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Comments:
Mark Maynard - 2004-03-25 11:06:31 Yep. The man I'll really miss, however, is Alistair Cooke, with his "Letter from America" on the BBC. I can't think of a more eloquent, poetic, deep commentator. His doctor advised him to retire from "Letter"--he's in his 90s. I'll miss his voice.* * * * * * * * * * * * Lynne Fremont - 2004-03-25 21:34:12 Oh man. What a bummer. I love Bob Edwards. I like Alistair Cooke too but seem to miss his segment most of the time. But his voice is really soothing and I love his "letters" * * * * * * * * * * * * Michael McC. - 2004-03-26 09:43:58 Bob Edwards is totally cool, and Charity and Nichelle are both gag-me-with-a-fork smuggies. Plus that nasty witch on Stateside - is that Charity? I never listen long enough to find out.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-03-26 09:51:43 Bob Edwards is my guy. Nichelle has no affect. A 2-D droid! Charity comes off as chirpy-smirky. Yes, Charity is the Stateside lady, broadcasting from Ann Arbor. Stateside is such a mixed bag! It's either intriguing or narcolyzing...and once in a while a story just goes on and on and on.....* * * * * * * * * * * * Jim Manheim - 2004-03-26 09:54:56 It just seems as though there's a mini-phenomenon happening here that bears watching. The AA Snooze seems to be systematically firing its older writers (although yes, they did come up with just cause). The Cincinnati Enquirer just dumped its pop music writer for no other publicly stated reason than to bring on someone younger (although they do claim there was more to the story). Gale, the big publisher in Farmington Hills, just made huge cuts, and it was the twenty-somethings who were retained. Seems to me if the ratings for "Morning Edition" were continuously rising (which they apparently were), a smart lawyer could rough up NPR with an age-discrimination suit.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-03-26 10:01:16 Hmm...thought-provoking. Aside from Chris Potter, allegedly fired for eBaying at work, who else was canned from the News? There was one columnist let go for...what was it, porn? And something about a DUI? I don't read it often, clearly. Letting Potter go was the worst mistake the News ever made. He is a top-notch drama critic. I once saw him sleep through an entire Bolcom concert--snoring quite loudly!--and then next day he had the most perceptive, detailed review imaginable in the paper. How he pulled that off I don't know. I always did read his stuff. There's something to be said for youthful energy, but there's perhaps a bit more to say for seasoned experience and perspective. * * * * * * * * * * * * Michael McC. - 2004-03-26 11:09:01 Well, I for one was *so* glad to see Potter out of there. Anything he liked I was sure to loathe, and vice versa. The trend to fire older workers is for real, I think. Unless you just send their job to India and eliminate the entire department.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-03-26 11:18:26 Hmm..in my case I found I tended to agree with his opinions, and I thought he was a good writing style; direct & descriptive. Where is he now, one wonders.* * * * * * * * * * * * tom - 2004-03-26 16:28:33 The Snooze fired Potter, Jim Cnockart (sp?), and Don Faber. Maybe they canned Cnockart because no one can spell his name. An alleged humor columnist lost his column due to a DUI, but I think he still works there in another capacity.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-03-26 20:24:26 There we go--thanks Tom, that was the half-remembered stuff I was trying to think of. Faber's column was generally pretty good. He was a local voice, if nothing else. I dunno....Faber & Potter were some of the stronger writers there in my opinion. If they're trying to appeal to a younger demographic, as Jim suggests,....well, college students don't generally read the News I don't think. They don't have time to. They're not a significant News audience. * * * * * * * * * * * * tom - 2004-03-27 09:47:56 The rumor (published in the Observer, I think), was that Faber and Cnokart were fired because they surfed to some porn sites. Whether anyone substantiated that or not, or whether that was just an excuse to clean out older writers, who knows. I don't think college students don't read newspapers because they don't have time, I think its more because they choose the get information from other sources. Newspaper readership in general has declined steeply across all age groups, except maybe the elderly. People are watching TV, listening to the radio in the car, going to the net, but they are not reading newspapers.* * * * * * * * * * * * Brad - 2004-03-31 14:06:21 I'm fishing for some help from all y'all Michigan (public) Radio listeners: to generate a campaign to rid the airwaves of Charity Nebbe!!! How she ever got her own public radio show continues to boggle my mind. To listen to her inane giggles during pledge week is even more painful. If you agree, please write, call, and cajole WUOM to get her back behind the scenes where she most likely does a fine job in producing shows that others host... with your help, Charity's Romper Room days of public radio may be limited. Tell your friends! Post on your own and other's websites! Fill Google with your thoughts! As they are fond of saying: it's YOUR npr news station.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-03-31 19:09:29 Whew! Charity N sure seems to stir up reactions, all right--I have a friend who feels the same way you do, Brad. Yes, I've noticed she's all over this pledge week...there's no escape. I do like the idea of a Michigan-themed show, but it's been a bit hit-and-miss so far...and some interviews drag on way too long. Oh, how I long for the return of "Rewind." We need more voices like that on NPR in my opinion. And fewer Coke-memorabilia stories (my God, I nearly didn't make it through that one) and more edgier MI stories on "Stateside."* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |