[Swprograms] NYTimes.com Article: NPR Stations Had Pushed for Change

[jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


Very good article on a dilemma facing NPR and most public service broadcasters.  Two comments come to mind: (1) If it ain't broke, don't fix it; (2) Even if you're on the right track, if you're moving too slowly, you'll get run over. (with apologies to Richard Armitage)...  Both are true--choose your poison!  :-)

jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx


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NPR Stations Had Pushed for Change

March 30, 2004
 By LYNETTE CLEMETSON 



 

WASHINGTON, March 29 - National Public Radio's decision to
remove Bob Edwards as host of "Morning Edition" is part of
a broader push by the network, at the urging of many of its
local partners, to remain competitive in an increasingly
demanding and crowded news marketplace, several public
radio managers across the country say. 

The announcement that Mr. Edwards would leave his anchor
post, effective April 30, to take on a new assignment as a
senior correspondent, and his statements that the move was
not his idea, ignited widespread criticism. NPR, based in
Washington, has received more than 17,000 calls and e-mail
messages from angry listeners, its officials said. A Web
site, savebobedwards.com, has generated close to 3,000
signatures. 

Though Mr. Edwards has formally accepted the new position,
some managers at NPR member stations called the timing
callous and clumsy, coming just eight months before Mr.
Edwards's 25th anniversary as host and at the start of
spring pledge drives at stations nationwide. Some critics
of the move argued that public radio should be immune to
the ratings-driven pressures that often prompt such
personnel shifts in commercial broadcasting. 

NPR, which last week described the Edwards move as an
effort to update its programming, has been riding a wave of
success. Its overall audience has grown 64 percent over the
last five years, network officials said. In the same period
"Morning Edition's" audience has grown 41 percent, they
added. The network has recently acquired the financial
freedom to overhaul its programming and expand its news
coverage, thanks to a $200 million bequest last November
from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, the philanthropist and
widow of Ray A. Kroc, chairman of the McDonald's
Corporation. 

In recent years, however, several station managers
confirmed, some member stations have voiced concerns to NPR
management that Mr. Edwards, who has served as host of
"Morning Edition" from its beginnings in 1979, often seemed
less engaged on the air. More critically, some station
officials said, the program's traditional anchor-dominated
format, heard live from 5 to 7 a.m., Eastern time. and
rebroadcast with updates throughout the morning, has left
NPR ill positioned to respond instantly to breaking news. 

"A host, when news is breaking, actually needs to be able
to interact live with a reporter on the scene and do live
interviews with analysts as a story is unfolding," said
Jeff Hansen, program director for KUOW in Seattle, and an
independent coordinator for news-focused radio statons that
carry NPR programs. "We owe a lot to Bob Edwards for
setting exactly the right tone for the first 25 years. But
I think there is probably wide agreement in the public
radio system that it is time for an evolutionary change." 

Mr. Edwards said he was never informed of concerns about
his performance. Several managers said, however, that
discussions about the flexibility of the show's format
intensified after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
On the morning of the attacks, when television morning
programs cut immediately to live coverage after the first
airplane crashed into the World Trade Center, NPR was
replaying its taped broadcast. 

NPR began special programming at 10 that morning and went
on to win several awards for its coverage. But those
problematic first moments renewed long-running discussions
about the way the program should be run and the need for a
host who is more of a reporter than an anchor. 

As partners have pressed for more up-to-the-minute news,
stations and listeners have demanded more in-depth features
and investigative reporting on "Morning Edition" and other
NPR programs, said Jay Kernis, NPR's senior vice president
for programming. With a total of 700 employees, and a news
staff of 300 reporters, anchors, editors, producers and
managers worldwide, he said, responding has been a
formidable undertaking. 

"Listeners have enormous expectations for us to be there
and explaining things immediately," said Mr. Kernis, who,
as a producer, started "Morning Edition" with Mr. Edwards
25 years ago and who was central in the decision to replace
him. "They want us to be more responsive to the news and at
the same time offer deeper context. And we want to be top
notch in both areas." 

If there was widespread agreement that NPR's approach to
news could use some tweaking, the removal of Mr. Edwards,
which was communicated to member stations last week, just
before it was announced to the news media, has received
mixed reviews. 

"Discussions about programming happen all the time," said
Gerry Weston, president of the Public Radio Partnership in
Louisville, Ky., Mr. Edwards's hometown. "For management to
hint that there was a conclusion reached or that we were
all informed of this outcome beforehand is wrong." 

Bill Buzenberg, senior vice president of news for Minnesota
Public Radio and a former vice president of news at NPR,
said: "These pressures have been there for a long time,
from stations saying `Morning Edition' sounds tired. But I
felt like Bob was like Walter Cronkite. Let's do what we
can on other parts of the show, change some things around
him, but let's leave him there." 

NPR management's decision to remove Mr. Edwards before his
program's 25th anniversary in November, said other
managers, seemed unnecessarily heavy-handed. 

"There seemed to be very little in the way of gratitude to
Bob for two and a half decades of service," said Bill
Davis, president of Southern California Public Radio and
senior vice president of programming at NPR just prior to
Mr. Kernis. "The handling and timing seems suboptimal to
listeners and to people inside of public radio. There's a
universal sense that this has been managed poorly." 

Still, Mr. Kernis said, moving to a format in which news
hosts are roaming field reporters rather than studio-locked
anchors had been discussed widely as a possible solution.
And NPR has made other host changes in recent years with
positive results. According to the latest ratings from
Arbitron, the service that tracks radio listeners, audience
numbers for "All Things Considered," NPR's popular evening
news program, have grown 8 percent to more than 11 million
weekly since changing hosts two years ago. The Kroc
bequest, which has yet to be transferred to NPR, came with
no strings attached, Mr. Kernis said. Once invested, it
could yield $10 million a year in interest. He said NPR
planned to use new hires to free veteran correspondents to
concentrate on long-term features and investigative
journalism. In addition NPR plans to expand its online
offerings. And the growth of digital radio, Mr. Kernis
said, should bring new opportunities to provide more
programming overall. 

Earlier this month, NPR announced the hiring of William K.
Marimow, former editor and senior vice president of The
Baltimore Sun, as managing editor of national news, a new
position. 

"The money, first and foremost, gives us the freedom to
dream about things we hadn't been able to dream about
before," Mr. Kernis said. "For years we've had no breathing
room. Each year at the end of the year we were making very
difficult decisions about what could be covered and where
we could afford to send people." 

Mr. Kernis would not offer specifics about any forthcoming
changes to show formats or staffing except to say that
"sometimes changes will be subtle, sometimes they won't." 

If the Bob Edwards flap is any indication, subtle may be
the safest course. 

As much as public radio stations around the country have
been pressing their national partner for change, they also
want many things to stay the same. 

"There is a hope that NPR's focus on content will not be
eclipsed by this move for new personalities," Mr. Hansen,
of KUOW in Seattle, said. "You look at the media landscape
with all of these bombastic hosts who tell you more about
themselves than about the news. We don't need to know about
the host's life or likes, we just need a facilitator who
can help the show move." 

As for loyal NPR listeners, who are still busy sending
e-mail messages, calling Mr. Kernis and other managers and
signing petitions to keep Mr. Edwards on "Morning Edition,"
the resounding message seems to be: Proceed with extreme
caution. 

Mark Forman, online petition signer No. 1,191, who listens
to NPR on WFPL in Louisville, perhaps summed up the
sentiment of many fellow listeners when he wrote, "This
could be NPR's version of the `New Coke' debacle in the
works." 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/arts/30PUBL.html?ex=1081657229&ei=1&en=0823f296f6db3758


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