August Wilson Plays Coming to WNYC

Drama's Return to Radio
Ten plays by August Wilson are being produced for performance in WNYC's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. The plays will be webcast on the greenspace.org one time only. Starting in January they will be broadcast on WNYC and other radio stations.

Taking a Risk
WNYC is taking a programming risk presenting plays on the radio. This despite doing this for all the right reasons. Drama was a staple of radio in the 30's and 40's. After Television took over the form in the 1950's, drama on radio faded to black on the radio. That is, with the exception of some public radio stations. In the 1990's, drama on public radio finally faded to to black. There just wasn't that much listener interest.  One of public radio's researchers was asked (many times) what's the best time to air drama on the radio? The answer was 1947. That answer is still true. Listening to long form plays is not how radio is used by listeners. Listeners tune in and tune out at all times at their own convenience. Appointment listening is rare and getting rarer on the radio. On demand and time shifting is increasing in importance but TSL is not in hours but in minutes.

You can read more about the series in Newsday.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/columnists/linda-winer/august-wilson-plays-coming-to-public-radio-1.5926653

The Language of News Changing for Latinos

A Growing Share of Latinos Get Their News in English

According to a report published by Pew Research in July, "a growing share of Latino adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and Internet outlets, and a declining share are doing so in Spanish." The report goes on to say television is the most likely place Latinos get their news followed by radio, Internet and print.

Relevance Is Important

The challenge for public radio and public television is relevance. Latinos are still looking for news in both languages but, they want coverage of issues that relate to their experience and is relevant to their daily lives. Survey results show that Latino news consumers still perceive news from Spanish language sources to be more relevant to their experience. One solution would be to hire more reporters with Hispanic heritage.

Horse Show on the Radio

Peconic Public Radio will offer live coverage of the Hampton Classic on the radio. Why is this noteworthy? The Hampton Classic is a horse show.  Why not? I used to think dog shows and golf were not quite right for radio, and yet, there they are. And, I once did five hours of live broadcasting from the Lakefront Festival For The Arts in Milwaukee.

According to Southampton Patch, WPPB’s Hampton Classic Series will offer a “ring-side seat” to the events, bringing participants and celebrities in front of the microphone to offer their comments.  WPPB personality Bonnie Grice, the host of "The Eclectic Café," will be interviewing sponsors, riders, various personalities to get what Fickett called, “the big picture on the Classic” 

WPPB will offer ten hours of live broadcasting from the event. Pass the pate and the bubbles in that wine are too fat to be Champagne.

Peconic Public Radio Covers Hampton Classic

WNED and Buffalo Niagara Film Commission

The Buffalo Niagara Film Commission is moving in with WNED. They're not just shacking up. According to an article in Buffalo Business First WNED and the Commission plan to do business together.  Commission Executive Tim Clark says, "among the advantages of being based out of Western New York Public Broadcasting’s downtown Buffalo headquarters is having immediate use and access to its elaborate sound stage. It also ties in Western New York Public Broadcasting’s goal of producing more public broadcast films locally."   

Sometimes multi-platform can mean an alliance  between old media to reach  broader audience. Really! An alliance like this would be good here. They have two really good studios that often stand idle. Putting people to work is never a bad idea.

Working Mix Tape

Labor Day is coming. I thought I would get an early start on musical connections. As a backdrop to all this is the widening gap between the top 1% and the rest of us. We're working harder and keeping less.

I recently read an article in the Huffington Post about the widening gap between the very rich and rest of us. Among the 10 worst countries with a huge gap between the wealthy and the rest of the population is the United States. Big government is often blamed but, this has more to do with accumulation of wealth by the top 1%. That accumulation is being stimulated a regressive tax system that cuts taxes for the wealthy. That's according to reports generated through the Gini Coefficient. The gap is the worst it has been since the start of The Great Depression.


Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Working For A Living - Huey Lewis and the News
Big Boss Man - Jimmy Reed
Take This Job and Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
Call It Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker
Working In A Coal Mine - Lee Dorsey
Coal Tattoo - Judy Collins
Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
Work Song - Nina Simone
Lift Up Every Stone - John Hiatt
Working for the Weekend - Loverboy
Someday - Steve Earle
Get a Job - Silhouettes
Mill Worker - Emmylou Harris

What are your favorite work songs? I would like your input. Feel free to add to the list.