Work aggravation

Unproductive day at the station today. Our afternoon host is on vacation for two weeks, so I spent the whole day on the air.

I knew going in that I wasn't going to get any significant amount of actual work done. Moreover, I'm just now getting back up and running after having the hard drive on my computer go up in flames (in a purely literal sense, of course; no actual combusition took place). A new hard drive was installed Tuesday, but Bradley's computing services people are awfully selective about what they'll transfer in the course of these kinds of repairs. So, all of my documents were restored (thanks, Mike!), but NOT a handful of specialized applications I keep on my computer: Audio editig tools, programs that analyze Arbitron data, or any of my handheld utilities.

So, in between station breaks, I spent the majority of the day running back to my computer and re-installing software from backup CDs. I think I've been through the Installation Wizard a dozen times today. On the up side, I'm pretty much done, other than a couple of programs that didn't feel like cooperating.

On an unrelated computer note, the WCBU audio streaming computer has finally been replaced--a project that has been dragging on for months with many protracted delays. The new machine crashed early Wednesday morning, but was purring away like a kitty when I left. Check it out for yourself.

Until I Find You

Jut finished reading "Until I Find You," the new novel from John Irving.

I've been reading Irving for almost twenty years now, and made a point of grabbing each new book as soon as it's out. He's probably my favorite writer, hands down. And "Until I Find You" didn't disappoint.

Most of Irving's novel are premised on a conceit, requiring a healthy suspension of disbelief. If you can't accept the premise, then the novel may be a lost cause for you. In "Until I Find You," the conceit is Jack Burns, the central character. Jack grows up with no knowledge of his father, and is evidently so attractive that women--older women, especially--find him irresistible. His sexual initiation comes early, and he has a series of affairs with (mostly) older women.

And this is where, to some extent, Irving lost me. I consistently had trouble buying Irving's portrayal of Jack as so universally appealing to so many older women. The relationships struck me as authorial contrivances, not driven by a clear concept of who young Jack is. Instead of responding to, or changing, as a consequence of these affairs, Jack seems to be emotionally dis-associated from them, and emerges into adulthood as a kind of cipher.

The novel is essentially a Bildungsroman, taking us through Jack's life from age of four to age thirty-eight, at which point he undertakes a journey to find his biological father, and heretofore hidden aspects of his own history. The story ends with father and son meeting, on a note that's simultaneously poignant and comic.

The novel suffers from Irving's sometimes cloying authorial presence. He has a tendency to interject himself into his narrative: describing events, and then immediately telling us what they mean and how we're to feel about them. A little more "show" and a little less "tell" would have made this a stronger novel. But this is a long-standing Irving device: If you really can't tolerate it, put the book down and read Carver instead.

All told, a good story told very well, by one of the masters of the craft. I enjoyed it enough that I'm feeling inspired to re-visit some of his more recent work as well--either "A Widow for One Year" or "The Fourth Hand." I know I'll have to go back soon to read through "Until I Find You" again, and I'm already feeling deflated by the fact that I now have another four years to go before another new Irving novel.

Two deaths in the (public radio) family

Last week, WBUR announced the cancellation of "The Connection," a daily call-in show it had been distributing (via NPR) to public radio stations across the country. This comes a couple of weeks after WBEZ decided to cease production of its own show, "Odyssey."

It's pobably a coincidence that the announcements come so close together. Shows get started and canceleld all the time in radio. But the symmetry begs for some analysis--an attempt to discern the connecting thread, to puzzle out the greater meaning behind two isolated decisions.

My opinion: About damn time. Let's hope some more shows take the hint, and close up shop right behind them.

Ultimately, both programs suffered from the problem of being extraneous. They were just two of many programs contending for space on the midday schedules of mostly news/talk stations. And stations have plenty of other options to chose from: "The World," "Day to Day," "Fresh Air," and a brace of others. In the face of strong competition, these two couldn't pick up enough affiliates ("The Connection" was on 65 stations; "Odyssey" on 30) to pay the bills.

