.
So they've decided to cancel two shows. One is their morning news/talk-show/human interest thingy called Day to Day. The other is News and Notes.
News and Notes is one of the only news programs around that's led by a person my age, focuses on issues that interest me, and often (almost always) has guests and commentators drawn from my generation. They also like to draw from the world of blogging, from interesting non-profits run by young people, and from all sides of the political spectrum. The host, Farai Chideya, is smart and friendly but she can be tough when necessary. There's another host, Tony Cox, and he's good too but for me it's all about Chideya.
Did I mention that this is one of the only shows on mainstream radio that's about the black community? It's the same show that used to be hosted by Tavis Smiley. I loved it then, so of course Smiley left. He said he left because NPR didn't really want to commit resources to a show that was all about diversity. Two replacements later, here's News and Notes with Chideya.
NPR needed to cut 7% of its staff/costs/programming/something. I get that. But at this moment in history, and with the value of young people so clearly demonstrated just over a month ago, why cancel a show oriented around young people and a culturally diverse audience?
Bottom line, I'm really disappointed. I enjoyed News and Notes. It hosted a lot of conversations that made sense to me and that I actually wanted to hear.
The next time Charles and I are suffering through 20 minutes about All Things Considered Hosts tasting pie with the guy from America's Test Kitchen, I'll think "I wish I could listen to the Blogger's Roundtable on News and Notes."
6 comments:
So. Maybe this would be a good time to challenge folks to donate to NPR with the understanding that they will retain this show. The power of the internet and so forth.
Since staying home, my NPR time is almost non-existent. I need to turn on the radio, um, I mean to something other than The Backyardigans Born to Play CD. Sorry they cancelled a show you love so much.
Okay, this has nothing to do with NPR. I just saw this post, and the "wonky" part made me think of you! (I don't mean you're wonky, it just sounds like a word you'd use!) I know sugar is bad for kids and all, but maybe you could sneak one to Iain during the holidays!
http://www.makeandtakes.com/wonky-homemade-lollipops
Neat! I love this kind of project.
Good link.
I never get to listen to NPR anymore. I used to love Tavis...every morning at 9am, then they changed it to BBC, and that was fine too. I am sad to hear that things are changing.
News & Notes is one of my favorite NPR shows. I was really disappointed to see that it was cancelled. I know that on WAMU in DC, it was moved from 2p to 2a. Of course you cannot develop an audience for a show when its time is changed all willy-nilly.
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