NPR: Bryant Park Smackdown

Bryant Park Smackdown

Yesterday I posted a video that I thought was cool. The response was, well, decidedly not cool. We got some email questioning our news bona fides. Some people asking, "Who the hell cares what you think?" or "What does this mean?" One comment rose above all of them, though, and Luke and I want to post excerpts of it here with a response. We think it's important. (You can read the entire thing in the comments section.)

The comment is from Joshua Johnson -- he is a news announcer at WLRN, down in Miami. He raises some very good, pointed and rudely worded questions, (we can take it) and we have some very polite answers.

Here we go:

I'm 27 years old, and I do news for an NPR station, so maybe I'm totally biased. But I was really hoping that this program would shape up to be a little more newsy than what I can get, oh, I dunno, EVERYWHERE ELSE ONLINE. Yes, you weighed in on George Tenet and on Virginia Tech, but essentially you asked us how you should cover it. You even said that you "didn't have that much to add to the conversation" about the V-Tech massacre.

Well then, why the hell should I listen to you? If you've nothing to say, then don't say anything!

There are plenty of angles to that story that no one seems to want to discuss: namely, the bullying angle. That young man who killed all those people was reportedly bullied mercilessly for being quirky and different. No, that doesn't excuse what he did, but YES, it repeats a clear pattern of young disenfranchised men giving up on life and taking out their anger on the innocent.

How plugged in to young America are you really, if you couldn't think of that?

MATT: Okay, so the blog isn't "newsy" enough for you. And that's fine. We're not out to please everyone here. Our goal is to use this site to develop a new kind of NPR news program, to talk with you about the kind of stories you want to hear. And the bullying angle is a fine suggestion. I can imagine talking with someone who was bullied as a child -- how they worked through that experience, ask them about whether they ever felt the kind of rage that Cho felt. Good suggestion. Thank you.

LUKE: Heard that, Matthew.

BPP is on, reporting, right now. You're not launching, you're not experimenting: WE CAN SEE YOU. And that means, you exist. You're already starting to make an impression, and I think you're making a crappy one so far. Just look at the list of stuff on the "Interweb" that you like; a good chunk of those links are to gossip sites and time-wasters! WTF? Is this what NPR thinks I need in the morning, given all the stuff I've got to do before work? I don't have time for gossip, or for viral stupidity that my friends will send me anyway.

MATT: A couple of things here. First of all, we are getting ready to launch. We are experimenting. And we don't have a show yet. We barely have a staff. The point of this blog is to talk with you about what we want to do. To get your input. To create a show that you might want to hear. I know I sound like a broken record, but it's the truth. In response to not "having time for gossip" or "viral stupidity," I think you're dismissing a huge section of American culture here. What you find stupid, other people find cool. And sometimes we're going to take note of cool things happening on the Internets, and sometimes you're going to hate them. Luke?

LUKE: I couldn't agree more sir.

Here's a crazy idea: Do some news. Do stories that younger adults will REALLY CARE ABOUT. Where's your coverage on the student loan scandal? Not even a mention of it on your blog, and I've been hoping you'd key into that, but you didn't. You're so busy trying to be hip, you don't think to be RELEVANT. Where's your mention of the congressional report on abstinence education being ineffective? That's certainly relevant to anyone with a high school-aged relative, especially since young attitudes on sexuality are changing and the congressional funding is up for a vote in the next few months.

What about that new report from the University of Chicago about the attitudes of African-American youth on life? Very interesting, and illuminates some things that people thought they knew about young Black folk like me. (BTW, that's at blackyouthproject.uchicago.edu) And what about finding ways to take big national stories that everyone's talking about, and make them play to a younger audience? Iraq is, after all, a war being fought by the young and run by the old.

MATT: You know what -- these are exactly the kinds of ideas we're looking for. We want to know what's missing from your newslife -- it will help us create a more interesting, relevant show. And, relevance is relative. (Hey! I think I just coined a phrase!)

LUKE: Roger that.

...if NPR would rather try to be my buddy than give me the information I need to know, I don't have time for it. Personally, I don't need any more buddies. I need people that I can trust to speak my language and respect the issues that genuinely affect me.

MATT: This show is going to be conversational, very talky, and personality based. We are going to talk to you about the news the way we talk to our friends about the news. It will be solid journalism done differently. And, honestly? Yeah, we want to be your "buddy." We want to talk with you. Engage you. Find out what you're thinking.