And, believe it or not, their demise is a good thing. The loss of these two shows is a preliminary step toward solving the "me-too" phenomenon of having multiple "sound-alike" programs that are essentially indistibguishable in terms of concept and content. It's something I first noticed a couple of years ago, when NPR launched its personal finance show, "Motley Fool." Presumably, the intent was to compete with PRI's personal finance show "Sound Money" (which is now named "Markeplace Money" and distributed by American Public Media). Another example could be the competing one-hour gardening programs "Talking Plants" (NPR) and "You Bet Your Garden" (WHYY).

That's where "The Connection" and "Odyssey" fell short. Whatever its merits, the former was still one of three two-hour midday call-in shows in public radio, along with "Diane Rehm" and "Talk of the Nation." And I never understood who would want to carry "Odyssey" instead of the obvously superior "Fresh Air."

I'm all for more choices when it comes to programming, but come on! Does public radio need THREE midday call-in shows? Is gardening really such a vital topic for our listeners, that we need two full hours of programming to it? I doubt it. Fortunately, these two casualties clear the decks for some of the other shows out there, and make the survivors more likely to survive. Stations still have plenty of options in assembling their schedules.

This also sends a much-needed warning sign to local stations about the temptation to try to turn your local programs into a profit center by marekting them for national distribution. WBUR in particular, was long due for some come-uppance. In the last ten years, they've developed three shows as "local" services, then decided to recoup their investment by trying to take them national. I don't know if the attempt has paid off financially, but it's a shame to see a good station develop a strong local service, then strip it of its local connection.

Making good programming is hard, and takes a real commitment of resources. If you're going to do it, why not develop platforms that speak to and reflect the community you're licensed to serve? Is your mission to serve a national audience, or to do a good job for your listeners and supporters on the issues closer to home?

Which isn't to say that local station's should never pursue national programs. WBUR gave us "Car Talk." WBEZ originated "This American Life." Public radio is better, funnier, and more interesting as a result of the shows they developed. But pursuing national production for its own sake, or to develop additional revenue streams, is a disservice to the system and to your own audience.

With any luck, WBUR and WBEZ will take the staff assigned to those programs, and reassign them to creating high-quality local content.

More new audio

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been lending some production assistance to the City of Peoria's "Night Out Against Crime." Using some materials from the National Night Out campiagn, and some voicers I recorded with Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard, I produced these three public service announcements. Listen and enjoy!

FYI: I was NOT responsible for writing or recording the jingle in the spots. So don't go blaming ME.

PSA 1: 36 seconds

PSA 2: 59 seconds

PSA 3: 59 seconds

New additions to the book shelf

Madeline and I were out running some errands last weekend, and I used the opportunity to pick up a couple of books I've been meaning to read. Of course, with rehearsals for "Forum" underway (about which, more later), I doubt I'll get to dig into any of them for a long time. But, for better or worse, here are the new finds:

"The World is Flat," Thomas Friedman
(I actually gave a copy of this to my Dad as a birthday present, then decided I also needed one for myself)

"Freakonomics," Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

"Blinding Light," Paul Theroux

Also, John Irving's new novel comes out July 11th. I've decided to be a total geek and run out and get it the first day it's on sale. And THAT one, I'll be sure to start in on as soon as it's in my hot little hands.

God, I love books.

Audio

I mentioned the promos that I produced yesterday for the WCBU Used Music Sale. I made mp3s of them.

Version 1 -- Lee Wenger
Version2 -- Nathan Irwin

New developments

"Day to Day" made its debut on WCBU today. As of now, I'm doing double duty as a classical announcer, as well as a news host and newscaster. Got off to a rough start -- I'm not used to the show's clock, so I stumbled a little. Also, my air shift is now an hour longer, and my lunch break is getting pushed back to 1:00.

In other news, Madeline's dog Camille is staying in the apartment for a few days. The family that's been taking care of her is going on vacation. She's a sweet, funny, wonderful dog -- but she's 80 pounds. That's a lot of dog to have around the apartment. Ginger Kitty's not too thrilled, I guess -- she hid under the bed most of the day.

And I prodcued two new promos for the WCBU Used Music Sale, coming up July 14th to 17th. They'll start airing tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!