Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live
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iStockPhoto.comWe are still absorbing the news of our untimely demise. We will still produce new shows for the next two weeks, and we'll keep on blogging and twittering. We may also dip into the Best of the BPP, stuff we're really proud of.
If there's anything you want to hear, let us know in the comments, will you?
11:14 AM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink
I hope you don't do too much in the way of rebroadcasting; I want to hear as much new BPP as possible before you're gone.
I am so terribly disappointed to hear that NPR is canceling the BPP. I have listened to this show (streaming from the website) nearly everday since it's beginnings. This show is incredibly enjoyable. In my opinion, it's a wonderful change from the usual "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" formats. Please please reconsider.
BPP, it's been awesome.
How about rallying the netizens to go truly grassroots and independent?
@Knownhuman
How about a look at the ways in which traditional media organizations are struggling to reinvent themselves in the face of fragmenting audiences, new technologies, and tough economic times. I'm not talking about the (increasingly partisan and tired) diatribes against consolidation, but a look at a period of real transition between old and emerging. I've got lots of folks you could talk to.
Or maybe I'm just feeling snarky and want to take a jab at people who make questionable decisions to get rid of things that add value to the culture.
I agree with Amanda. Keep the content new, fresh, and fantastic as long as possible.
all new material please!
i heart mike pesca!
This might be the largest emergency Krulwich of all time.
I want to hear that NPR has regained their sanity and the BPP is NOT being canceled, but instead will continue on as the best program on radio!
is there really nothing to be done?
is there really nothing to be done?
I second Matthew's comment: Emergency Krulwich !!!
I heart-heart-heart Mike Pesca!
This is really a shame. It's a terrific show, and I will be sorry to not have it to listen to at work in the morning.
Im very sad to hear about the end of the BPP i have been listening since the beginning and will find it hard to start the day without my BPP! ... Please NPR dont cancel the best show you have.
yeah, one last Emergency Krulwich would be awesome.
im sad, i havent listened to the show for more than a few months.. but i have been a faithfull listener since the first day i heard it, i love it..its what i look forward to every morning at work...its become a habit now and its gonna be tough to stop.. i just wanted to say i never heard the show when allison was hosting, but it dosent matter cause, i like mike.. i wish he could just take over the show.. this was the only show on npr that actually made me laugh out loud at work... not to say all of you other guys arent great too cause you are.. so thanks for the few good months you guys gave me, and i have a question, where will mike go? will there mabye be a show where he is actually listed as the host..lol.. i always wondered why he wasent on this one... thanks..
By the way, is that hour-long dungheap Tell Me More getting canned, too? Because if it's sticking around, there is even less justice in public radio than we thought.
Luke Burbank and Rachel Martin have left the show and you wonder why it's getting canned. What I'm saying is that when two main people go a show might go too.
Oh and DAMNNNNN, Alison Stewart is hot.
I am really really going to miss the show, I must have bad karma. I find a show I really like and it gets canned.
Keep the new stuff coming.
Got my fingers crossed hoping this was all a really bad dream.
Thank goodness this mess is gone.
Terrible interviewers..too smart for their own good..
I just had a thought. Did we get the primer on how to write a complaint letter in preparation for this moment? Either way it should be helpful ;)
I'm partial to "best song in the world" and "make me care."
I am so sorry. You guys are really great/funny/smart. Love Mike Pesca. The new wave of NPR goes away . . .
NPR, Please do NOT cancel Bryant Park Project. I think BPP is the freshest and most interesting news program I've had the pleasure to listen to in over 30 years. Mike Pesca's delivery is snappy, well-informed AND entertaining. This decision is worse than the one to replace Bob Edwards on Morning Edition.
ARGH! I listen to this show everyday. What am i going to do? I'll miss all of you guys a lot.
This show is part of the dumbing down of America. I am so glad to see this go. I doubt most of this show's listeners have read a book that wasn't filled with pictures. This is a pop radio morning program. Why not let Ryan Seacrest carry the torch and keep those who care about Brittany Spears informed. Rather than news coverage this show was filled with quick sound bites and programming for those with ADD.
BPP was the freshest news show on radio AND TV. I'd take BPP over the Today Show in a New York Minute (not the Olsen Twins vehicle, the metaphor). Good luck to all and I am sorry Alison won't have a home to come back to.
Please continue to produce fresh new and continuted innovative content until the very end. Go out with a bang and not a wimper, please know that the BPP has a supportive audience behind it.
I am going to go into mourning. This was truly the most innovative show on the air today and it's cancelation is absurd to me. NPR has so many shows that could bore me to death, yet they cut the one that appeals to the next generation of radio listeners. Good move guys.