LUKE: I'm glad to hear that Josh has all the buddies he needs. That makes one of us. Dear god am I lonely.

MATT: We hope we get more letters like Joshua's. Except, not so much ALL CAPS yelling. We are all about hearing what you have to say. Have at it. We're listening...

Matt Martinez

9:59 AM ET | 05- 4-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I agree with Joshua Johnson somewhat. The blog so far lacks substance.

Michel Martin and her gang did a much better job early on by posting some test segments along with calls for help and input as they used Rough Cuts to develop Tell Me More.

The Second Life psychology segment was great. Matt, our mini-chat about fleshing out the dog stroller issue was also helpful. I want more of that kind of interaction and posting.

You can contemporaneously ask us for ideas and feedback on segments already done. Please follow the Tell Me More team's lead a little bit more.

Sent by Steve Petersen | 1:46 PM ET | 05-04-2007

Joshua does have a point. The student loan scandal would be a great story to cover and it has huge amounts of relevance to the audience. I would say it'd also be great to talk about entrepreneurship, the multicultural lives of many young people, and education-since so many of us are engaged in it. Hopefully, this will develop into a type of NPR that I can't get from any other program

Sent by Laura | 3:32 PM ET | 05-04-2007

"How dare you not cover the things I want you to cover in the way I want you to cover them?! You're lack of doing things the way I envision them offends me deeply!"
Geez.
Keep trying stuff out, you guys. You're trying to make a show that's unlike what's currently available. Please erase the word "should" from your vocabulary and by all means neglect the conventional wisdom of what every other show would do. Try, fail, succeed, fail some more, discover, tinker.

Sent by john | 4:10 PM ET | 05-04-2007

Here's the good news, people care. They obviously care a lot about the "NPR" brand. And that's great. Listeners are protective about what they love. And we LOVE our NPR (except for that guy, bacon-yum).

That said, I think you guys have been very clear about what your goals and expectations for this blog (vs. the actual show it's leading up to) are. And I think you're within your rights to gently remind people of that fact. The other way to position it is that you're giving people a behind-the-scenes look at the development of a new show.

Joshua isn't wrong when he observes that this blog is a de facto launch of the BPP brand and personnel. But that doesn't mean anything more than you say it does. If you guys want to solicit opinions, that's great. If you want to offer yours, all the better.

My take is this, continue to be honest and open (as you have been) and most people will follow along with interest.

Lastly... Seriously, how great was that D.A.N.C.E. video? Love it! I'd been thinking about putting it up on my gossipy, time-waster of a blog. Too bad NPR beat me to the punch.

Keep up the good work. We're all eager to hear what you develop!

Sent by Ben | 5:28 PM ET | 05-04-2007

I like the fact that these experiments are not all "newsy"...don't we get enough of that from the rest of what NPR broadcasts. It's refreshing to read/hear something different.

Sent by jennifer | 5:58 PM ET | 05-04-2007

Hey, I loved the DANCE Song. I actually checked out thier myspace. I have abandoned hope on the radio since the best stations in Tulsa are classic rock. I am consistently looking to NPR for new and interesting music. THANKS! (said in all caps so that I make sure that you hear me)

Sent by Travis McKee | 9:08 PM ET | 05-04-2007

Hi, I read through the response and comments of both sides and found valid points in each.
I listen to NPR daily. I have to highest praise for its variety, candidness and integrity as a national broadcasting organization. I am so pleased that you broadcast overseas, as I am currently living in the Middle East.
I think you Blogger Shop idea will fit in perfectly with current media trends.
As an addition or expansion to Bloggers or any other segment; you might "brain storm" the following scenario for development. Because it's relevant, controversial and inescapably affects us all. It definitely "News you can Use"...... I love that phrase'.

Now, don't laugh, just give it a quick read...The Theme: Religion
Setting: An On-Going debate between some of the three Major World Religious Scholars of Judaism, Christian and Islam.

Background of show concept. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all related through the Tora, Bible and Quran. So you would Discuss various points of difference and similarity. This will help bring better understanding of each religious view point.

Show FOCUS AND REPETITIVE POINT TO STRESS DURING EACH SHOW.....DON'T LET YOUR EMOTIONS OVERRULE YOUR INTELLECT.

