Oregon Media Insiders

Beth is very articulate, to-the-point and matter of fact. She has a nice public radio sound. What's your problem?

(You can likely stream your California station if you miss it so much.)

I too am fairly new to the NorthWest. I'm from the DC area where WMAU rules. I find OPB a weak NPR affilliate. They rebroadcast many of their shows. But where they ought to hold back an hour and broadcast BBC News for another hour... at 3AM they start the EastCoast production of Morning Edition. OPB runs the two hour show three times.

Recently OPB has moved a reporter Kristian Foden Vencil into the presenter's role for Morning Edition. To my ears, KFV doesn't have the "voice" for morning radio... for radio announcing period. I wonder how many times a day he says his seven syllable name?

Now OPB has their new ill-named show Think Out Loud that aires at 9:00 AM. Surely this hour of radio is one of the lamest "talkshows" of all times. But OPB plays it two times a day, plus many promos. What drives me crazy with this show is how scripted it is. Emily Harris seems to be reading her outline while her guests are talking. She seldom responds to what has been said, or reacts with immediacy. She reads her next prepared question, or gives the phone number to call in, and the website's address.

Check out the RULES for participating in the programs "dialogue." http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/participate/

Here's a couple of them:

"Try to proofread yourself. We all make mistakes, but spelling, punctuation, and grammar are signs of courtesy to the reader."

"Try to keep your comments to no more than 200 words. As a general rule, if you have to scroll to read a comment, it's too long."

I like Beth's voice and vibe. I've no problem with her.

I'm glad to find that I'm not the only one who finds "Think Out Loud" to be a rather scatter-brained affair. And yes, the hostess sure does seem to be running on autopilot during the show, with few genuine interactions with the guests. The co-host, (Dave Miller?) seems to have an easier time navigating the issues and actually responding and exchanging with the callers and guests. Methinks they should swap positions.
Also, surprised not to see "Refrain from criticizing OPB" on their list of "Participation Guidelines."

Does Rick Wiseman = Chuck Knopf?

When Chuck first appeared on OPB, people were a bit surprised. Now we have Rick, who has similar pipes.

Is 'Rick Wiseman' an on-air alias?