[Al] Crossing the Great Divide

I’ve been out of the loop for a little bit, between getting laid off from my teaching gig, and working on several new projects, life has been a little hectic. Getting laid off from the school is actually a good thing, I’ve got tons of work before me, and balancing both would have been too much, so it’s back to being a full-time artist, I’m excited and scared all in the same breath. But you can’t live your life in fear, you just gotta jump, and pray the Lord will give you wings, so I’m jumping. But enough of the philosophizing.

After reading April’s excellent post (Sympathy for the Devil), I thought I’d add my thoughts on why this contest is important to me: 1. I now have no job. LOL!!!! Seriously, when I heard about this contest, for me, it was an opportunity to put my mouth where my thoughts were. I listen to NPR all the time, but far too many times I wonder where I am in the programming? I wonder why most of my friends who are intelligent artistic types don’t really listen to NPR too much. Especially because they dislike commercial radio so much. The friends that do listen are split into two groups, white friends who pretty much listen to the morning and day programs, and the black friends who listen to News and Notes. (My friends of other ethnicities tend to fall in the first category). I’m curious of why there is no crossover. My thoughts are (and this is totally unscientific, but going with my gut) is that they don’t see themselves in the programs they don’t listen to, they think News and Notes are only for black people, and Day to Day is not for African Americans. I know this is not NPR’s intention, but that’s how it shakes out.

Unfortunately that’s how this country shakes out. We live in a world where all the old walls that held people apart should be tumbling down, and yet, we still have these barriers that stop us from connecting. I’ve thought about this for a long time, long before this contest, and thought, I’d love to do a show that crosses that divide. A show that brings people together, and reminds us all of our humanity. That’s what I’ve tried to do with my work as a playwright/poet. So when the contest came, I made my little entry. Public Radio needs all of our voices; those on the outside of the organization to bring fresh ideas, and a new perspective. It’s too easy in any large entity to always do things the way they have always been done, and in the process over look innovation.

On the flip side we need people like April who have been doing radio because they have a bird’s eye view of how the system works, and I’m sure a ton of ideas on how to make it better. NPR faces several challenges in the future. I don’t think they have done an especially good job embracing new media, and with the rise of free podcasting, they must find new methods to bring people to the table. I’ve got a lot of ideas on how to do that and maybe this contest will give me the opportunity to let those ideas be heard by those people who can make change.

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