AngryChinchilla
Member
Going to see Wait Wait tomorrow in Orlando <3.
WMFE here. It is pretty good
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Which city has the best NPR station?
- Thread starter WayneMorse
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The Albatross
Member
My NPR station, too.
WGBH is pretty poor from a syndication point of view. They don't really have anything that they can promote nationally or regionally outside of Boston. I only listen to WGBH when I'm late for work and WBUR cuts over to BBC or when I'm leaving early and WGBH plays Marketplace at 6, while WBUR plays it at 6:30.
distantmantra
Member
This. As much as KUOW drives me nuts at times, driving through parts of Eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Iowa and Nebraska makes me realize how good I've got it.
The Albatross
Member
Kai is cool. Used to be a Navy pilot.
Kai is the biggest "my voice doesn't match my face" on NPR (IMO)
AngryChinchilla
Member
That is when I really appreciate podcasts. It's like I make my own NPR station.
My car's too old to know about HD radio. I don't think KUOW's local stuff is bad, their morning drivetime news does me fine. I suppose my standards for local news are pretty low though: do they talk about the things that are happening? is pretty much my only criteria. Their coverage around elections has been good for getting me at least informed enough to know what I have to figure out for myself.
sparky2112
Member
Kai is cool. Used to be a Navy pilot.
As if he needed to be any more boss than he already is. Sheesh.
Krauser Kat
Member
My home town WBEZ for This American Life, Wait Wait Dont tell me, Film Spotting.
Captain Tuttle
Member
distantmantra
Member
KUOW's local programming used to so much better. They keep shortening stories and making it all 2-3 minute soundbite crap.
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/06/kuow-major-public-radio-station-stumbles.html
KPLU actually gives traffic updates, which is nice. KUOW acts like no one uses their car to get anywhere.
Simply Sarah
Member
I still have a soft spot for WBUR and their programming, although I admit it certainly got weaker with the loss of Car Talk.
Well, WGBH does co-produce The World, but that's the only radio program I can really think of that is carried widely and which I know they're actually involved in producing. They are useful when, like now, WBUR is doing fundraising and you actually want to hear the news.
Of course, on the PBS side WGBH is hands down the most important station.
Well, WGBH does co-produce The World, but that's the only radio program I can really think of that is carried widely and which I know they're actually involved in producing. They are useful when, like now, WBUR is doing fundraising and you actually want to hear the news.
Of course, on the PBS side WGBH is hands down the most important station.
avengers23
Banned
WNYC has the Brian Lehrer Show and the Leonard Lopate Show. WNYC also has Studio 360, On the Media, Radiolab, Soundcheck. Murderer's row of programming.
distantmantra
Member
We get The Takeaway here in Seattle, which is a WGBH production.
Rocket Scientist
Member
Gaf has no mercy. Love it.
I can't help but notice that 90% of the recommendations here are just people saying their hometown station. I can't imagine more than a handful of people here have enough experience with many NPR stations to provide an educated opinion. I've traveled through lots of cities, but the only times I've really listened to local NPR stations are when I've lived there. I'm not stopping to listen to NPR when I'm on vacation for a week or traveling through a city for a few hours.
Woah damn that's scathing.
Legato.Reborn-
Member
That's what I was thinking scrolling through the first page. And I almost did the exact same thing. "Hey guys KC NPR is really awesome!... wait a second.."
I was actually thinking WXPN.
Andrew Ryan
Banned
WAMU in Washington DC obviously, home of The Diane Rehm Show
This is precisely why I linked to a particularly good local program instead of recommending the entire channel, which is aggregated content from a multitude of affiliates.
This thread would be far more interesting if it was "Post your favorite local NPR show".
I know this is about the "best" NPR station, but I'll go ahead and call out Houston Public Media (I call them the "NPR Mafia") here for being outright mediocre, if not malevolent. This will probably turn into tl;dr, but whatever.
In 2010, the University of Houston and KUHF (88.7) decided that it wanted to transition from mostly-classical and the most popular NPR/APM/etc. programming to a fully talk/news lineup, with a sister station dedicated to classical. Building out a new broadcasting infrastructure and acquiring FCC licenses would be cost-prohibitive, so they set out to buy another station's tower and license.
In August 2010, UH and HPM bought KTRU -- also known as Rice Radio (91.7) -- from Rice University. There was a substantial amount of opposition from Rice students and the Houston residents that actually cared, but the two schools went ahead with the sale anyway and Rice's station converted to an all-classical format in April 2011.
A bit about HPM: These people have always come across as boring, stuffy, and unwilling to entertain new ideas. Their classical music playlists have been just as boring for as long as I can remember. Neither of their stations would entertain notions of letting students on-air or playing any music that wasn't classical, much less any format like KEXP or The Current. They don't broadcast any UH events or games. They're run with the presumption that they do not need to reflect the character of UH at all.
