Speaking of 'hostiness,' what was your first time?

My introduction to NPR actually came by way of television. It was in the early 70s, my older brother and I would sit down a couple of evenings a week and watch reruns of a clever BBC show on our local PBS station -- it was called "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Perhaps you've heard of it. :)

During one of these evenings of what I fondly refer to as "intellectual" programming (quite sophisticated, even by today's standards), that I discovered NPR. As I awaited the start of Python, an announcement was made about an upcoming radio program featuring jazz music. As a jazz fan, I made it a point to listen to the broadcast, and, well, I've been listening to NPR ever since.

I had never heard of public radio until going to college. It was there that the Dean of my communications school would talk about how important public radio was, although my student radio station followed a commercial radio format (without the commercials).

It wasn't often that I picked up public radio, because the reception was so bad on campus. One day, on the way back to school from vacation I caught a snippet of Jazz at Lincoln Center: Ed Bradley's voice jumping out at me quick enough that I could stop the scan I was running.

I listened for as long as I could, but as I got closer to campus and higher up in the hills, the sounds of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra faded out and I was left with nothing but static and the occasional sax riff.

After that, I started looking closer at public radio, and ironically, was drawn to employment in public radio through that program--working for the producer for 5 years after college!

Matt

ahh I remeber it well, I was 16 in the back seat of my car....wait a minute, you were refering to public radio right??...
well I can still use that story, I was 16 in the back seat of my car....lol

.

I've been a long-time listener, and there have been many hostiness incidents... but one that REALLY sticks out in my mind...

Alex Chadwick, telling us about Tim Duffy and the Music Maker foundation.

Here's where you can read about the interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1138698

Here's where you can find out more about the Music Maker foundation!
http://www.musicmaker.org/

Awesome story. AWESOME foundation, great people, great music, wonderful musicians - just my kind of stuff...

Jimmy
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Please listen to my entry at:
http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/197

I recall hearing NPR for the first time when I lived in Rochester, NY years ago. Having worked in commercial radio, I was just amazed and delighted by listening to ATC for the first time. Had my first "driveway moments" there...

Then, years later I caught Praire Home Companion one Saturday night driving around Pittsburgh. For a while, I actually didn't know how much of it was "real" and how much was fiction. That was probably 20 years ago, and I now think Garrison should be considered the poet laureate of the US!

Ron

Entry here...
http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/321

The American Roadside Podcast here...
http://www.theamericanroadside.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,1...

I have no idea what year it was - I was probably 11 or 12, but my family was driving through Pennsylvania (or was it Maryland?), and on the car radio came Prairie Home Companion, with a bit about Christmas fruitcake. We had recently moved from South Dakota to Washington, DC, and I remember finding that piece both hilarious and strongly reminiscent of the "simpler" life away from the big city. It was jarring in a really delightful way, especially for a kid who had unwillingly left her childhood home, and even though I can't recall the details, I can reckon back to myself in the backseat, watching the lights of the highway go by on a winter's night as I listened to tales about the perilous density of fruitcake (another phenomenon of which I was not previously aware). Before that, I had no concept that radio could be anything other than just music or news, so it was a huge awakening. Great question - thanks for bringing that back to me!

So, I don't remember the first time, it was so long ago. For my family growing up, having public radio on all of the time was like how some families have TV on all of the time. We did have TV, too. "Prairie Home" was a staple in our house. My dad does that slow, deep breathing like Garrison, and because my parents are from small town Iowa, many of his characters resonated with them, and with me too.

I was a counsellor at a camp for a summer after I graduated from college and I experienced a great amount of current event withdrawl because I didn't know what was going on in the world away from public radio. I actually snuck a radio into camp to find out. This was not expressly forbidden, but frowned upon.

Then, when I got my own place, I couldn't afford cable for a year, so public radio kept me entertained and educated. I was thrilled when my husband and I moved to Seattle and discovered that our local station was so strong! I would say that public radio is the soundtrack of my life.
Ceramisister

ROFL!!! That's a great description!

I didn't know about public radio until a few months before college graduation. I only had an AM radio in my first car so couldn't listen to it (which explains why I didn't have a clue about the public radio 'sound' first time I applied). I didn't really start listening until I got a new car with an FM radio ;-) On my way home from work at a commercial station, I'd find Terry Gross's amazing interviews. I had just finished a Journalism and English degree and thought, "I wish I could do interviews like THAT!" I still can't do interviews that insightful, it's a rare talent to get people to open up that much and ask questions so relevant yet unusual.

Then when I met my husband-to-be, his family was devout listeners to A Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk. You wouldn't believe how excited they were when I got a job here. Talk about being star-struck!

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