Bob Edwards forced out of NPR post

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/03/23/npr.edwards.ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bob Edwards, host of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" since its inception in 1979, has been forced out of that job.

At the end of April, the 56-year-old Edwards will become senior correspondent of NPR News, with his reports being heard on various network broadcasts.

NPR's Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne will serve as interim co-hosts starting in May until a permanent successor to Edwards is named.

Spokeswoman Laura Gross said NPR's programming and news management made the change because they're trying to refresh all of the network's broadcasts.

"It's part of a natural evolution," she said. "A new host will bring new ideas and perspectives to the show. Bob's voice will still be heard; he'll still be a tremendous influence on the show. We just felt it was time for a change."

Too bad--I've always liked the Colonel. At least he'll still be on NPR in some capacity.

or obeying all the directives from our corporate masters."

Just a suspicion.

npr used to be objective, now with jerkoffs like juan williams, cokie robertson, mira liasson, and bogus commentaries from the likes of byron york the programing isn't worth a gob of spit. edwards was one of the few objective voices who had a memory when interviewing guests and would bring up their contridictions to the facts that guests would say.

after reading what was mentioned by npr as to why they did it, viz., to cast the show in a new direction, i called their natinal office to complain and asked, to what direction was the program going and for what reason was a change made to point it in a new direction.

The repugnant ones may call themselves deomcrats, but they espouse very few, if any, democratic principles.. They worm their way into liberal bastions, and one by one, they take over..

It's the way they have taken over school boards, state legislatures, congress...you name it..

First they try the intimiadtion route, but they usually resort to this tactic.. It's the most effective anyway..

Gradually they steer the conversation to more "moderate-mainstream" topics, and as the fans drop off, they lost their funding because they have no audience.. The audience is still there..they just don't find it relevant anymore, so they tune out ..

Need more proof??? Bob Barr in the ACLU...

what will I mouth in the morning when its time to say "I'm Bob Edwards"

The article states that he was forced out by NPR mgmt. He design resign his post voluntarily.

like not getting off the bushler daily talking points script.

When President Kerry is inagurated, we must pressure him to TAKE BACK THE MEDIA FOR THE PEOPLE.

There also must be an intensive cultural movement to demonize the wrong wing disinformation traitors that have been terrorizing The People.

I have been waking up to Bob Edwards for YEARS.

I'm not happy about this. I joke that I can take any bad news first thing in the morning, if I hear it from Bob Edwards.

I'll miss him... I loved his weekly interviews with Red Barber...

And I hope they keep their paws off Daniel Schorr. This is making me nervous...

yeah, by keeping Schorr! This is ALL about politics! Though Daniel sticks the knife in * whenever he gets the opportunity and he stays? Who is in charge there - Us?

Mwahahahahahahaha :evilgrin: Just kidding (I think).

talk about a tired pair of hacks.

Hate 'em both. Heard Liasson took Scaife money is some way shape or form. I distinctly remember her months after 9/11 gushing on about how we would have been so much worse off if Pres. Gore was in the White House. And Juan Williams is painfully obvious with his pro-* bootlicking. :puke:

As such, you would be more likely see Brezhnev sack the 1977 Pravda Staff than to see Bushevik Propagandists go.

Maybe Morning Edition will become listenable again. It had become white bread bland and its main objective seemed to be not to upset anyone on the right.

Maybe a new host would spend less time jabbering about sports. Edwards loves to talk about sports of all kinds instead of real news. It drives me nuts.

Or whatever that 60-second ear attack is that the Oxy Kid does.

Now their main objective will be to lift up the Chimp in Chief at every opportunity.

No More NPR for me. It's all World Service all the time for me now.

Sorry to be so dense--is there an actual radio network called "World Service"? And if so, where can I find them?

Or were you just using that phrase as a generic term for international stations?

Unfortunately, we get only the service intended for the Caribe now, since they declared that "most Americans listen on our US affiliates (yeah, an hour in the afternoon while i'm at work) or on-line..." and ended service to N. America, but it's strong most mornings on 15.190 Mcs. and in the evenings on 5.975 Mcs.

depending on where you are. Here in Southern NM near El Paso, I pick up the Africa and Asia broadcasts better than the Latin American ones!

Have you check out www.primetimeshortwave.com or http://www.eibi.de.vu/

They are great for checking frequencies and their targets for English broadcasts.

