NPR

[Miesian Corners]

So here it is, pledge time at my local public radio station (WFAE in Charlotte). I can't help but be embarassed at how annoyed I am by the interruption in programming. I listen to it in the car, at work, on my Ipod (Wait Wait, don't tell me) and still I can't get enough. And for the record, yes, I did pledge my standard $104 to keep myself free from shame (but in the spirit of full disclosure, raised my gift to get the freebe that came along with that amount).

How many of you find yourselves listening to shows on public radio that otherwise you'd never give two hoots about? Ever sit in your car after you've reached your destination just to finish out a segment? Am I the only one?

[Charlotteman]

I remember when the federal government cut NPR/PBS's apron strings. The two had relied on heavy government assistance for quite some time, and there was a huge fear that public broadcasting would end when federal dollars ended.

So the pledge drives stepped in to save the day. But surprisingly the main thing that saved the day was that the QUALITY of public broadcasting soared. The fabulous programming inspired people to contribute. So now the two thrive.

It's quite a luxury listening to NPR and watching PBS. And yes NPR is especially seductive. Very very easy to get addicted!

[Gusterfell]

So here it is, pledge time at my local public radio station (WFAE in Charlotte). I can't help but be embarassed at how annoyed I am by the interruption in programming. I listen to it in the car, at work, on my Ipod (Wait Wait, don't tell me) and still I can't get enough. And for the record, yes, I did pledge my standard $104 to keep myself free from shame (but in the spirit of full disclosure, raised my gift to get the freebe that came along with that amount).

How many of you find yourselves listening to shows on public radio that otherwise you'd never give two hoots about? Ever sit in your car after you've reached your destination just to finish out a segment? Am I the only one?

[zman9810]

Our local NPR affilate KUAF is a mainstay at work starting with Morning Edition until 9, then it's local classical music until All Things Considered at 3. Not sure what we miss out on in between but I enjoy classical music to work by so it's okay. Fresh Air is a must listen to as is A Prairie Home Companion on weekends. Locally they play blues on Friday night which is always a good listen. NPR is great!

[suburban george3]

I love NPR! Have listened for years, almost exculsively to the local affiliates. Pretty much anymore I'm either listening to NPR or the BBC World Service

[Neo]

I'm also addicted and have been since I met my wife. Being the NPR junkie she is, I soon caught on and I'm not on my 3rd year of having dropped terrestrial radio altogether. I do subscribe to an online unlimited music service (Yahoo! Music Unlimited) but 80% of my ears are tuned to the local NPR station or to their wonderful podcast collection that has seduced me from day one.

Of note, UP has had a small NPR link at the bottom of the forums since my addiction started. Everyone should know how awesome NPR is. Especially us Urban Planeteers!

[Charlotte_native]

Of course I'm an avid listener! There are two sides for me, though, one being the desire to keep up with the interesting stories they have -- from social, to political, to entertainment. I also have become increasingly disinterested in all that pop radio has to offer. Current music is horribly boring to me, so when I'm in the car or at work listening to NPR or the local classical station (WDAV out of Davidson) are all I can handle other than silence or my CD's (so backwards I don't have an iPod).

[davidals]

Yes - I pretty much grew up on WFAE and WDAV in Charlotte: WFAE for the NPR (always on in my house), and WDAV which when I was in high-school had some very adventurous student-run college-radio programming late nights and on weekends.

I've kept going with the Spindale (when I lived in Boone) and Chapel Hill stations. The weekend NPR programming I'm not as crazy about, but BBC, Marketplace, All Things Considered and certain local shows are all must-listen programming. NC is lucky to have some great local programming, with community leaders, artists, writers, etc. getting lots of deep coverage. For college-radio, WXDU in Durham is excellent.

[Rural King]

I was addicted to WKNO out of Memphis for years for my news and information outlet, unfortunately the relay station that provided the best signal of WKNO for much of West Tennessee was sold to a "Christian Rock" station. That prompted me to buy Sirius radio, which provided me with a lot more options for news content, not to mention music I actually like, so my loyalty to NPR itself has faded a tad, as the satellite feed is just not the same as listening to you own local NPR affiliate.

[JDC]

I listen to North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC) all day at work. When we take the occasional road trip, we find the NPR stations along our route ahead of time so we don't have to go searching through the static.

[Choirboy622]

I listen to it in the car and at home. I just ordered an NPR umbrella from the website, so I can display it. But, I chose to not have any of the profits go to my local station, because our local station unfortunately leaves quite a bit to be desired.