Jackson Jambalaya

I agree, MPB radio and TV has become a joke. Our household used to contribute but stopped after too many of Antoon's stupid moves. On the TV side I want to know if the countless hours of Gene Edwards interviewing writers yields an audience big enough to pay the bills. I wholly doubt it. Antoon has turned MPB from a cultural oasis into a mindless hodgepodge cheap programming wasteland.

who is Antoon? Please elaborate.

Give me a three hour block in a decent time slot and I'll give you a kick ass jazz program. But no, that wouldn't match what the consultants recommended.

She's the Executive Director of MPB

I couldn’t disagree more. This is a public institution and it should respond to the needs of the public. There is a small part of the state the likes classical music. Fine. But the rest of us shouldn’t be subsidizing that (I know most of the funding is private, but tax payers do support it) for the small percentage of you who do.

There are people who want classical music. Can they get that elsewhere? Yes. There’s satellite radio, CD’s, etc. There are more of us who like engaging news and talk radio. Can we get that elsewhere, at anywhere near the quality and balance that MPB offers? Not even close.

I support this move, even if I don’t care for all the new programming. It was necessary to remain relevant.

Therein lies part of the problem. When you have the word "public" in the name then people assume it should be something like public access where you have something for everyone. The result is you get a bunch of lukewarm garbage which is what public radio is turning into. Since you want talk shows so bad, lets just complete the process and go ahead and put Enoch Sanders on a prime slot for his own talk show.

Also, I was not griping about the lack of classical music only. I was also raising hell because frankly there is a ton of talk radio. Just what we need is one more channel with talk radio format. Meanwhile, blues and jazz are completely ignored. So much for exposing people to what are true american art forms. They can't even produce a four hour block of jazz or blues at a decent hour once or twice a week. Meanwhile we get the bb-fucking c. And they claim to be locally-oriented.

I see what you’re saying but my point still stands. All the things you mentioned are available to people elsewhere. And frankly the type of programming they are offering is not. Supertalk with JT and Dave is hardly the same thing. I suppose it’s a matter of opinion, but I find the majority of the new programming enlightening. If there is one thing the people of MS need that a public radio station can offer it isn’t music of any type. It’s some education about the world that doesn’t come from Fox News.

ah, I've got a read on it now. Liberal can't stand the fact that he can't find any talk shows he wants to listen to or agrees with soooo he wants us to subsidize it for him, culture and music be damned.

Sorry, I have a strong opinion on some things. Like every time I see an attempt at painting by LOCAL artist Michelle Campbell I want to take a knife to it.

Umm, I’m hardly a liberal. And I would have no problem with the fact that I couldn’t find a talk radio show I liked (although I can on both public and private radio). What I was saying is that I, or any other taxpayer, shouldn’t have to subsidize an entertainment venue for a small group of Mississippians if the satiation is capable of offering programming that is more acceptable to more people. That’s hardly a “liberal” position. In fact, I’d prefer that the sate not subsidize radio at all. How’s that for a liberal position?

For the record, I find the non-music programming of more cultural significance than most music. I guess that’s a difference of opinion, but I think our culture is better served by more information and different information from more sources than from more music.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think our disagreement boils down to the fact that you think music would have more cultural impact for the state than more news, while I disagree. I’m still wondering why you started the name-calling and labeling me “liberal.”

because I'm already drinking heavily and having some fun with you.

actually, because what you wrote was what liberals pushing for talk radio formats in public radio say. Was almost a dead ringer, seriously. I see where you are coming from though.

Tell you what Butch. Take away MPB's taxpayer subsidy and then we'll call it even. Because what you are basically advocating is that your superior definition of how the service should be programmed trumps those who disagree with you though, of course, you are happy to have MPB funded, in part, with the dimes of others. If MPB needs the subsidy to break even financially then that means they don't have an audience for their programming. Let every taxpayer opt out by removing their subsidy and then you, and all the other folks who dig their selection of programs, can opt in by supporting MPB directly.

on a related note, notice how far removed PBS is from the market. If you want to buy any of their productions, good luck. Ken Burn's dvd series go for over $125. Want Eyes on the Prize? Only available in VHS for $250. Go to Best Buy and get a box set of a whole season for any tv show for less than $75, usually much cheaper. Their economics make no sense.

Civil War: $130
The War: same
Baseball: $180
Jazz: $180

although at amazon they are a little bit cheaper although only a little bit.

Rico Suave,
I don’t think you read my posts. I’ve already said I’d be most happy if the state didn’t subsidize it at all. I don’t think the government should be in that business in the first place. So, no I’m not “happy to have MPB funded, in part, with the dimes of others” as you allege. Please read the posts of others before critiquing them.

And you’re wrong when you say I’m merely advocating my own aesthetics over others. I’m doing the opposite of that. I’m saying that the personal preferences of a small group, any group, should take precedence of the majority. It is a fact that a majority of taxpayers didn’t care for the amount of music being played on MPB so they changed it to align more with the majority.

These interesting comments do not address a fundamental fact. Audience data clearly shows that MPB Radio's audience has dropped significantly since the changes were made. It is a fraction of PRM's audience. MPB Radio is run by people with little or no public broadcasting experience. This lack of knowledge and professionalism is reflected in the network's programming and on-air sound. When will the highly paid Executive Director of MPB be held to account for what she has done?

I think that is why they went the consultant route, with predictable results.

Just came across this great article after hearing mpb has dropped all classical music programing nice writeup. That station has now become completely talk except for Sundays with echoes hearts of space and thistle and shamrock. i am sure it will not be long before those get the ax also. really sad.

Hi there post author/moderator who has to read this to approve it.

I work at MPB (not MPR) Radio and I'd love to have a conversation with you about how completely wrong you were and still are about EVERY SINGLE thing you ranted about in this rather immature post.

Six years later, the radio network has never been in better shape.

Your representation of the "boobs" that made the decisions that were made and why they made them is outright offensive. You had not a single clue what you were talking about. Not close.

It is my hope, that in the last six years, you have mellowed a bit and have found a way to enjoy the talk and entertainment programming...as well as the 24/7 statewide music radio network that we built and signed on almost simultaneously, that includes more than 100 hours of classical music a week, jazz, blues and more.

Even if this is the case, you need to account for some of the hurtful, baseless and COMPLETELY wrong things you said about the people that work here, of which I am one.

jay.white@mpbonline.org

Since you want talk shows so bad, lets just complete the process and go ahead and put Enoch Sanders on a prime slot for his own talk show.~KF

Add Shawn "Pro Bono, baby" O'Hara to the talk show mix for call-in legal advice.

Eleven years later and I totally agree with you. Right now I am listening to a CD that has some of the classical music recordings from PRM that me and my husband made on cassette tape to be able to listen to during car travel back when we lived in Savannah, Tennessee during the late 90's. We have since then converted it to MP3 and have it on disc. It is still wonderful to listen to and we loved the back to back classical music chosen by real disc jockeys of the folks you mentioned with their soothing voices. Excellent listening program to reduce stress. Then we moved to the Jonesboro, Arkansas area who has a nation public radio station played out of Arkansas Statue University (KASU) which had news breaks on the hour every hour, totally ruining the relaxing atmosphere of the classical music played which was only in the evenings and only a few evenings a week. So it sounds like PRM went the way of the rest of the national public radio stations. Some area still worth listening to like the one we hear out of Monroe, Louisiana (KEDM) when we go to visit relatves there. I'm glad I found this article even though it is a bit dated, but I agree with you 100 percent.