At each show's conclusion each day or week. You should bring out the fact that the majority of mankind wants to go to a better place and believe that there is something after this brief life. We have more religious minded people than non believers. So examining and investigating related issues should be important to us all. Most importantly, everybody can't be right, so it is important to identify which way is correct, and follow it, before it is too late...and the never ending story begins....Eternity.

Strange as it seems, many live in denial of eternity and dislike talking about religion, even though it affects us all. If you want to clear a room quickly, start talking about GOD and watch how abruptly people start to leave. Now am I right or wrong? Ha Ha
Bye for now

Sent by Bilal Carter | 11:28 AM ET | 05-05-2007

I think one can make a serious distinction of a broadcast and a blog pretty easily. The content on here should be expected to not be nearly as heavy as anything planning to go on air.

I'd recommend the program get a del.icio.us account to see what its followers find interesting. As a 22-year-old narcissist, I've got my fair share of awesome to share. I'd immediately start sending links your way if I knew where they should go.

Sent by Shawn Shahani | 2:45 PM ET | 05-05-2007

"And sometimes we're going to take note of cool things happening on the Internets"

I think it's a bit sad that NPR is dumbing itself down to fish for The Youth demographic.

Asides from the tired "internets" colloquilism (tee-hee it's pluralized tee-hee, Bush added an 's' tee-hee)(seriously, it's not that funny), there's the Second Life post. And then there's D.A.N.C.E. video post......

I'm 27 as well. Maybe that makes me an old fogey in our post-post-modern, irreverent/ironic world.... but so far the Bryant Park Project comes off as condescending. To be honest, even if this was around when I was 18-22 I'd still think it was a bit lame.

"Our new show, code-named "The Bryant Park Project," will exist everywhere all the time. Like the Force. Except you don't have to go to the Dagobah system to learn about it."

Gah.... Star Wars reference is obnoxious.

I like your main concept: "new morning news program that's conversational and spontaneous....a show that lives on podcasts, video and online as well as on the radio. This blog is where we experiment."

That's excellent. Do that. But you don't have to do it in a NPR-Junior way.

"Don't Playa Hate Word"

Gah..... all I can say is Gah.

At least, the BPP isn't as bad as CNN's Funny Lunch project.

Sent by Brian | 11:38 PM ET | 05-05-2007

Just because you can get people to watch it doesn't mean that's what you should be programming. Know what I mean?, If that was the case just put up some free porn 200,000 hits problem solved... I believe the phrase might be journalistic integrity. Report on trendy things, like Web 2.0, pioneering technology, and internet controversy. But keep it practical; something to apply to how I see things around me. (The Latest AACS HDDVD thing might be a good example)
Good luck in the search
Stephen

Sent by Stephen Dockery | 12:52 AM ET | 05-06-2007

I'm not sure I understand what the purpose of this whole page is.

Where's the part that I can listen to?

Is there something to click for that which I just can't see?

Sent by John Curran | 4:51 AM ET | 05-06-2007

@Shawn Shahani: del.icio.us coming soon. Twitter too -- once we figure out what the show's name is going to be.

And to everyone else: Thanks for the comments. We're figuring this out. Like I said in the post, Joshua gave us some good suggestions -- many which we agree with -- like the Blogroll being too superficial. So, we've tinkered with it.

Some interesting comments about what this blog is for. I can only reiterate what's at top of the blog: We're developing a new morning news program that's conversational and spontaneous -- a show that lives on podcasts, video and online as well as on the radio. This blog is where we experiment.

The blog has been up for a little more than a month now and we have sporadically posted news-features and have, admittedly, posted very little actual news. I think that's okay. We're not there yet. Right now, it's just me and Luke and couple of paper clips. We'll get there and we'll make a few missteps along the way -- and you'll tell us when you think we've screwed up or lost focus (obviously).

The thing that seems to have set this whole discussion off is "The Best Song In The World Today." It was the last straw for some of you. I should have noted in the post that this is something I'd like to see as a regular feature -- a different way to highlight new music/videos out there. Sometimes it will be something a BPP staffer likes. Other times we could go to a music reviewer or journalist, or we could ask a guest on the show what they think the best song in the world today is. And we'll open it up to you guys too. The idea behind it is that is totally subjective and up for debate. We're just trying it out.