Yeah, that's great. Because many, if not most, BPP listeners are on-line, NPR can't make it work financially, or so we're told.
NPR gets subscription money from satellite radio, right? I'm guessing that the BPP is pretty popular on satellite radio, right?
Oh, but then there are those darned on-line listeners like myself. No subscriptions from us, right? Well, who says you can't do on-line membership drives?
Oh, that's right. That will hurt the bottom line of those same terrestrial stations which refuse to carry the BPP. Maybe that 20th century model of supporting terrestrial stations, be they right or wrong, is the reason a 21st century show like the BPP isn't financially viable.
It's not a "best of" but how about a story on all the too beautiful to live stuff that used to be great before it got the axe. Arrested Development, Firefly, the DeLorean.
How about a segment called NPR came to it's senses and they're keeping you guys around? That'd be pretty sweet...
NPR, hopefully you'll see this huge out pouring of support and give us the option to give fiscally to the BPP before dismissing it entirely. I understand that it's a large chunk of change to license and copyright this kind of show, but it's quality and if there are people like me who are willing to give to keep it around please, please let us!
Number me among the daily listeners that will be lost in my morning commute here in Seattle without the BPP. By far the best, freshest, smartest show on my morning dial. My afternoon commute already sabotaged by the recent cancellation by NPR of the equally wonderful (former) Fair Game. Looks like time for a new "P1" on my dial.
More Cora Dunlap on BPP! your absolute cutest and sweetest guest ever on the show! The BPP had/has the power to make one 8-year-old girl feel like the most special person on the planet. Thank you BPP for your role in moving mountains in the world of one very special little girl.
I'm distraught. No more sunshine to brighten my workday. NPR is cutting of it's "youth" listeners!
Is there anything we can do? I look forward to the BPP everyday :(
ARGH. NPR! You know better!
This is terrible news. I know everybody connected w/ the show will land on their feet, but this is a sad day.
I can't believe that NPR is getting rid of the BPP. I know that it was for financial reasons, but if NPR TRUELY wants a younger, more interactive audience this is the kind of show that they will have to produce. That's why I just don't get why it was canceled especialy since it had so many listeners.
I, too, enjoyed the up-beat manner that the news was reported and the BPP was a nice change from "Mortning Edition" and "All Things Considered." I would hate to see NPR become all Morning Editions and "All Things Considered-type reporting. I, like many others, like variety in my radio-listening.
If the BPP could go somewhere else, I will faithfully follow. Keep us updated.
Yeah, first goodbye to Fair Game and now this... Been listenin?? you guys since pilot-stage, sorry to see you go...
-Samuli, Helsinki, Finland.
Agree with all the "keep it fresh" comments: to do new punchy, quirky, BPP-style features right up until the very end (that's right - it's all about *us* - you're out of a show but, keep working hard to feed our addictions!).
Seriously, lots of extended family time - feature-length Rambles and Mosts - would suit me just fine (again - it's all about ME, yes?).
"Make Me Care - The Motion Picture". Hmmmmm???
For the NPR Shop: Song of the Day 366 (Leap!)Day Calendar.
Hmmmmm???
Forget the NPR Shop - they don't deserve you.
Thanks to all the friends that I never met. It's been fun hanging out with you.
I was not sure about Mike Pesca at first, but he has become one of my absolute favorite NPR hosts, along with Alison Stewart (I've loved her since WNN on ABC), Rachel Martin, and Madeleine Brand. He is incredibly witty and sharp, and I've learned so much from him. Thanks to him, I now find headlines that end with a question mark incredibly annoying as well. I look forward to Allison Stewart's return next week, but I wish it is under better circumstances. Please, please let the fans know where we can find BPP's contributing editors and hosts on this website. It is the least NPR can do. Thank you again for the best radio news show ever. You will be mourned and missed.
What I'd like to hear:
The Best of the Most: dip into the archives and bring back everyone including Luke, Toure, Robert Smith, Ilya, etc, although it would be hard to beat today's. Forever more accidentally reading a news piece twice on the same day shall be known as a Pashman.
It would be cool to hear the Tegan and Sara interview again.
Some of the bits when it was the Stewart and Wolfe show were laugh out loud funny "Woman!"
The Pashman/Chillag studio invasion was pretty memorable.
You could broadcast parts of the Sigur Ros interview again or just the equivalent amount of dead air. :-)
This sucks.
