Blog du Wren

Supporting Public Radio(ish)

In looking for images to steal to make this post more fun, I came across this one which happened to be from KGUO, the public radio station of my youth (before I knew what was going on). King of neat

I'm a big public radio guy. Three of my 6 car* radio buttons are dedicated to the different public radio stations around my area and their various translator stations. I enjoy being intellectually engaged, knowing what's happening in the world*, and being entertained.

But of late, NPR, esp. Morning Edition and All Things Considered, haven't been doing it for me. I started noticing last year that their political coverage esp. was becoming what I hate, why I can't stand to listen to CNN/Fox News/major network news. Since then, I've noticed it creeping into much of their "reporting" and find myself turning off the radio rather than listening to it.

I've been a contributing member of one NPR station or another since sophomore year in college*. I like what they offer and I'm happy to support. But lately, I'm less happy about supporting. When donating last year, I included a note with my check that explained why it was less than years past and I would love to see things change. They haven't.

So this year, I decided to try something new. I decided to support the shows I enjoy rather than the station (although I did contribute a little to my favorite station, Northwest Public Radio, as well). This concept of cutting out the middle man reflects how my listening has evolved; I'm downloading podcasts of my favorite shows (radiolab and freakonomics for example) rather than planning my radio time around them.

It feels good to know that my meager contribution is going directly to what I enjoy. The feeling is very much like those first couple years of donating to Maine Public Radio. So while I hope the news programs that I once really enjoyed find their way back from the icky mass media scene, in the meantime, bring on the podcasts.

(Are you a public radio fan? Do you contribute? If not, you should consider it. It feels great and is the right thing to do.)

Monday November 4 2013

File under: misc

Toggle Comments (2)

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on Mon 04th Nov, 2013 06:46 pm PST Stephanie said:
I know what you mean, we put the web player on for NPR pretty regularly and it's always Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and while there is some really good coverage I definitely have those "hrmmm..." moments of the way certain things are reported. I get a little sad especially when I hear things that are reinforcing of... oh, how do I say? Certain mainstream ignorance/insensitivity on certain issues? I won't get too into it, but I guess I just have higher expectations than what I often hear delivered.
But, Radiolab (though I will say a few of their recent episodes disappoint as well) and This American Life are total favs, I've listened to probably like 70-80% of all the shows of either one. I also dig Planet Money and just started listening to Freakonomics too. Soo many good podcasts to be had, jeez.

On the podcast note, you may also enjoy How Stuff Work's podcast Stuff You Should Know. It's pretty awesome.
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on Thu 07th Nov, 2013 03:21 pm CST hope said:
This has been my complaint about NPR for years - the news is becoming a caricature of what it once was. And since the news is what interests me, I too, have stopped contributing. That and the fact that we don't get NPR here in the Caribbean.
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