Esp. Prime Time Shortwave...print out the schedule, and you're all set.
There are multiple frequencies for the BBC and you may find one that works in your area that's from Africa or Asia...

Thanks for the Prime Time link, Gloria!
I have trouble sometimes finding english-language broadcasts that aren't fire-and-brimstone.

haven't listened to American radio since ...I take that back, El Paso/Juarez has a station that plays non-stop mariachi. That, I'll listen to.

In the AM here in MST, I listen to 2 BBC broadcasts (the ones to Africa and Asia); Radio Netherlands; Radio Sweden; Radio Australia, and China and if I want to listen to propaganda, North Korea.

Afternoons--BBC, Canada mostly.

It's so fantastic!! I go to bed listening to Japan, Taiwan, Australia, but mostly it's the good old BBC!

The shortwave schedules change on 3/28 and once Daylight Savings Time kicks in, I'll have to adjust my listening habits to whatever I pick up.

Getting the world news on the BBC is incredible.

Does this mean that Bob Edwards will be more widely heard or less widely heard? What are the "various network boradcasts"?

n/t

the former voice of news...

Cokie Roberts, Mara L, Juan Williams - shills all - they're still there I guess.

Gingrich, Burton, Helms, and all the others won!

The VRWC was getting under my skin. Hearing the him utter them words off of that way too much slanted script just didn't sit good. He always seemed like the kind of middle of the road guy back in the 80s. Probably had a lot more editorial leeway back then too.

Good job Bob

the new bush* Amerikkka....where everyone who gets close to retirement is FIRED first....and Social Security is being destroyed....Medicare is gone....

there are already seniors lying all over the streets of DC, homeless, and badly needed medical care....they are joining OUR Veterans, who are destroyed by bush* social policies AND bush* WARS all at the same time....

I just love saying her name.

I think it's more fun to say "Sylvia Poggioli":

http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/spoggioli.html

Her name sounds like something great that you'd order in a little
candle-lit restaurante in Boston's North End or San Francisco's
North Beach.

"Yes, and could I have an order of Sylvia Poggiolis, per favore?"

Atlant

Maybe her name is on and Indian menu, maybe something from Bombay. "I'll have the Snitra Prekash, and make it spicy!"

Because she pronounces them with such vigor and style.

That's MY favorite.

Say it with me!

"Snigdha Prakash"
"Snigdha Prakash"
"Snigdha Prakash" :D

and have a face to go with the name.

Better than thinking it's "Sniek Paprikash", which sounds like something that would be good with Raita....

"Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism"

if he goes on a book-signing tour or something, I'm going to make a point to go and THANK HIM PERSONALLY for being the voice I wake up since 1987...

I'm really going to miss him. I loved the Red Barber bits on Friday mornings... :cry: :cry: :cry:

It's like I'm losing an uncle

Here's part of his NPR bio...

http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/sinskeep.html

In the years that followed, NPR assigned him to cover air disasters, the United States Senate, and the 2000 Presidential campaign of George W. Bush. On one of history's most unusual election nights, Inskeep filed live reports for 20 straight hours from Bush headquarters in Texas. Several weeks later, he was in the room as Florida officials certified Bush's victory, and he reported from Washington on the night that Al Gore conceded defeat.

This line gives it away:

Inskeep now lives in Washington with his wife Carolee, an author of several reference books on genealogy.

If they get rid of Nina Totenberg we're completely sunk. She's the best!

I still can't believe they're axing Bob. Grrrrrr... I'm glad that people out there agree on Juan Williams! I was afriad it was only me. He's moving up the ladder, though, and that scares me.

The only person I'd rather hear in the morning would be Warren Olney (or maybe Nina Totenberg).

Grrrrrr... I can't believe this.

david

> I'm glad that people out there agree on Juan Williams!
> I was afriad it was only me.

Everytime I tell the NPR fundraisers to go to hell, I specifically
cite Juan Williams and Cokie Roberts.

Atlant

... just essentially a news reader? How much control does he have over content?

In any event, the only people left at NPR that I would miss are Daniel Schorr, Nina Totenberg, Diane Rehm and Terry Gross.

NPR show hosts have always had tremendous "say" in the
content and production of their shows.

Atlant

Hurrrah a topic I can be shrill about!

