Great article in today's New York Times. For me, I'm rooting for Ira to help public radio producers move beyond the traditional distributors of NPR, PRI, and more. TTBOMK, no other show with such a high profile has attempted to go it alone. As this article points out, the risks are pretty big. Ira will be responsible for everything, including his own funding. But IMO, no one is a better salesman of Ira Glass than Ira Glass. If he's successful, and I believe he will be, it will hopefully lead to many more producers becoming truly independent, and fulfilling the dream the founders of the public radio system had 45 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/arts/ira-glasss-this-american-life-leaves-pri.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/arts/ira-glasss-this-american-life-leaves-pri.html