Why I just donated $120 to NPR

WAMU 88.5, Washington, DC’s local public radio station and NPR/PRI affiliate, is currently having its winter membership drive. This basically means that, for a week, regular programming is truncated so that the local hosts (with special guest appearances from their producers and national counterparts) can beg for donations. Naturally, this is kind of annoying, and means that I don’t get to hear very much news, let alone the Morning Edition theme song – a high point of my commute. But I understand that it’s also important. Good reporting is expensive, and the Sanju K. Bansal Foundation can only do so much.

I haven’t always loved NPR. In fact, as a kid I hated it. Being driven to soccer games by my dad was made much worse by Diane Rehm’s halting, gravelly voice (which I now realize is due to a neurological disorder, and feel slightly guilty for mocking for so long). Kayla and I would make fun of this poor correspondent who we heard a couple times for speaking with a “fake British accent,” which, in reality, was almost certainly real.

By the time I graduated from college and entered the workforce, my distaste for NPR had long since dissipated. But driving from College Park to Gaithersburg every morning, I typically listened to the Jack Diamond Morning Show, on Mix 107.3. I have a long history with Jack Diamond also, who has been on the air for something like 18 years. My mom used to listen to Jack (and Burt, Stacy Bin, and Barbara Britt) as she drove us to school. So did my eventual elementary school bus driver, Theresa Hamilton. I knew all about the arbitron rated 13 (used to be 8?) listeners and the phrase “love your show, babe.” It seemed pretty natural that, once I had a daily commute, I continued listening to Jack.

But after about a year of that, I began to get sick of it. Although Jack Diamond comforts me and reminds me of the familiarity of growing up, his show is not very intelligent. Rather than report on much actual news, he tells mediocre jokes (my favorite involves NASA and Jodie Foster) and shares a daily “celebrity scoop.” For some unknown reason, Jack hates Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. Even after complimenting the team on a big victory, he shakes his head and pretends to be an expert on football, saying, “I still just don’t think Jason Campbell is the one.” And when he does cover current events, Jack approaches them with this same aggravating sense of self-assuredness.

I accepted this out of loyalty and because I enjoyed the live in-studio performances by famous artists, the chance to win trips to Iceland, and the glee of hearing “it’s Free for all Friday!” But as the long election cycle heated up, my interest in real news grew. And when Jack Diamond declared that “no matter who wins, trust me when I say that this will be a one term presidency,” I lost patience and tuned my car radio to NPR. At the time, I didn’t intend for this to be a permanent switch, but it has been. My clock radio alarm eventually followed and I’ve found that I do not miss hearing about Erica Hillary’s daughter’s tennis lessons and Jimmy Alexander’s sleazy pursuit of 22 year old women at all. Not even remotely.

Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne fill the void of familiarity in my mornings and listening to substantial stories in the car is kind of nice. Throughout the week, the WAMU hosts have been imploring listeners to think about what public radio means to them, and to imagine their lives without it. I don’t necessarily feel that I’m significantly more enlightened than I was before I started listening to NPR regularly. Even before, I read newspapers and blogs daily, listened to NPR on occasion, and watched news on TV. But I do appreciate the comprehensive coverage of public radio, and I really like some of the entertaining bonuses – book reviews, introductions to unique musical artists, and touching stories on This American Life.

After listening to Jack Diamond for a year or so, I can tell you the names of some of his kids and dogs (Rachel, Amy, Ian, Connor, and Zeus). But I would much rather be able to discuss Iran (Steve Inskeep just returned from an assignment there) or the economy (would not understand nearly as much without Marketplace) or even the band Feufollet. So I donated $120, which lands me a member card (good for 2-for-1 entrées at many local restaurants!) and a set of This American Life DVDs. All of which is awesome, but even without those thank you gifts, I think WAMU is worth the money.