I would be remiss if I didn't pass along this message from This American Life's website:
Dear listeners,
Last week, the economic crisis that we’ve been reporting on hit especially close to home. A dozen colleagues from our home radio station, WBEZ Chicago, had to be laid off. It costs the radio station around $150,000 per year just for the internet bandwidth to deliver the free podcast and web stream of This American Life. That’s not staff. Not computers. Just the bandwidth. We really want the podcast to remain free, but the radio station cannot absorb these costs; that would mean more layoffs. So we’re asking for your help. We’re thrilled that last year, we were able to make up this entire bandwidth cost through thousands of small donations from listeners. So if you’re a regular podcast listener, or if you use this website a lot, please consider pitching in.
Thank you very much. In the current economy, your support means more than ever.
—TAL
As someone who's involved in public radio fund raising, let me say that a dollar or two is not too little to give. Every single cent counts. In trying economic times, we are all easily swayed by concern for our own/our families finances. However, the non-profits are getting hit just as hard as everyone else. No one is asking for you to break the bank to make donations this holiday season. Simply give what you feel you can. If everyone did that on a regular basis, the world would be in great shape.
...and that, my friends, applies to all non-profits, not just public radio.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
With Great Power...
Naming a radio show is much like naming a baby -- it's a big deal. Once you've chosen a name you're stuck with it because if you change the name too often, you'll just confuse and then lose listeners.
You want that perfect that sums up the spirit of your show in a few memorable words that slide off the tongue with the greatest of ease (because you'll be saying it a lot). You want a show that describes who you are and what you play as well but also reflects the overall tone of your station. You want a name that's hip and catchy, but not too hip so as to scare off more cautious listeners. You want something that it's going to be easy to make a few show promos from and doesn't have listeners or fellow DJs wondering if you just put a bunch of random words together.
You don't want something that's already a title of anything else be it song, book, etc. You don't want something that names a specific time because god forbid your time slot changes, and you have to rename the show (this is especially important for college radio hosts - as a former Programming Director a college station I've been the scheduler and the schedulee, so trust me when I say this is a very real possibility). And aobve all, you don't want something that'll end in the radio equivalent of this article.
All of this being said, I've been searching for a new name for Evening Excursions for a little over a year. Why? Well originally Evening Excursions was three shows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings named such as they were seen as the evening counterpart to Niki's Excursions, which airs in the mornings. As time went on however, Tuesday nights became Jazz Night, and Peter turned Thursdays into The Groove. Once I came on as a cohost of Evening Excursions with Christopher, it was decided that we really should focus some enery on a new name to better reflect what we're doing on the air (and so people don't get confused between us and Excursions during pledge drives).
I'm pleased to report that barring any catastrophe, we will have a new name for the show starting January 1st. I don't want to jinx anything so I'll refrain from announcing the actual name until I get the blessing of other folks at WYSO, but stay tuned to find out what we'll be calling Wednesday nights from now on....
You want that perfect that sums up the spirit of your show in a few memorable words that slide off the tongue with the greatest of ease (because you'll be saying it a lot). You want a show that describes who you are and what you play as well but also reflects the overall tone of your station. You want a name that's hip and catchy, but not too hip so as to scare off more cautious listeners. You want something that it's going to be easy to make a few show promos from and doesn't have listeners or fellow DJs wondering if you just put a bunch of random words together.
You don't want something that's already a title of anything else be it song, book, etc. You don't want something that names a specific time because god forbid your time slot changes, and you have to rename the show (this is especially important for college radio hosts - as a former Programming Director a college station I've been the scheduler and the schedulee, so trust me when I say this is a very real possibility). And aobve all, you don't want something that'll end in the radio equivalent of this article.
All of this being said, I've been searching for a new name for Evening Excursions for a little over a year. Why? Well originally Evening Excursions was three shows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings named such as they were seen as the evening counterpart to Niki's Excursions, which airs in the mornings. As time went on however, Tuesday nights became Jazz Night, and Peter turned Thursdays into The Groove. Once I came on as a cohost of Evening Excursions with Christopher, it was decided that we really should focus some enery on a new name to better reflect what we're doing on the air (and so people don't get confused between us and Excursions during pledge drives).
I'm pleased to report that barring any catastrophe, we will have a new name for the show starting January 1st. I don't want to jinx anything so I'll refrain from announcing the actual name until I get the blessing of other folks at WYSO, but stay tuned to find out what we'll be calling Wednesday nights from now on....
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I Heard the News Today, Old Boy
The buzz around the office today was the following headline on CNN.com: "GM Plant's Closing Like a Death Knell in Dayton."