I just started listening a month ago, and now it is a staple for my daily listen. Thanks for your great work, casual but informative interview style, and most importantly covering stories that are broader then the general npr copverage. I hope NPR reconsiders, or something as good (probably wont happen) will come along and take up the torched.
thanks,
adam
As mentioned in a different thread, I want to hear Mike Pesca perform the "Ramble rap" he did about three or four weeks ago for Rachel's amusement.
I want you to rebroadcast Alison and Rachel's segment on new Christmas Music from December.
Please also replay Rachel's reporting from the Giants' Superbowl parade and Pashman's reaction to their win.
And Burbank! Replay some of Burbank's goofy tangents.
From the BPP's #1 fan in Botswana
I have to say, even if Ian wasn't my brother and Cora Dunlap wasn't my niece, and I wasn't completely bursting with pride re. Ian's contributions-- the BPP would be my favorite radio show--it has brought me joy and laughter in many distant ports, and I wish you all well and positive personal and professional detours from this unfortunate decision. Love,
I see that you aren't posting any negative comments.
I'd personally like to hear more analysis of Bangladeshi rice mills. And I'd suggest that it's exactly those differences in hybrid rice procurement that made some of those mills such an attractive alternative than the "traditional" rice procurement alternatives.
Seriously, that little thinly veiled reporting is why I listen to BPP. Add to that Mike's dry sense of humor, the brilliant musical selections today which alternately underscored or served as ironic counterpoint to the pit in all of our stomachs this morning, and you've got why I listen to the BPP.
In other words, don't change a thing. If there are some archival gems (which I don't doubt), please reprise only the best of the best and keep the show as true to itself as possible for the last couple weeks.
I agree. Keep it new
Sad to see the show go. Hopefully, NPR will incorporate what they learned from the BPP into a new show.
Favorite BPP moment: the clip from the most about the hands-only CPR story(4/1/2008 I think). I busted out laughing on the bus.
I am in the age group that qualifies for AARP membership, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this program and its fresh, sometimes irreverant, always thought provoking look at the news. Mike Pesca is right on and his interviews are not to missed...except now they will be. BPP is a wonderful addition to Morning Addition,ATC and the other shows I listen to on the Sirius NPR network. I too hope NPR reconsiders!
What is going to replace BPP? More boring crap from Steve Inskeep? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What can we do to save it?
Denver loves the BPP!!!
My husband and I were on a recent dog-fetching AUstin, TX to DC and back drive and we caught the BPP. WHat a delight; it was great to be in the car, wildly and inventively entertained, listening intently, and laughing like kids.
I hope that they find a way to save/rescue the show. Thanks to all of your folks who created something special.
Like everyone else, I'm so sad to hear about the end of the BPP. I listen to it every day at work, streaming from the website of course. It has all the news you need (and some you just want) while still being interesting and having great personality. We'll miss you all!
I always listened to your show on the web at work. I loved the hip presentation of the news. It was nice to get news with a personality in comparison to the many news shows nationwide which offer the same old news program. BPP you will be missed. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors.
just when I felt I was getting smart and well informed...I guess I am back to Howard Stern in th AM!
please reconsider...the show is terrific..smart, current and not stodgy like NPR's morning edition
The Bryant Park Project is both amateurish and off-putting. While some of the stories were of interest, the coverage was embarrassingly poor.
The only reason NPR should be castigated is for not having cut it sooner.
@Stewart, TMM gets some of its funding from a foundation for diversity in broadcasting. Now if there were only a foundation for broadcasting good programming to Generations X, Y, and the Millenium, maybe the BPP wouldn't have been sunk by the Mother Ship in D.C.
Well there goes my short-lived NPR listening days. I'd never found anything I cared about on NPR until this show and now it's over. Well I for one would be happy to throw some financial assistance the BPP's way if it would help keeping the show alive.
It's a sad, sad day... :(
I started listening to BPP less than a month ago, just trying out other programs on NPR and I loved your program. I am really going to miss this show, especially with it being a different twist to my other favorite shows "News and Notes" and "Tell Me More". It really opened my eyes to the importance of giving money to public radio. I will now try harder to support these shows. Thank you for making news fun and interesting.
To all of you who worked so hard on the BPP -- I hope you stay proud of what you created. Maybe the business fundamentals aren't there but the art of smart entertainment certainly was.
I think the best role model for 'how to handle being cancelled' was Zach Galifianakis on Late World with Zach. Maybe it's on youtube.
'Rice mill -gate' was a good start!
Ooh, ooh, you've gotta get Luke's butt back on the air at least once! I know he's west-coast time, but it'll serve him right for putting his family ahead of our entertainment. The noive!
The BPP has managed to create a program that engages listener (read: citizen) participation in conversations about national issues. It is a model for journalism to follow - embracing new media technologies that have made traditional journalism all but obsolete and maintaining journalistic integrity. And it's darn clever.
