You Don't Miss It 'til It's Gone

I was looking back through the news archive because I couldn't remember what we were talking about before the national conversation was overpowered by the events of September 11. NCPR was covering the Adirondack Canoe Classic and the TAUNY Heritage Awards. The only war action on our news page was Brian Mann's coverage of the Battle of Plattsburgh, muted by two centuries of distance. On 'All Things Considered,' the president was in Wisconsin, talking about possible clouds on the economic horizon. New York City was talking about the mayoral election. In general, the news was quiet enough for ATC to devote a segment to football haiku. Never thought I would miss football haiku.

Neither Fish nor Fowl--Both, Plus 'Gator Nuggets

NCPR follows neither of the traditional public radio formats. We are not 'classical,' though we air a lot of classical music; we are not 'news/talk,' though we do go on a bit from time to time. We do smorgasbord radio, a.k.a. 'eclectic mix.' We think it takes a world to make a village. A little of this, a scoop of that, the company of old friends and neighbors--there's nothing like a good potluck.

Running a Slack Ship

I'm on vacation this week, which means I get to write to you from home, wearing robe and slippers in front of my cute blue iMac, instead of wearing my usual metalflake silver jumpsuit and virtual reality goggles in the NCPR New Media Studio--which resembles the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, except with more gadgets. The coffee's better at home, and you can't beat the company, but I miss firing off the photon torpedoes.

Organizational Navel-Gazing

In the wake of NPR President Kevin Klose's visit, I am once again astonished by the generous praise of our listeners. It's sometimes hard to credit that one can make a difference. One can also fall far short of the mark. As an institution, we do both on a regular basis. This is a time for reflection in public broadcasting: Are we dumbing down? Are we on the hook to big underwriters? Are we too white, too right, too left, too elite? Are we irrelevant to a younger audience? Do such exercises in organizational navel-gazing get us anywhere? Inquiring minds--your minds, our minds--want to know.