NPR, Broadway musicals and more!

I found an article yesterday about how the Kroc endowment's gift to NPR is affecting its relationship with member stations. In the article, it mentions that there is a great chance that NPR will put its news programs on satellite radio. I have a problem with this. As the article explains:

Much of the anxiety about NPR's growth has less to do with changes at NPR than with broader changes on the radio landscape.

Satellite radio companies are fast expanding their services to include channels with public-radio-like content and sensibility. Last month XM Satellite Radio - the largest satellite operator, with 2.1 million subscribers - announced that it had hired Bob Edwards, the former host of NPR's flagship news program "Morning Edition," for a competing morning broadcast.

That move sparked fears among public radio stations that NPR, to remain competitive, might consider offering "Morning Edition" and its other staple, "All Things Considered," to Sirius Satellite Radio, XM's rival. The two NPR-produced programs are keys to sustaining listenership and fund-raising for many public radio stations, which pay millions in annual dues and programming fees to NPR to support their production.

"These programs have required an enormous public investment," said Ruth Seymour, general manager of KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif. "To simply sell them to a commercial entity is completely against the principles of public radio."

(with my emphasis)
The New York Times > Arts > NPR's Growing Clout Alarms Member Stations

And speaking of NPR - this morning I heard a funny story on how Broadway shows were chosen for delegates to the RNC to see. The story contains an interview with Rod, the Republican puppet from Avenue Q. It was enough to make me laugh on my drive to work.

GOP Visit to Broadway Strictly 'PG-13'