May 21, 2008
I think this is about the perfect time of year—especially here in the Carolinas.
The flowering plants are working overtime to please us. Skies are gorgeous. No air conditioning bills. At least for a few weeks. And a zillion great activities.
Check out a three week event at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, called “Create Carolina”. It is in its second year. (Now for the disclosures: my spouse teaches at Winthrop; also, Winthrop is a financial underwriter of WFAE for this series).
That said, several of us at WFAE are captivated by colleague Kim Brooks’ description of a theatrical piece she is starring in, “Victoria and Frederick for President”. The plot is set shortly after the civil war. It provides a new way of looking at the Clinton-Obama contest and realizing that what is new is old again.
Here’s how Kim describes the play:
“The year was 1872, the country was in the midst of Reconstruction, President Lincoln had been assassinated, and abolitionists and suffragists alike were fighting for the rights and privileges of full citizenship for all people. The United States was in need of a new direction and there were a pair of unlikely candidates ready to take the charge.
Victoria Woodhull, the first female stockbroker, announced her intention to run for President of the United States with running mate and newly freed slave, Frederick Douglass. “Victoria and Frederick for President” is a wonderful commentary on the power of the human spirit and what can happen when disenfranchised, marginalized members of society band together to make change.
Here’s the web site for the three-week Create Carolina event at Winthrop:
http://createcarolina.com
April 4, 2008
Company’s coming, and they’ve brought along scads of TV crews, miles of bunting, and a bundle of focus-grouped “talking points”.
Hold on for the May 6th Presidential Primary here in North Carolina.
It was supposed to be all over by now, except for ordering of the liquor for the hospitality suites at the national political conventions. But on the Democratic side, as of this blog entry, Senators Clinton and Obama are viewing our primary has perhaps the end game.
It’s surely been a topic at recent WFAE planning meetings. What stories can we tell that will be distinct from the reports by NPR, other public radio producers, and everybody else?
What topic would you like to hear Senators Clinton and Obama tackle? What would it take to win your vote?
If you go to WFAE.ORG, and look at the left-hand column, you’ll see a collection of on-line resources, many of them courtesy of NPR.
One interactive feature lets you say what it would take to get your vote (within legal constraints, of course). Click on the link below to try it:
http://www.npr.org/getmyvote/\
So, whom are you voting for, and whom are you betting on, when the May 6th contest arrives? Please blog back and let me know.
Roger.
March 13, 2008
Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink and The Tipping Point, packed the house at the annual luncheon of the Foundation for the Carolinas, in the Charlotte Convention Center, March 13th.
Gladwell is an animated speaker, and he ties together social phenomena as diverse as fashion trends and community building.
He said the key to a thriving, nurturing community is the involvement of people who are natural “connectors”: those among us who, instead of knowing 20 or 30 people, tend to have a social life packed with a hundred people or more. When “connectors” get involved with a product or a trend—or a social issue or a cultural highlight–the topic is spread near and far.
To Gladwell, Charlotte’s region will grow and prosper if it can find a frame of reference for its aspirations. Then, community activists need to develop a sense of urgency. A social movement needs to identify and activate it “connectors”. Lastly, all of those involved need to fight for growth and change.
Gladwell as commented on every topic from medical care to highway congestion cures. Here’s a recent audio clip from NPR on Gladwell’s Blink:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4280866
February 4, 2008
Since we are a public, non-profit station, should we use audience ratings as part of our decision-making? We tackled that question on a recent “Charlotte Talks” show. The guests were Program Director Paul Stribling, News Director Mark Rumsey and myself.
I think audience research plays an important role in public radio. Third-party research allows us to reach beyond our own personal judgments to see what the public is using (or underutilizing) on our stations. Research shows us when a program works well at a certain time slot. The same show can perform miserably at another time.
I DO think it’s very important that we avoid hyping the audience through research. We focus our programming within our chosen service area, which is news and public affairs, rather than turning to a rock or country music schedule. Also, when we decide to pick up a program for WFAE, we generally allow a year or two for the show to find its audience.
To hear the entire “Charlotte Talks” program, click on the link below:
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/audio/CT20080131.m3u
January 3, 2008
2008 will be a nail-biting year for the content creators (formerly known as broadcasters) in the television business.
On February 17th of 2009, TV stations will be required to shut off their analog signals in the VHF band. Those are the waves of energy that have been used since Sid Ceasar first romped into your grandma’s living room back in the 1950’s. What will be left are the new digital signals—conveying color pictures and surround sound in computer code. You also get the opportunity to watch High Definition pictures if you’re willing to shell out for an HD receiver.
Please remember that the radio side is changing but in a different way. WFAE is now broadcasting in HD digital. The “killer application”, in our view, is the ability to bring new radio services to you through open-air, non-subscription HD.
You still hear your favorite WFAE shows in analog as well as the new digital WFAE service. WFAE 2 is a 24-by-7 singer-songwriter music service that you really need to check out. WFAE 3 is broadcasting experimental programming—mainly news and public affairs programs that don’t fit into the conventional WFAE schedule.
Our WFAE shopping spies tell us that Charlotte area Radio Shack stores sold out of their Accurian HD radios over the holiday season. HD radios are now readily at stores like Best Buy, along with web sites including our own WFAE.ORG.
Remember that your current FM radios will still be of use to you over the next several years. The Feds have not set a date for shut-down of the conventional analog signals. This is because the HD system in the United States is particularly spectrum efficient. All of the WFAE signals—including the 3 digital ones—are contained in the 90.7 spot in the radio spectrum in the Charlotte region.
It’s now inexpensive to switch to HD receivers. You can get a tabletop HD set from $100-200. If you got a holiday gift card, consider stimulating the economy by springing for an HD set. I think you’ll be pleased. Be sure to email us at WFAE.ORG when you DO try out our HD services!
