Public Radio Branches Out
As reported in today's Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)—or rather MPR’s parent company—branches out:
Not sure why I’d want to do that “in” public radio. I obviously don’t share the vision. I “listen” to public radio for the news (and sometimes music). I don’t expect to tune into MPR to hook up with like-minded individuals—ones who want to live in a compound in Santa Fe.
This didn’t sound suspicious to me, until I read Bill’s parting words:
I've blogged about this somewhere before, but it seems more and more like MPR doesn't need my few bucks a year. They seem to do just fine on their own. I"ll probably just up my pledge to KFAI - whose annual pledge form arrived in the mail yesterday, and whose Rockin-n-Rhythm show played an hour of Buddy Holly this morning in celebration of his birth.
American Public Media Group (APMG), parent company to Minnesota Public Radio, has invested almost $1 million in the for-profit, Boston-based Gather.com. The new venture is a "social networking" website devoted to creating an online community of public-radio listeners.
"We think we can take audiences beyond what we give them in public radio and connect them with a whole lot of people who have similar interests," said Bill Kling, president of APMG. "We hope there is a point where they actually get involved in activities with each other -- to take a tour of Italy, or live in a compound in Santa Fe."
"We can't do that in public radio," he said.
Not sure why I’d want to do that “in” public radio. I obviously don’t share the vision. I “listen” to public radio for the news (and sometimes music). I don’t expect to tune into MPR to hook up with like-minded individuals—ones who want to live in a compound in Santa Fe.
This didn’t sound suspicious to me, until I read Bill’s parting words:
Kling added, "Our challenge is to make sure that people understand that this is being done for the same reason that we produce public radio: For the advantage of our audience. We want to develop and strengthen content and to give audiences new experiences. If there's something wrong with that, then there's something wrong with public radio."[Emphasis mine - sounds kind of defensive.]
I've blogged about this somewhere before, but it seems more and more like MPR doesn't need my few bucks a year. They seem to do just fine on their own. I"ll probably just up my pledge to KFAI - whose annual pledge form arrived in the mail yesterday, and whose Rockin-n-Rhythm show played an hour of Buddy Holly this morning in celebration of his birth.
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