NPR is being slowly taken over by Neo-Con Republicans, especially
"experts" from the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, on every show, on every topic.

I'm sick of it. I'm not listening as much. I like my Public Radio radical left wing like it used to be. My theories:

1) The change is inperceptable because they have decided that on every single topic their has to be both a NeoCon voice and a mainstream voice. The NeoCon voice always bullies and badgers the mainstream voice who is nearly always bowled over because the mainstream voice is a normal nice person and the NeoCon is like a rabid dog. This formula happens over and over and the end result is the erroneous conclusion that the NeoCon voice is somehow equally valid.

2) 200 Million dollar bequest by Ray Kroc's widow. Like a huge campaign fund the NeoCons want control of.

3) Rupurt Murdoch wants to destroy NPR like he did BBC. Pressure NPRs management to force liberal voices to be more balanced destroys the liberal voice. Notice what happened to the BBC when they went too peace-nik they got cruxified by Blair/conservative alliance.

----------------------

They kicked off Democracy Now! and ever since then its gone downhill. The right's strategy is to take over management and use Mrs. Kroc's legacy to serve thier needs.

...on every single topic there has to be both a NeoCon voice and a mainstream voice. I was once told by somebody who works in public radio, "As long as both the liberals and the conservatives are mad at us, we figure we're doing our job."

The problem is, the more they react to pressure from the far right, the more the whole scale shifts to the right, until it's sometimes like the way Jello Biafra described the average American newspaper editorial page: "the whole spectrum of political opinion, from conservative to extremely conservative."

< "Morning Edition" is second only to Rush Limbaugh's syndicated program as the most-listened to national radio show. >

Why fix it if it ain't broke?

I like waking up to Bob Edwards' voice every morning. There's something soothing about it.

This is not good news for me.

I guess NPR is trying to "sex up" their programming to appeal to their conservative corporate sponsors.

Adieu, Bob. Good luck to you and thanks for a great ride!

fucking kidding me! screw npr...i m into pacifica now!!

I know I'm echoing the sentiment of dozens of others who have already made their voices heard, but this ... is... bad!!!!!!!!!!


Ok, I usually don't get up early enough to listen to Morning Edition, but when I do ... I think "I should get up early more often"


There's something so comforting about his voice. "Good morning, I'm Bob Edwards; This is Morning Edition" and then that music....


and you know those little funny segments that they do? He does them the best!! SEriously, when other guys are filling in for him it's JUST NOT THE SAME!!


How could this happen?

You suppose it's just a coincidence that NPR is taking this step at exactly the same time the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is trying to overcome charges of liberal bias levelled against PBS and NPR by Republican majorities on the House and Senate Commerce Committees responsible for reauthorizing funding for public broadcasting? Plus, the shrub has used recess appointments to stack the CPB board with such major Republican activists and campaign fundraisers as Claudia Puig, Cheryl Halpern, and Gay Hart Gaines. Hmmm, wonder who they'll find to replace Bob Edwards... Sean Hannity, perhaps?

can you spell C-I-A?

http://www.npr.org/about/place/corpsupport/financials.html

scroll down to "Contributed Support." How can they fulfill the original mission of public broadcasting when they are utterly beholden to corporations? It is a take over, and its been going on for a long time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/24/arts/24EDWA.html

<snip>

Mr. Edwards, 56, has accepted a new position as a senior correspondent for NPR, though he said contract negotiations were not yet complete. "I would prefer to remain the host of `Morning Edition,' certainly through its 25th anniversary in November," he said. "But apparently it's not my decision. It's my baby. I was there from the get-go. I never had any plans to do anything else."

<snip>

Mr. Edwards said he found out early this month that he was being reassigned. "I was called into an office, and they said, `We're making a change,' " he said. "You get a line like that, and I guess you should come back with some snappy rejoinder. But of course I did not. I was very surprised."
************************************************
It's one day later and I'm still upset. Today when I woke up to Morning Edition, as I do five days a week, I was aware that my days of "waking up with Bob" are numbered. :cry: :cry:

Bob Edwards IS Morning Edition.

Everyone should call & voice their displeasure..

NPR Main Number: (202) 513-2000

thanks for the #!

especially the quirky/funny new items he reports on.
i grew up listening to Bob Edwards;
i am sad, and really tired of NPR.