And KTRU: This is a weird college station that was started in 1971. After the sale, it was relegated to internet streaming and an HD channel provided by the local Pacifica station. KTRU plays local artists and whatever quirky stuff its DJs want, in addition to Rice sports and events. An unofficial rule for DJs seems to be that if it's popular, they aren't allowed to play it. Not everyone likes the station, but it's frequently entertaining and its DJs have introduced me to music I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Losing the station's place on FM was a pretty big blow to the Houston music scene.
HPM has since faltered in their grand mission -- the classical sister station wasn't bringing in the funds needed to keep it afloat during the pledge drives. It turns out that it's difficult to run two simultaneous radio fundraisers when an audience is split and neither side grows as much as anticipated. The classical station's staff was gutted in November 2003, and the station was converted to 24/7 classical from PRI. A few key news staff were let go earlier that year, and the main station's local news coverage has been a bit shoddy ever since. Most of the on-air staff that were let go had been with the station for quite a while, so they were well-known to long time listeners.
As for Rice Radio, it's been hanging on long enough to get a new low-power transmitter on the Rice campus. It should go online later this year and will cover a portion of Houston's Inner Loop area. It will hopefully get a higher-power transmitter to cover more of the city at some point.
I listen to KUHF for the NPR/APM programming but I don't donate, since the management that took Rice off the air is still in charge. I wish they would consider allowing more local involvement with their broadcasts, like developing music shows that aren't classical or information programming that isn't related to just politics or the arts district. Rebroadcasting public radio streams other than PRI's classical -- or even splitting time between music formats -- would be welcome and perhaps a better use of the sister station's airtime.
I don't think that HPM would give these notions any consideration, and for that I'm willing to group them among the worst NPR stations.
In 2010, the University of Houston and KUHF (88.7) decided that it wanted to transition from mostly-classical and the most popular NPR/APM/etc. programming to a fully talk/news lineup, with a sister station dedicated to classical. Building out a new broadcasting infrastructure and acquiring FCC licenses would be cost-prohibitive, so they set out to buy another station's tower and license.
In August 2010, UH and HPM bought KTRU -- also known as Rice Radio (91.7) -- from Rice University. There was a substantial amount of opposition from Rice students and the Houston residents that actually cared, but the two schools went ahead with the sale anyway and Rice's station converted to an all-classical format in April 2011.
A bit about HPM: These people have always come across as boring, stuffy, and unwilling to entertain new ideas. Their classical music playlists have been just as boring for as long as I can remember. Neither of their stations would entertain notions of letting students on-air or playing any music that wasn't classical, much less any format like KEXP or The Current. They don't broadcast any UH events or games. They're run with the presumption that they do not need to reflect the character of UH at all.
And KTRU: This is a weird college station that was started in 1971. After the sale, it was relegated to internet streaming and an HD channel provided by the local Pacifica station. KTRU plays local artists and whatever quirky stuff its DJs want, in addition to Rice sports and events. An unofficial rule for DJs seems to be that if it's popular, they aren't allowed to play it. Not everyone likes the station, but it's frequently entertaining and its DJs have introduced me to music I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Losing the station's place on FM was a pretty big blow to the Houston music scene.
HPM has since faltered in their grand mission -- the classical sister station wasn't bringing in the funds needed to keep it afloat during the pledge drives. It turns out that it's difficult to run two simultaneous radio fundraisers when an audience is split and neither side grows as much as anticipated. The classical station's staff was gutted in November 2003, and the station was converted to 24/7 classical from PRI. A few key news staff were let go earlier that year, and the main station's local news coverage has been a bit shoddy ever since. Most of the on-air staff that were let go had been with the station for quite a while, so they were well-known to long time listeners.
As for Rice Radio, it's been hanging on long enough to get a new low-power transmitter on the Rice campus. It should go online later this year and will cover a portion of Houston's Inner Loop area. It will hopefully get a higher-power transmitter to cover more of the city at some point.
I listen to KUHF for the NPR/APM programming but I don't donate, since the management that took Rice off the air is still in charge. I wish they would consider allowing more local involvement with their broadcasts, like developing music shows that aren't classical or information programming that isn't related to just politics or the arts district. Rebroadcasting public radio streams other than PRI's classical -- or even splitting time between music formats -- would be welcome and perhaps a better use of the sister station's airtime.
I don't think that HPM would give these notions any consideration, and for that I'm willing to group them among the worst NPR stations.
Legato.Reborn-
Member
Ah Stillwater vs Norman
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