| Author |
Message |
    
The Soulful Mr T
Citizen
Username: Howardt
Post Number: 1494
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 6:45 am: |     |
Is it just me or have Morning Edition and All Things Considered become significantly more annoying?
I've been listening for years and years but lately it seems they cover the same 10 stories over and over and the programming is repeated more often.
It could possibly be that their coverage of the war in Iraq annoys me because the war and W annoy me so much. And Radio Rookies? Phoooey. What a waste of airtime.
I'm finding that 10 - 15 minutes is all I can take of the programming.
(Of course I religiously listen and play along with the Puzzle segment on Sunday mornings.) |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 298
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 12:39 pm: | |
Agreed. Duplication of stories is often the fault of the local WNYC people reading scripts regardless whether or not the national NPR news carries them. And WNYC is awfully lazy about carrying a variety of news. They peat and repeat. And usually mostly about New York. We New Jerseyians get little attention. Especially in the political department.
Example: Last year's election was covered extremely poorly from the New Jersey point of view. For weeks, political news of the election consisted of reporting how much money was being spent on campaining here. And that was all. Only in the last few days did they attempt to cover platforms and issues. Too little too late.
These people need to grow up and find out that New Jersey exists, and can listen and send their in money in if they are treated right. |
ess
Citizen
Username: Ess
Post Number: 1156
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 1:15 pm: | |
It's hard to justify supporting WNYC when the programming is starting to stink. News and Notes is horrible, and the BBC News Hour is not relevant at 9 am.
Last year's election in NJ might have warranted one hour on Brian Lehrer. They are really missing a key audience in NJ, yet they don't hesitate to send fundraising materials.
BTW, I think All Things Considered does repeat at 4:00 and 5:00 (or 5:00 and 6:00, or maybe all three). Yawn. |
brusin2
Citizen
Username: Brusin2
Post Number: 41
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 4:25 pm: | |
We've started contributing to NPR stations in other areas like Maine, New Mexico and Austin because NPR is so bad here. Richard Hake's voice on the incessant fund drives is like fingernails on a blackboard. I was in Phoenix last week and their NPR was amazing -- great series on the Salt River Dam. |
Kibbegirl
Citizen
Username: Kibbegirl
Post Number: 374
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 5:28 pm: | |
I feel like the odd ball here! I love News and Notes with Ed Gordon, enjoy All Things Considered and absolutely adore Diane Rehm. In today's world of constant commercials screaming at you from t.v. or your car radio, and boob heads saying absolutely nothing via our media, I still enjoy the "ahhhh" feeling I receive from NPR. |
Scully
Citizen
Username: Scully
Post Number: 177
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 5:40 pm: | |
I'm with Kibbegirl. Although I do agree that they over-repeat they're still my first choice for radio. |
The Oracle of MOL
Supporter
Username: Oracle_of_mol
Post Number: 213
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 8:36 pm: | |
Here in Boca, my radio's usually tuned to WXEL-FM (90.7), an NPR station which offers all the tripe you've been decrying, but which is (let's face it) a geniune alternative to the vast array of commercial crapola permeating the rest of the dial.
Before you waste more time and bandwidth ranting about how bad you think NPR News has become, why not send a more useful email to NPR, asking for whatever improvements you feel are in order. Who knows? They might even read it on the air...
BTW: What would you do without NPR?
Go in peace.
--The Oracle of MOL |
John Caffrey
Citizen
Username: Jerseyjack
Post Number: 68
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 8:45 pm: | |
Yes, WNYC can be a drag. Especially weekend afternoons...Maybe two hours of Jonathan Schwartz but 8 hours?
How about "Weekend All things" which plays on NJN.
Maybe Soundprints at a time when you want to hear it. Sound & Spirit is great but you gotta be up in the morning to hear it.
Le Show is great when it plays from Philadelphia.
Instead of these, we get, Speaking of Faith, Tavis Smiley and Jonathan S.
I have e-mailed WNYC but received not even the courtesy of a reply by automatic response.
Morning edition and All things seem to repeat every hour. Then, for those who can't wait for an update on the latest cricket scores, there is BBC world news.
At 9 a.m., try 99.5, "Democracy Now." |
Amie Brockway-Metcalf
Citizen
Username: Amie
Post Number: 512
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 10:51 pm: | |
I would go nuts without NPR. I actually love News and Notes--the roundtable gets me all riled up and ready for the day. The Brian Lehrer Show often does NJ segments, like the call-in for the new state motto. (My favorite was "NJ: The Light at the End of the Tunnel." )
If you're not happy with WNYC, then stream a different one. And the one time I emailed NPR (actually This American Life) the webmaster got back to me within 24 hours. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 12604
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 11:14 pm: | |
There's always something to criticize on public radio, but they represent an important force: stuff that the free enterprise system would not necessarily create. That's why I support it.
