[Kzyxtalk] NPR's All Things Considered

[Rick]

And now for something completely different: 

The subject of NPR's "All Things Considered" (ATC) on KZYX is an old, old worn discussion around here in Ruralland, but I would like to bring it up for discussion if anyone is interested . Unfortunately, I think Beth is right; there are probably only about 8 of us on this list and half of them are just just station lurkers or trolls, but I feel strongly about this subject. 


I happen to like ATC. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, not a popular stance, but there you have it. I like the international coverage and some of the science stories I find really interesting and entertaining. Can ATC be lame? You bet it can. Sometimes I just have to cringe at the fluff stories and human interest filler, but I am willing to put up with the duds to get the occasional good story and their good stories can be very, very good. 


The argument against ATC is not so much how lame it can be, but how much it costs the station. I believe the bill is about 60k a year, but I could be wrong. Maybe someone can give an accurate figure. Anyway, the new slot at 6 pm with PRI's "The World" I think is quite good and it complements ATC perfectly by going into some of the international stories in a deeper way. The PRI show must be much, much cheaper and even might be free. I don't know. Anyway, I think it is really good. My only criticism of The World is that it is heavily weighted towards interviews and talking heads rather than on the ground stories. 


Two reasons for not getting rid of ATC to me would be: The international reportage, but perhaps more importantly, many of the donors to the station contribute because of ATC. Cut ATC and lose a lot of listeners as well as a lot of station revenue. I don't want to see ATC go, but can we afford to keep it and if we dumped it, would the loss in revenue from loyal donors negate the savings? 



Rick 
Little River 
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