I’ve become a regular listener of NPR and one of my favorite programs was Morning Edition with Bob Edwards. He impressed me as an interviewer that would consistently ask meaningful questions that I wouldn’t have thought of but wanted to know the answer to, and he did a superb job of presenting the news each morning. I’m sad to hear he’s leaving.
Thankfully, he announced in a letter to his listeners that he’s staying with NPR for the long haul. I’m glad to hear he’ll be around, but I’m going to miss listening to his show on the way to work.
Here is the official press release announcing his new assignment.
I started listening to NPR several years ago when I stumbled on an NPR station in the car. I would spend a lot of time waiting for my wife’s bus to drop her off after work. I loved the in depth news stories and analysis been a fan ever since. I typically listen to NPR programming while driving during the days and on weekends (the locally run evening programming doesn’t interest me). I’ll miss Bob Edwards as well.
BTW, am I the only one who gets flack from friends/relatives/aquaintances for listening to such a “liberal” radio station? :)
I’ve never really considered NPR to be a liberal radio station. From my experience they present both sides of the story.
Dan, that’s my point. I guess people think that it is liberal.
Ah, I didn’t pick up on that. I don’t think many of my friends/family/acquaintances know that much about NPR. Most of them prefer I turn off the radio when they get into my car anyway.
Ack! I am an NPR addict and Morning Edition is one of my favorite programs. I can’t believe he’s leaving! (I had no idea what he looked like before following your first link, either. I know Diane Rehm because she’s local, but I’ll have to look up everybody else now!) He’s been doing the same gig for 25 years, though – I’d say that’s enough time to want a job change.
I’d read somewhere that NPR is trying to give itself a fresh new “look”. With all that money from Joan Kroc ( the widow of the founder of McDonalds ) you’d expect they change something.
Meredith: It’s true, after 25 years, I would want a change too.
Scott: I hadn’t heard about that donation or their attempts to get a new look. It wasn’t enough apparently, because they’re still trying to raise money from their listeners.
I just hope that the new look that they’re going for isn’t anything close to what I hear on other news stations. Here’s an experiment for you seasoned NPR listeners. Try listening to your local AM news channel for a day. It’ll drive you nuts.
I am angry at NPR for the Bob Edwards mess. I am also angry at the poor PR on this issue. They have gotten about 30,000 emails and letter, yet they will not change their mind.
I suggest they change there name to NR, as they do not care about the public in NPR.
I am not going just accept it. They dumbed Cokie and Susan in the same way. As one of the public, the only thing I can do is withhold my support. Yeah, I can’t compete with 200 million of McMoney. With holding my support is all I can do
Please add your name to the “Save Bob Edwards” petition: we have over 21,600 names already! The petition will be delivered to NPR headquarters Friday, April 23; we hope to have at least 25,000 signatures by then.
To sign the petition, visit savebobedwards.com and click on the “Sign the Petition” link on the left side.
More on the Morning Edition Disaster
Ok, I know, I go on about this a lot. And maybe I shouldn’t. But the whole thing is d*mned annoying, and I’m still fired up about it. Thoughts on how this will resolve, and what needs to be done.
NPR has created a site in honor of Bob Edwards.
Looks like he’s being given the boot in spite of the complaints of more than 25,000 listeners.
Bob Edwards got the boot because, unlike so many of his brethern at NPR, he asked questions in interviews, rather than postured with his political positions. This morning I heard the interviewer help a newspaper editor with “you mean the Republican party is furnishing the public with anti-Kerry information.” It would have been better to ask, “what specifically do you mean?” But that is the NPR that the management wants.
Fortunately, XM Satellite Radio had more sense than the dysfunctional NPR, and gave Edwards a show of his own…so I can still have his interviews start every weekday morning. His show is now almost a year old (the “official†anniversary is October 4), and if you subscribe to XM it’s aired every weekday on XMPR Channel 133 at 8AM ET, repeats at 9AM ET, 10AM ET, 8PM ET, and the next morning at 7AM ET. Also streams all day on XM Radio Online, and the entire week “loops” over the weekend.
Charlie: I didn’t know that. Thanks for the info.