Funding for National Public Radio is on the chopping block, and that means the Mississippi affiliate, Mississippi Public Broadcasting is in trouble too.
There are other radio stations who snipe about MPB getting help with funding. Without advertising, MPB has to get its money from somewhere else, thereby the bi-annual "Beg A Thon" where appeals are made to listeners to help with costs.

NPR just took a big hit publicity wise about a head honcho taped making slurs about Jews, and accepting money from a Muslim group. The honcho was fired.


I have all the radios I own tuned to MPB/NPR. The radios in my bedroom, in my office, in the kitchen, and in the car--all tuned to MPB.
I listen to "Car Talk" every Saturday morning, and the show at noon Saturdays hosted by Terry Graden and her husband on medical topics, and Lynn Rosetta Casper's foodie show on Sundays. I also listen to the MPB produced programs that air every weekday morning at 9am. On Monday there's a psychiatrist with a monotone voice, on Tuesdays a financial consultant, on Wednesdays a doctor taking calls and giving medical advice, on Thursdays a vet who answers calls on pet questions, and Friday a horticulture expert.

But these programs have been on for several years now--it needs to be shaken up, get some new stuff on--please! And in between this is a classical music show that irks me. I love classical music, but the woman who hosts the show airs a lot of harpsichord and chamber style music, elevator music, that nobody listens to. She needs to modernize her repetoire. But the musical hosts at MPB have always had a proprietory deal about music and play what THEY want to hear. I turn her off. I'd rather that time be spent with a talk radio format. But who asked me? Or for that matter, when has MPB polled any of its listeners about changes they'd like in programming? That makes it clear what listeners want to hear doesn't matter. Ergo, therein lies the crux of the matter.

Even so, I see the demise of NPR/MPB coming, and am sorry about it. But MPB has the most outages of any station on the radio--halfway through a program, and a broadcasting transmission tower or something screws up, and you're left listening to dead air. Something has to change with MPB to be more revelant to listeners or it will be lost.

susil