I'm not yet prepared to lament its loss. The BPP reported on the Ron Paul and Barack Obama fund raising phenomena - and I know the BPP community out there is big enough to do the same.
Can we all donate $1 - $5 - $100 - whatever we can afford to an NPR fund created to keep the BPP alive? Can we help another media outlet to purchase the BPP? Hasn't Twitter taught us that internet "mobs" can make a difference?
Frankly, this program is too good to lose. I work in the conservation field, and I believe the way the BPP uses new media is one of the major keys to communicating important social messages to the public and generating the kind of interest, knowledge and support that can impact the creation of laws and policies that are imperative to save whichever cause we each believe in. Journalism (with integrity, and which engages the public) is part of the democratic process. And if the internet is a democratic zeitgeist, the BPP is the best thing is has going for it.
So let's stop whining and start flexing our democratic (small d, not big D) muscles!
Poop
Please do not cancel the BPP. We love this show. NPR, Please rethink your decision. I first caught the BPP on Sirius radio... I'm young... I'm fun... I'm the audience you tried to grab and now you are going to cancel the show?! Mike - congrats on the great work. I would employ you if I had a radio show but I don't. Maybe "Tell Me More" will be canceled and the BPP can be saved.
Upset in Wyoming
I was heartbroken to hear the news of the cancellation this morning. BPP is my favorite NPR show and the reason I purchased my Sirius radio. I hope that NPR will reconsider this terrible decision. This show connects with me as a younger (well 30 something) listener more than any other show. Allison is truly a star reporter and personality.
I want to hear the segment late this week or early next that announces a reversal of this decision.
Apart from that, new shows. Too much time devoted to greatest hits and such doesn't seem in keeping with the spirit, but I'm sure it will be hard not to take a little time for that.
My alarm clock goes off with Morning Edition (before you go on in the morning), but in the car, for the last several months, it's always been switch over to the BPP on Sirius. I would pay money, yes above and beyond the Sirius subscription, to keep it on NPR Now on Sirius, and on the web, of course.
I'm still shaking my head at the ineptitude of NPR brass. How about really breaking some ground and figuring out how to fund the show that did exactly what you were hoping it would do!
I feel like all those jilted Hillary Clinton supporters who now want to go vote Republican. I want to punish NPR for canceling my favorite radio show and quit listening to ME and ATC. I think Rush Limbaugh is on my local AM in the morning....
quick, find another book to review, for the book club. you have fab' choices.
Also, I think Monday's most was one of the "best of" due to the asteroid blunder. For a second there, I thought you were the guys from "Wait Wait" (another fab show), the way you went on that riff.
another idea for "best of" moments, maybe an audio montage (forget what they're called, of every time Bill Wolff said "Woman!" to Alison on the air. I found that to be kinf of cheesily romantic.
I started really loving NPR because of the BPP. I'm really really sad. :( Thanks for opening and broadening so much of my perspective that I just wasn't getting before. I feel like I'm a better person having gotten to "be apart of" the BPP.
My request: to hear more BPP... okay, more specifically, AStew and BWolff - they rock.
I alreaddy commented but i want to to reiterate something that some other commenters wrote;
When i first heard teh BPP, it was alison steward & rachel martin. I didn't really know what it was but they seemed to have a fresher take on the news than what was normally on NPR. However, it was a bit on the calm and womenly side.
Then Mike Pesca came into the picture: kinda of brash and seemingly had something to say about everything. HOWEVER, soon i realized that he really does KNOWS a lot about a lot. I'll miss Mike's witty comments and esoteric knowledge about everything. Just the other day, he mentioned that octopuses have two hearts. I didn't know that.
What would I like to hear?
I'd like to hear you stop whining. No one "really" cares you all got fired. It's a bump on the road. Eleven days from now everyone posting in this blog will have forgotten all about it and will be listening to the Bob & Tom Show. Stop acting like this is a momentous event in anyone's lives but your own.
If you'd produced a higher quality program and put in more hours NPR would have kept you. Your program was canceled for the same reason anyone at any job gets fired - you weren't producing. Don't pretend because it's a radio show there are some pie-in-the-sky complexities. You were fired because there were more valuable employees to keep. It's capitalism, the creme rises to the top, the curd drifts to the bottom.
God, what a bunch of narcissists!
Ouch - I discovered BBP a few months ago and now I listen to it instead of ATC via the internet at night while I work. I support any effort to protest the end of this great program. Let me know if there is a real effort available to protest and reverse this cancellation.
Please don't go away!