I love most of the above-mentioned programs, but there's always something to dislike, too. So what? The fact that there's stuff I dislike is a GOOD sign! It means they can do that, which means they'll play stuff that I like that others dislike. It's not about winning popularity! It's about providing alternatives to what the market would create.
With podcasts, you can pick and choose, and you don't have to wait for your favorite programs, and you don't have to miss anything.
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Spare_o
Supporter
Username: Spare_o
Post Number: 368
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 8:46 am: | |
I primarily listen to NPR via podcasts and as Tom mentioned, I can pick and choose what I want to hear. I enjoy public radio for the un- or under-reported stories as well as the important news and opinions in politics. I feel more connected now that I listen to podcasts and hear shows I never had the opportunity to listen to before. Never mind I don't listen to music on my iPod any longer...
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dougw
Citizen
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 723
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 9:01 am: | |
Prarie Home Companion alone makes WNYC worth supporting. The morning news is less annoying then commercial news radio (commercials and constant traffic updates). Car Talk is fun. The music on FM at night is soothing. |
Oldstone
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 571
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 9:57 am: | |
i love car talk, sound & spirit and jonathan schwartz ! |
The Soulful Mr T
Citizen
Username: Howardt
Post Number: 1502
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 10:16 am: | |
I can't STAND Jonathan Schwartz and have been fantasizing about starting a petition get his boring, pretentious, look-at-me-my-Dad's-sorta-famous crap off the air, or at least cut back to an hour. Sheesh, what dos he have on them that he gets so much airtime? The music he plays is B-O-R-I-N-G.
He clearly has no idea that one song should segue in some intersting way into the next - the segue shouldn't be grating. (Newsflash: This is actually what deejaying is.) I cringe when, for example, he plays some ancient, nobody-really-cares-except-him Sinatra tune and then says, in his profundly pretentious way something like... "Neil Young" and launches into an ancient, greatest-hits Neil Young tune that is the absolute opposite of the Sinatra tune. Jarring. Anoying. Amateurish.
Only worse deejay is Phil Schaap. Somebody put that guy out of my misery. |
Oldstone
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 577
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 10:30 am: | |
soulful, how about interesting and unpredictable instead of jarring, annoying and amateurish? i like his ancient gems. you think profoundly pretentious and i think impressively connected to a world of music that is slipping by.
what deejay gives a lot of editorial with his playlist like jonathan? i like to know about a song, etc. before or after i hear it. todays deejays think it's important to seamlessly segue to another song...personally, i don't like that.
i want to hear the history of the song or recording. that's why jonathan schwartz is interesting. to me, anyway. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 12614
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 3:35 pm: | |
I like Jonathan Schwartz very much. Soulful, just skip it. As I said, we should be happy these stations play stuff we don't like.
I knew Phil Schaap. He's a treasure, but he does run off for mind-bogglingly long. I once had a radio show on WKCR, and his show followed. I forgot to leave the studio in time for his show, and he went on one of his monologues, and I was stuck in there for a long time. But he's a very pleasant, affable guy. And he's done wonderful things for the jazz scene in the area. He brought old guys out of retirement to play at the West End Cafe and probably other places.
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dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 1366
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 3:44 pm: | |
Back in my youth, when I'd go to bed while still under the influence, I'd sometimes turn on NPR. When they were playing one of those ridiculous profiles or documentaries that included a lot of ambient and backround sound, I'd pretend they were satire. Worked much better that way. |
The Soulful Mr T
Citizen
Username: Howardt
Post Number: 1503
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 4:22 pm: | |
I think it's clear that budget considerations have driven the many of the changes in NPR programming. Our current administration clearly takes some of the responsibility for the current state of affairs.
Certain stories are expensive to cover. As a result, there's alot of "cheap" programming on both NPR and WNYC. I guess their spending alot on war coveage so they've cut the budget elsewhere, and it shows.
Of course it's better than the Channel 11 News at 10 and 1010 WINS, I've just come to expect better.
And Tom, I appreciate all that Phil Schaap has done. I just can't stand listening to him. |
slipknot (slippy)
Citizen
Username: Zotts
Post Number: 263
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 6:37 pm: | |
I love Le Show but get it podcasted so it is always on tap. |
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