I just saw the news that the program is being taken off the schedule and I honestly have to sit down for a second. It feels surreal that we actually pushed this through and got them to listen to what we all felt about the quality of the broadcast. We …
PRI and WNYC's "The Takeaway" does a disservice to listeners.
This petition asks that PRI and WNYC either dramatically improve the quality of this news program or remove it from the WNYC's schedule.
In April 2008 the program began running for an hour on each of WNYC's AM and FM channels, since then it has grown to two hours on AM. It has replaced two well-regarded news programs, Morning Edition on FM and BBC World Service on AM. The program describes itself as (http://www.thetakeaway.org/about/):
"the new national morning news program that delivers the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what's ahead. Hosts John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji, along with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston, invite listeners every morning to learn more and be part of the American conversation on-air and online at thetakeaway.org."
Unfortunately, what actually provides is pointedly light and cursory coverage of the news in an over-produced, "shock-jock", talk-radio style. It's news-like, but not news. When compared to shows like the BBC World Service (which it has nudged off the morning the schedule on the AM side) falls miserably short, as it doesn't provide complete news stories with legs (in-depth coverage, analysis, insight). In lieu of this, it offers banter and opinion.
In an email received from WYNC to explain the tone and content of the program, it was explained that "The Takeaway was developed to appeal to listeners of many different backgrounds and ages who are not currently served by public radio's offerings in the morning. That said, with The Takeaway we were excited to offer listeners a choice in morning news programming." Those are laudable goals but listeners do ask that the show make this more pluralistic appeal while still meeting a certain standard of quality and without pandering. Both the new audience and the old audience deserve this consideration.
PRI and WNYC need to either dramatically improve the quality of this news program or remove it from the WNYC's schedule.
I have been hearing from so many of you who seriously miss the depth of the BBC World Service and it honestly feels like we are losing the actual news in favor of this weird banter. I am trying to figure out how to get someone at WNYC to stop ignoring these emails because their current morning lineup is just not what we signed up for as listeners.
October 3, 2009
I really thought this might just disappear into the digital void but seeing how many people are actually annoyed by this shift in programming is honestly kind of surreal. It feels like we are finally hitting a rhythm where someone at the station has to actually stop and listen to what everyone is saying about the quality of the broadcast.
Reached 100 supporters
October 3, 2009
6 Comments
T
Tom Sharma
17 years ago
Featured
its just noise. cant stand the over produced segments.
D
Dave Reeves
17 years ago
Featured
Bring back the BBC. I dont need all the banter and giggling at 7am. I want actual news.
M
Mark Carter
17 years ago
Featured
I cancel my pledge every time they start talking over each other. way too loud and annoying.
S
Sarah Stokes
17 years ago
Featured
the quality has really gone down hill. it feels like a basic cable talk show now. bring back serious journalism please.
L
Linda Wang
17 years ago
Featured
REALLY miss waking up to bbc world service. why did they think we wanted this instead? it makes no sense.
K
Karen Ward
17 years ago
Featured
Please fix this. morning edition was a part of my daily routine for years and now its just unbearable to listen to.
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I just saw the news that the program is being taken off the schedule and I honestly have to sit down for a second. It feels surreal that we actually pushed this through and got them to listen to what we all felt about the quality of the broadcast. We …
PRI and WNYC's "The Takeaway" does a disservice to listeners.
This petition asks that PRI and WNYC either dramatically improve the quality of this news program or remove it from the WNYC's schedule.
In April 2008 the program began running for an hour on each of WNYC's AM and FM channels, since then it has grown to two hours on AM. It has replaced two well-regarded news programs, Morning Edition on FM and BBC World Service on AM. The program describes itself as (http://www.thetakeaway.org/about/):
"the new national morning news program that delivers the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what's ahead. Hosts John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji, along with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston, invite listeners every morning to learn more and be part of the American conversation on-air and online at thetakeaway.org."
Unfortunately, what actually provides is pointedly light and cursory coverage of the news in an over-produced, "shock-jock", talk-radio style. It's news-like, but not news. When compared to shows like the BBC World Service (which it has nudged off the morning the schedule on the AM side) falls miserably short, as it doesn't provide complete news stories with legs (in-depth coverage, analysis, insight). In lieu of this, it offers banter and opinion.
In an email received from WYNC to explain the tone and content of the program, it was explained that "The Takeaway was developed to appeal to listeners of many different backgrounds and ages who are not currently served by public radio's offerings in the morning. That said, with The Takeaway we were excited to offer listeners a choice in morning news programming." Those are laudable goals but listeners do ask that the show make this more pluralistic appeal while still meeting a certain standard of quality and without pandering. Both the new audience and the old audience deserve this consideration.
PRI and WNYC need to either dramatically improve the quality of this news program or remove it from the WNYC's schedule.
I have been hearing from so many of you who seriously miss the depth of the BBC World Service and it honestly feels like we are losing the actual news in favor of this weird banter. I am trying to figure out how to get someone at WNYC to stop ignoring these emails because their current morning lineup is just not what we signed up for as listeners.
October 3, 2009
I really thought this might just disappear into the digital void but seeing how many people are actually annoyed by this shift in programming is honestly kind of surreal. It feels like we are finally hitting a rhythm where someone at the station has to actually stop and listen to what everyone is saying about the quality of the broadcast.
Reached 100 supporters
October 3, 2009
6 Comments
T
Tom Sharma
17 years ago
Featured
its just noise. cant stand the over produced segments.
D
Dave Reeves
17 years ago
Featured
Bring back the BBC. I dont need all the banter and giggling at 7am. I want actual news.
M
Mark Carter
17 years ago
Featured
I cancel my pledge every time they start talking over each other. way too loud and annoying.
S
Sarah Stokes
17 years ago
Featured
the quality has really gone down hill. it feels like a basic cable talk show now. bring back serious journalism please.
L
Linda Wang
17 years ago
Featured
REALLY miss waking up to bbc world service. why did they think we wanted this instead? it makes no sense.
K
Karen Ward
17 years ago
Featured
Please fix this. morning edition was a part of my daily routine for years and now its just unbearable to listen to.
its just noise. cant stand the over produced segments.