Tag: Podcasts

Pledge Drive Smedge Drive

I am somewhat of a NRP addict.  This is because I have the very nerdly personality trait of being an information seeker – and NPR is the information station.

While my NPR listening has waned quite a bit with the advent of podcasts (now I can listen to many of the NPR shows I love at my convenience and even get NPR shows not available through the local NRP station), I still listen to it fairly regularly.  While getting ready for and driving to work in the morning, for example.

Yesterday morning (Thurs. Oct. 13, ’16) I turned on NPR and I heard the thing I dread most about listening to NPR.  The pledge drive.

I understand that generally NPR is a public supported station, although in the past 5-7 years the amount of “sponsorship” announcements and promotions has increased exponentially, and they need to raise funds.  However, NPR is supposed to be run by fairly smart people.  Do they really think that interrupting the programs I want to hear for 5-10 minutes at a time to endlessly (and annoyingly) beg for money is the best way to fund raise?  I have never been involved in development or fundraising, but common sense tells me – NO.  There has to be better ways.  Yet for the 30 or so years I have been listening to NPR they have been doing the EXACT same thing.

My instincts tell me that what this method of fundraising does most effectively is get people to change the station.  That is what is does for me.

And this is not the only ham-handed way that NPR fund raises.  That last time I was a “member” (meaning that I donated) a couple of years ago, I received almost constant letters from the local station asking for more money – after I had just donated.  I eventually responded with a letter of my own, telling them directly that their letters were annoying and made me NOT want to contribute in the future, and that their method of hounding current contributors with form letters asking for more money was laziest way of fundraising imaginable.

So while I should give to NPR (and as mentioned I have often in the past), I currently don’t contribute and have no plans to do so in the future.  Not until they learn the fundraising should not be about annoying and pestering their loyal listeners.  Stop being so lazy and uncreative.

If I choose to contribute I will contribute directly to the shows I listen to, and not reward the lazy, annoying, ham-handed pledge drives smedge drives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Hail Rob Reiner

We all know Rob Reiner, right?  Meathead on All in the Family.  Son of the comedic great Carl Reiner.  Of course, he went on to be a highly recognized director and producer.

A few weeks back I listened to a WTF with Marc Maron podcast where he talked with Rob Reiner.  (Someday I will do a post about WTF.  It was one of the first podcasts I started listening to.  Maron spent the first few years of his podcast talking with other comedians.  It was completely addictive and I never missed an episode.  Now he interviews celebrities in general, and I look though his episodes and pluck a few out that look interesting.)

The WTF Podcast with Reiner was recorded back in the spring or early summer (2016), but it took me a while to get around to listening to it.  Anyone who follows the movies knows that Reiner has done some good movies, but listening to the podcast where they kind of went through and discussed the Rob Reiner movie canon it really hit me how many GREAT movies he has done.  What I call “suck me in” movies.  You know, where you plop down to relax for a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon, but you happen to flip to one these movies and you can’t pull yourself away – even though you have seen it a dozen times or more.  So you spend an hour or two watching a movie when it wasn’t really on your agenda.

Let’s just review this Reiner movie canon:

  • Spinal Tap
  • Stand by Me
  • Princess Bride
  • When Harry Met Sally
  • Misery
  • A Few Good Men
  • Ghosts of Mississippi

Of course, this is just a brief list of highlights, but what a list!  These are not just good movies, but outstanding movies that would rival the canons of some of our greatest directors like Scorsese.  Plus – what impressive range: screwball comedies to rom-com to social-commentary drama.  While Reiner is recognized as a good movie director, I never hear him put on the list with the elites, and he absolutely deserves to be.

And on top of all that, Reiner’s production company Castle Rock produced the greatest TV comedy of all time – Seinfeld.  While Reiner readily admits he had little to do with the actual creation and production of the TV show, he did have a role in recognizing the talents of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David and letting them do their thing.  More importantly, after one season when NBC was about to cut the show, Rob Reiner went into a meeting with NBC execs to fight for the show.  And in a desk pounding, shout-fest he convinced NBC to give the show more time to finds its voice.  The rest is history.

Also, what really comes across in this hour or so discussion between Maron and Reiner is what a down-to-earth, humble guy he is.  It does not seem like the decades of success as an actor, writer, director and producer has gone to his head.

So hats of to you, Meathead.  Cause that’s some meat you got up there.  Thanks for all the quality entertainment.

You can listen to the Reiner WTF podcast here:  Or you can listen to it or other recent podcasts on the wtfpod.com website or download them from iTunes.