From the first rumbling of what the news networks have now named the economic crisis to the Democractic National Convention to Joe the Plumber, Ohio has been one of the prime examples for how bad things really are. Now granted, if you've lived your whole life in Dayton like I have, you've been hearing about the trouble at GM almost since birth. Dayton is a strange place. Musically, we were alled the next Seattle by Spin magazine in the mid 90s, which somehow explains why every Daytonian is assumed to be drinking buddies with Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices.
Dayton has also been compared a lot (and not just recently) to Flint, MI, and living here, you can see where our city could easily find itself in a situation like that of Flint - economically despressed due to major industry jobs that had sustained the community for decades pulling out. We've all known that this was going happen, hoped that it wouldn't, prayed that new companies would recognize the large workforce available to them and move into to replace the lost jobs...but of right now, we'll have to keep praying.
I work in an office, not a factory, but I can't begin to describe the sorrow I felt reading that article. Even some 10 hours later, I'm somewhere between tears and getting sick to my stomach trying to process all of this to write about. As a member of the community, there's such a feeling of helplessness. You want to stamp your feet and shout and demand that these good, hardworking people keep their jobs so that their families will flourish and in turn, the community will flourish.
I'm not going to point fingers or try to blame people in a situation that I don't fully understand. Instead, I'll echo a point that's a personal mantra: support your local community in any way that you can. Whether it's buying your food from a locally owned grocer or a local farmer, or getting a few Christmas presents from a local artisan or craft fair - every little bit helps. I found myself saying it a lot during WYSO's fall pledge drive: if everyone contributes a little and does what they can, positive things can happen. Or, as My Morning Jacket says in their song "Librarian":
Cause everything'd be grrreat...everything'd be good...if everybody gave...like everybody could
Speaking of My Morning Jacket, the reason I quoted that song is because that's what I'm playing on the air right now. I think a lot of my broadcasts better express what I'm thinking about something than I can in words. I've often mused that within a single show, I write all sorts of open letters to people through music sometimes without even realizing it. Sometimes it's the lyrics or the juxtaposition of two songs. Other times it's the sheer sound or the tempo. Most people think that the music is the art in radio, and it's certainly a big part of it. However, there's a lot to be said for the artistry that goes into putting a show together.
We'll expore that further some time in the near future.
From the first rumbling of what the news networks have now named the economic crisis to the Democractic National Convention to Joe the Plumber, Ohio has been one of the prime examples for how bad things really are. Now granted, if you've lived your whole life in Dayton like I have, you've been hearing about the trouble at GM almost since birth. Dayton is a strange place. Musically, we were alled the next Seattle by Spin magazine in the mid 90s, which somehow explains why every Daytonian is assumed to be drinking buddies with Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices.
Dayton has also been compared a lot (and not just recently) to Flint, MI, and living here, you can see where our city could easily find itself in a situation like that of Flint - economically despressed due to major industry jobs that had sustained the community for decades pulling out. We've all known that this was going happen, hoped that it wouldn't, prayed that new companies would recognize the large workforce available to them and move into to replace the lost jobs...but of right now, we'll have to keep praying.
I work in an office, not a factory, but I can't begin to describe the sorrow I felt reading that article. Even some 10 hours later, I'm somewhere between tears and getting sick to my stomach trying to process all of this to write about. As a member of the community, there's such a feeling of helplessness. You want to stamp your feet and shout and demand that these good, hardworking people keep their jobs so that their families will flourish and in turn, the community will flourish.
I'm not going to point fingers or try to blame people in a situation that I don't fully understand. Instead, I'll echo a point that's a personal mantra: support your local community in any way that you can. Whether it's buying your food from a locally owned grocer or a local farmer, or getting a few Christmas presents from a local artisan or craft fair - every little bit helps. I found myself saying it a lot during WYSO's fall pledge drive: if everyone contributes a little and does what they can, positive things can happen. Or, as My Morning Jacket says in their song "Librarian":
Cause everything'd be grrreat...everything'd be good...if everybody gave...like everybody could
Speaking of My Morning Jacket, the reason I quoted that song is because that's what I'm playing on the air right now. I think a lot of my broadcasts better express what I'm thinking about something than I can in words. I've often mused that within a single show, I write all sorts of open letters to people through music sometimes without even realizing it. Sometimes it's the lyrics or the juxtaposition of two songs. Other times it's the sheer sound or the tempo. Most people think that the music is the art in radio, and it's certainly a big part of it. However, there's a lot to be said for the artistry that goes into putting a show together.
We'll expore that further some time in the near future.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Who moved my (cream) cheese?