Our news output will increase when we hire more staff (soon), when Alison officially comes on board (May 14th!) and when Luke and I stop playing with our paper clips.

And to Brian Who Can Only Say "Gah": I find your lack of faith disturbing.

It's a blog, not a radio show.

Not yet, anyway.

Sent by Matt Martinez | 11:41 AM ET | 05-06-2007

Glad to hear del.icio.us is coming. Twitter, on the other hand, rubs me the wrong way, but it probably is just because of that obnoxious neon blue background.

In regards to the other comments, I'm honestly confused why a practical amount of levity is confused with a youth-catered "dumbing down" of content. If the program is committed to being conversational, then I expect a level of tongue-in-cheek lightheartedness. I love NPR -- been listening to it for as long as I can remember -- and I wouldn't be disappointed if the format isn't too far from its usual content. But this type of journalism is the stuff I get from my Google Reader everyday and wish I could hear more often on NPR: a healthy mix of Slate-New Yorker intellectualism and Gorilla vs. Bear-Fark easy amusement.

I think some of us might be confusing accommodating younger listeners with juvenile content to adapting to a changing journalistic environment that is simultaneously accessible, open-sourced and niche-oriented. I'm editor in chief of a UC weekly and, looking at the shape college papers are increasingly taking today, it's becoming abundantly clear that the journalism climate is changing rapidly. I would hope that NPR, in agreement with its refreshingly traditional take on journalism (see: aversion to reports on former Playboy bunnies and hotel heiresses), could also evolve with its environment.

If there's one thing I hope this program brings, it's dropping 'social-networking site' before MySpace and Facebook and/or 'web log' after 'blog.' Hopefully, The Bryant Park Project can rustle out some cobwebs and inject a dose of updated, fresh reporting to NPR programming.

Sent by Shawn Shahani | 11:54 PM ET | 05-06-2007

Oh, for God's sake...a del.icio.us account. Yep, BBC and CNN beware, the BPP has a del.icio.us account...and they're not afraid to link from it! Yes, that's precisely what I need.

On a more serious note, what's the difference between what the BPP will be and Day to Day? The only difference seems to be that you're not partnering with slate.com.

Sent by Drew Johnson | 8:13 AM ET | 05-07-2007

Hey. Day to Day was the young hip show of three years ago. Just like Morning Edition was the young hip show of twenty years ago. In two years, a show for 19 year olds will be laughing at BPP for its ancient fuddy-duddy blog format.

Sent by Bill | 12:56 PM ET | 05-07-2007

Do you have room on your developing staff for Josh?

Sent by Wayne Sharpe | 1:55 PM ET | 05-07-2007

Bill, I stand corrected. Who _can_ forget the edgy days of Bob Edwards in 1979?

I look forward to seeing what is young and hip in 2025. I believe it may involve lasers.

I kid, but I guess what I've wondered today (weirdly, I wonder at this stuff) is what does "conversational" mean in terms of news? Two people chatting about the news? Scripted interviews? Lots and lots of roundtables?

--------------------------------------
Day to Day: so good, Weekend America can't screw up the same format.

Sent by Drew | 3:28 PM ET | 05-07-2007

Hi,

I found you guys pretty annoying at first too, but you are starting to grow on me!

I'm a professor of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Unlike all of my colleagues, I also fall into your target demographic (33). NPR is my home page and #1 preset in the car.

I've just started the planning for an online journalism course for next spring, and I'm thinking of doing something with the class very much inspired by Rough Cuts.

I was just mentioning this on my own blog, Media Soup (jasonosder.com/blog), when I opened a window to check yours, and I thought this was your best stuff so far.

I only have one thought that approaches advice: KEEP IT REAL. Authenticity is the issue you are always dancing around. IMHO, it makes no difference how "newsy" you are. What matters is the authenticity of your voice. (I think the comments you reposted bear this out.)

At first, I couldn't buy into you at all -- I felt overtly targeted. Lately, it feels more real to me, and this is good. Even the overt targeting now seems more endearing . . .

Sent by Jason Osder | 7:41 AM ET | 05-08-2007

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Host

Alison Stewart

Welcome to 'The Bryant Park Project'

This new radio show from NPR comes to you weekdays, straight out of New York City. You can find audio and video from us here and in our podcasts. Bryant Park is not a talk show, but it is a conversation. Intrigued? Read our frequently asked questions and discussion rules.