Move Slowly Folks, one @ a time

Last week National Public Radio (NPR) announced lay offs and financial cuts due to the economy recession. Included in the cuts was the cancellation of two programs produced out of NPR West, Day to Day and News and Notes. Day to Day was NPR's attempt to create a program that was quicker in pace and fresher in sound than there primary shows (Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation). Day to Day also included more pop culture content and stories originating from the West Coast. Day to Day was an excellent direction for NPR and integrated easily into the NPR line-up.

News and Notes which is currently hosted by journalist Farai Chideya was another attempt for NPR to reach out to their chronically under served minority listening audience. The show began with former BET host Ed Gordon who left the program allegedly due to lack of support from NPR. Chideya stepped in upon his departure and brought more West Coast flavor and pop-culture content to the program. I don't feel Farai is the greatest radio anchor but I appreciate NPR continuing to air the program after the departure of the original host.

The challenges of News & Notes are similar to the challenges Tavis Smiley faced while hosting his popular but short-lived NPR program "The Tavis Smiley Show". Smiley's show was produced from NPR West and brought a more critical analysis of news of the day from a minority perspective. The program also brought black celebrities and comedians to an audience who may not otherwise hear their thoughts on political, social and economic issues.

When Tavis left the airwaves, NPR attempted to fill the new void with News & Notes with Ed Gordon which was soon followed by Tell Me More with Michel Martin. Neither show completely fills the void left by Tavis Smiley and leaves the network with one lone African-American show.

Martin is a well-trained journalist and the show's content is enlightening without being brash, harsh, loud or timid on racial subjects.

Although NPR has received large donations in recent years, interest in information programming is growing and the network is moving into larger digs in Washington, DC the company is still hitting brick walls when it comes to serving their minority audience and a growing younger audience. If the programming is right the potential audience gain for NPR is huge with the numbers of Hispanic, African-Americans, Asian listeners interested in information content.

Hopefully, after the dust settles NPR will realize they have to diversity their content and give new programs the same support which is given to their flagship programs. Currently they are moving at a snail's pace and one is not enough.