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WITHIN THE FAMILY

Morning Radio Without the Screaming

By Alex Sachare ’71

Sometimes I’m a little late to the dance.

It wasn’t until we decided to profile Soterios Johnson ’90, New York host of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition (see story), that I finally decided to give NPR a shot. I thought it would be helpful in editing the article if I was familiar with Johnson and the program, but that turned out to be only one benefit of tuning in. Better yet, I finally found something I could enjoy listening to in the morning.

My commute from Westchester to Morningside Heights ranges from 45 minutes to an hour or more with rush-hour traffic. For years I bounced between soft rock, talk shows hosted by self-indulgent yahoos and all-sports stations where know-it-all hosts try to out-shout each other. The less they had to say, the louder they said it. Tapes and CDs became a refuge, but I still wished for something better.

A colleague suggested books on tape, but I guess I’m too old school for that. I like the feel of a book in my hands, the experience of reading words on paper. To me, a book is something of substance, something weighty, not something that wafts upon the airwaves and then vanishes into the ozone. Knowing how much blood, sweat and tears goes into a book, the thought of sitting behind the wheel and having someone read to me as I motor down the Saw Mill Parkway leaves me cold.

But, thanks to a CCT story assignment, I now have NPR programmed on my radio. I’d heard about NPR for decades, but I’d always thought it would be too staid for my tastes. Well, maybe my tastes have changed, but tuning into Morning Edition is a pleasure.

The hosts, Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep, are easy to listen to, educated and erudite without being stuffy. More importantly, the stories are done in a way that draws you in. Much like on CBS News Sunday Morning, first with Charles Kuralt and now Charles Osgood, the stories tend to be longer looks at a broader range of topics than you find on other news shows, or profiles that delve in more depth into the lives of celebrities or ordinary people, some doing extraordinary things, some not. Reporters and interviewers, since they don’t have to worry about getting dramatic sound bites, tend to be more circumspect and thought-provoking. There’s no shouting on NPR, and I appreciate the civility.

During a half-hour between news updates recently, there was an elegant essay by an English teacher from New Orleans about her displacement by Hurricane Katrina to a bucolic suburb of Atlanta and how she misses her gritty hometown; a report on the impact of gentrification on Los Angeles’ skid row; coverage of an expedition to study life that exists in and under the Arctic ice cap and how these life forms are being impacted by global warming; and a piece on how full-length performances of Broadway shows have become the latest in Las Vegas entertainment fare — such as Avenue Q at Steve Winn’s new hotel. This smorgasbord is typical for Morning Edition, and that is one of the program’s appeals. You never know what to expect when you tune in.

Johnson does local newscasts that weave around the national news and features. He also does feature reporting. And because he’s an alum and we decided to do a profile, I’m now a regular listener to Morning Edition.

Sometimes I’m a little late to the dance, but better late than never.

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