Today didn't seem like a banner day on the surface. I received the news that my car needs a massive amount of expensive repairs. I realized that I had missed something big in one of my teachers' guides about 4 hours into the day, which meant the next 6 or so hours were spent trying to catch up on my oversight. But something really cool did happen at work today. For over 6th months I've been working on a high school social studies book about American Government. Today, I got to officially add Barack Obama to the Presidents' section in the back of the book. I have to say, that felt good.
In other news, I recently tried Tofutti's non-dairy cream cheese, and I can't say that I'm a fan. I mean yes, I certainly enjoy that non-dairy quality of it. The less dairy in my diet means the less nausea and stomach aches I experience. However, I was not a fan of the distinctly soy taste. Part of the reason I love cream cheese is the tangy taste. Perhaps this would taste good on a breakfast bagle as the taste was a lot like the soy milk I take in my cappucinos, but on a sandwhich with roast beef it was fairly nasty. I will give Tofutti that they got the texture spot on, but this almost works to their disadvantage when matched with the taste. If the texture had been off, perhaps I'd have been more prepared for the taste to be off. Trader Joe's also makes non-dairy cream cheese so perhaps I'll try their brand and see how that works.
Since I got home so late, I missed craft night at the Trolley Stop so I will be left to knit on my own time. But first I think it's time to read some of David Sedaris' new book, which is being generously loaned to me by my coworker and appreciate the cuteness that is Leslie.
In other news, I recently tried Tofutti's non-dairy cream cheese, and I can't say that I'm a fan. I mean yes, I certainly enjoy that non-dairy quality of it. The less dairy in my diet means the less nausea and stomach aches I experience. However, I was not a fan of the distinctly soy taste. Part of the reason I love cream cheese is the tangy taste. Perhaps this would taste good on a breakfast bagle as the taste was a lot like the soy milk I take in my cappucinos, but on a sandwhich with roast beef it was fairly nasty. I will give Tofutti that they got the texture spot on, but this almost works to their disadvantage when matched with the taste. If the texture had been off, perhaps I'd have been more prepared for the taste to be off. Trader Joe's also makes non-dairy cream cheese so perhaps I'll try their brand and see how that works.
Since I got home so late, I missed craft night at the Trolley Stop so I will be left to knit on my own time. But first I think it's time to read some of David Sedaris' new book, which is being generously loaned to me by my coworker and appreciate the cuteness that is Leslie.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Rock and roll the vote with WWSU 106.9!
Before/after you cast your ballot please tune into WWSU 106.9's election coverage. WWSU is my radio alma mater and still one of my absolute favorite stations. I had the pleasure of doing election coverage with them in 2004, and this year Johnathon and the rest of their crew are making everything bigger and better. They'd like to submit this year's coverage for a Peabody Award so please listen and support them!
Tune your dials to 106.9FM in the Dayton area or go to WWSU to stream online.
**If you want to stream in iTunes and you can't get it to work via WWSU's site, simply search WWSU on ShoutCast's website and you'll be able to stream to iTunes.
Tune your dials to 106.9FM in the Dayton area or go to WWSU to stream online.
**If you want to stream in iTunes and you can't get it to work via WWSU's site, simply search WWSU on ShoutCast's website and you'll be able to stream to iTunes.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
This American Obsession
As if it weren't perfectly obvious to everyone around me, I have a pretty healthy obsession with public radio. It probably makes perfect sense given that I am a DJ on a public radio station, but even with that distinction, I'm taking it to a whole new level.
Like most NPR junkies, I start my morning with Morning Edition and ride home from my day job to All Things Considered. Saturday mornings aren't complete without Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Car Talk.
But by and large, my biggest public radio obsession is This American Life. I cannot go a week without Ira Glass and his amazing group of authors, interviewers, and essayists. In fact, it's gotten to be that I can't go a day without them. Thus, I began a sort of personal challenge to listen to every single episode in the now 13 year run of the show. Podcasting and a day job where I spend a good chunk of time researching has made this feat a bit easier to accomplish.
So intent am I on this, I've even made myself a little spreadsheet of all the episodes so that I neither miss nor repeat any. Currently, I've listened to roughly 54 out of 367 so I'm about 15% there as of today.
Like most NPR junkies, I start my morning with Morning Edition and ride home from my day job to All Things Considered. Saturday mornings aren't complete without Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Car Talk.
But by and large, my biggest public radio obsession is This American Life. I cannot go a week without Ira Glass and his amazing group of authors, interviewers, and essayists. In fact, it's gotten to be that I can't go a day without them. Thus, I began a sort of personal challenge to listen to every single episode in the now 13 year run of the show. Podcasting and a day job where I spend a good chunk of time researching has made this feat a bit easier to accomplish.
So intent am I on this, I've even made myself a little spreadsheet of all the episodes so that I neither miss nor repeat any. Currently, I've listened to roughly 54 out of 367 so I'm about 15% there as of today.
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