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New Strategy For NPR News

T

TheBigA

Reported today by Inside Radio

www.insideradio.com

NPR’s Enlists A ‘Joy Czar’ To Generate Sunnier Stories.

National Public Radio, on a quest for happier news stories that give listeners a break from coverage of seemingly endless wars and hyper-partisan politics, is getting some help. A report
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

And by Bloomberg

www.bloomberg.com

National Public Radio Confronts Election Season With a ‘Joy Czar’

A tense US political climate and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have the broadcaster looking for more positive stories to tell.
www.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com
 
From the Bloomberg article, quoting an NPR memo to staffers:

More than two thirds of our broadcast audience is over 45, but for more than five years, the only age demographic that has grown in that audience are those over 65,” [acting content officer Edith] Chapin wrote.
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They'd probably be pretty happy if that was 50% over age 45.
 
The timing is somewhat curious. Recently, 'joy' has been used a lot during a major party's convention. It's like a new keyword in certain political circles.

I suppose there's nothing wrong with a major broadcaster inserting some positive news, though. The country has enough anger and division.
 
I have a better idea: How about of NPR knocks off the 1970s-vintage Eyewitness News-wannabe stuff and just concentrates on good, objective journalism, keeping opinions to separate programs? NPR is supposed to be better than this claptrap.
 
KeithE4 said:
I have a better idea: How about of NPR knocks off the 1970s-vintage Eyewitness News-wannabe stuff and just concentrates on good, objective journalism, keeping opinions to separate programs? NPR is supposed to be better than this claptrap.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you don't listen. Nobody at NPR sounds like Eyewitness News. If anything, they sound like the BBC. Perhaps younger people simply don't like that kind of presentation.
 
TheBigA said:
It sounds like you don't listen. Nobody at NPR sounds like Eyewitness News. If anything, they sound like the BBC. Perhaps younger people simply don't like that kind of presentation.
Click to expand...
I worded it wrong. My fault. What I meant was that I don't want NPR to become that type of news operation, even in the slightest. They don't need a "Joy Czar" or anything like that.
 
KeithE4 said:
They don't need a "Joy Czar" or anything like that.
Click to expand...

Maybe. Over the years, NPR developed a group of reporters and commentators who had a unique take on stories. Baxter Black comes to mind. Tom Bodett is another. People who had creative ways to express themselves, some with audio, others just with their writing. Lately they've become too cut & dried. There's a place for that, but there's also room for the offbeat. They sometimes used the late Scoop Nisker in San Fransisco who did humorous man-on-the-street interviews with people. I don't hear that kind of stuff anymore.
 
radiofan2023 said:
I miss Car Talk, that was one of my favorite NPR shows. They were joyful without needing a Joy Czar.
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Or Sylvia Poggioli. She just had to say her name, and I smiled.

NPR gets criticized from being too elitist. The way to change that is with humor. As you say, it doesn't have to be joy. They just need to get off the high horse and hang with the folks. I talk with songwriters about that. They say the hardest thing to do is write a tempo song with meaning. Something that makes you both tap your toes and think. Make me laugh and make me cry. That's what they need at NPR. It's not easy, but they have the resources to do it. They just have to open their eyes a little wider. Or open their ears.
 
TheBigA said:
It sounds like you don't listen. Nobody at NPR sounds like Eyewitness News. If anything, they sound like the BBC. Perhaps younger people simply don't like that kind of presentation.
Click to expand...
Too many people don't like anything that offers intelligent content. Attention spans have eroded into 5 second Tik Tok clips. NPR still far outclasses anything that Commercial Radio offers. Whether or not younger demos want any serious news coverage at all is unclear. Americans have a well deserved reputation for being ignorant of the rest of the World...
 
i was gonna say.. just wait, someone will claim they should focus on real, hard news

and when they do that, people complain its all.. if it bleeds it leads stuff

you cant win when it comes to news coverage.

If you want something truly different, tune in to our lunch/afternoon show :)
 
TheBigA said:
Or Sylvia Poggioli. She just had to say her name, and I smiled.

NPR gets criticized from being too elitist. The way to change that is with humor. As you say, it doesn't have to be joy. They just need to get off the high horse and hang with the folks. I talk with songwriters about that. They say the hardest thing to do is write a tempo song with meaning. Something that makes you both tap your toes and think. Make me laugh and make me cry. That's what they need at NPR. It's not easy, but they have the resources to do it. They just have to open their eyes a little wider. Or open their ears.
Click to expand...
They need to have everyday people as part of hosting a show, not just funny people. This was what set Car Talk apart from the other shows on NPR, you could tell they were just everyday guys having fun joking with each other while giving people useful information.
 
TheBigA said:
NPR gets criticized from being too elitist. The way to change that is with humor. As you say, it doesn't have to be joy. They just need to get off the high horse and hang with the folks.
Click to expand...
It's entirely possible to be a professional news anchor/journalist without being either a comic-wannabe or an over-serious stuffed shirt. Cronkite, Huntley, and Brinkley (among others in their era) did so on TV for many years. No reason why NPR and the other radio news outlets can't hire people like them today.
 
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