A "Make Me Care" segment on NPR. Without BPP, why should I care?
Final days segment: "Job Hunt". What are you all doing to look for jobs?
Final Days Segment suggestion: "What You'll Miss". Staff describe segments/features that were in planning/dreaming/what-iffing stages for the future of BPP. If dummies can be produced, even better.
"Make Me Care" segment about NPR is a great idea, but nobody who could speak for NPR would be able to make us care after this. The only thing that would work is the power of actions. The words clearly would be lip service at this point unless they were to announce a reversal of the decision.
I can't believe the news I heard today. I really wish that all the good things weren't always taken away. If more stations had broadcast BPP and more people knew about it, this would not be happening. I know people that don't listen to NPR that have heard my stream of BPP and enjoyed every moment. Here's to the everyone that made the show happen, to the hosts, and all the fans. Cheers.
Question: just how does a show cost $2m? I'm serious, I'm not saying it's too much, but I'm just wondering where the money goes. You've got staff, but not more than another general interest show (I assume a talk show has a few producers and technicians, and that a show like BPP needs more producers, etc.). What is the cost for being on air compared to only on web?
Bleagh!
I am very sorry to cast and crew. I just started listening 6 weeks ago. BPP has become one of my favorite shows on NPR and I will miss it.
Thank you
If money is the problem.... where's the link for me to donate to keeping the BPP?
Is there a way to disconnect from NPR and keep the program alive? Even if it's just the internet portion or maybe an internet only broadcast, is that doable? Come on people think of a way to save the BPP
Cancelled?!?! Like Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, My So Called Life, and all the other great shows that were led to an early demise by The Corporate Man, you will be missed.
I have just recently discoverd BPP, to my great delight. I have been busily telling people to tune in - 'You've got to give these guys a listen, their great.' Now you are soon to be gone. Crap! doesn't begin to cover my disappointment.
So is there anything we listeners can do to delay your departure or maybe even get NPR to reconsider their decision? I have just played my annual pledge to my local NPR station. I'd be glad to pay a pledge to keep your program on the air. Surely there is more then one me out there.
I guess the NeoCon minders of NPR are squeezing them tight on funds. Gotta make more time for McCain puff pieces and segments attacking senatorial candidates.
I just discovered BPP a couple months ago and loved it. $2 million a yr doesn't seem like a ton. Maybe different decisions could have been made.
If anyone could integrate media like BPP, NPR seems the most viable organization.
I cried
Before BPP leaves us (barring divine intervention), I would love to hear Mike Pesca say: "Huge humans in Houston stage stupendous stunt."
Really.
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
BPP is what got me into listening to NPR. I can't imagine my daily work life without BPP in the mornings. I never listened to news radio before until BPP came along. Because I'm stubborn, I'm going to stop listening to NPR entirely if BPP is no longer on the air >:P
Hey Tricia et al,
Although there won't BE a last day, if there was, how 'bout a live, outdoor in the Park sob-fest and street dance?
I'd fly in for that. From California. On my birthday.
Hear that NPR? July 25 is my BIRTHDAY!!! Don't ruin it.
Terrific. Can someone who wasn't in charge of this really stupid move recommend somthing for me to listen to now? Did no one think this through? I mean, Tila Tequila got renewed...
It's been a wonderful,entertaining, informative broadcast for a year and a half and at least I still have Ben Harper on my iPod, so thanks for that as well.
My week is ruined. I can't believe the BPP is ending!!! You guys have helped me through my work day since the start of the show in the fall! I'm so sad, I feel like my favorite coworkers are leaving...where will you all go next?
I need at least a couple more "Make Me Care" segments. I could use one on the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac situation and/or the banking crisis... I'm finding it very hard to care about those stories on ME and ATM.
Thanks for making me care. When you guys started you were too NYC-centric for this Californian, but you won me over and now I will miss you.
what! i miss one flipin' day and you guys get canceled!? i am now totally bummed! i do hope you guys don't do too much rebroadcasting (although there are a couple bits i'd love to hear again) i would love to hear more new stuff.
be strong bpp folks!
Going to miss the show. Its fresh, well produced and great for the "new media". Mike Pesca is brilliant. Love the comment someone gave saying he is the Duke of New York, A number 1! Gotta love a Snake Pliskin reference.
Seems like the show was met all the marks for NPR except its expense. If it were on iTunes I'd buy/subscribe, maybe thats how a show like this survives.
I think it'd be neat if you were able to interview the guys who created Homestarrunner.com. I loves me some Strong Bad and Teen Girl Squad and so do many *many* others. Though if you've already interviewed them, kindly point me to the date of the show because I'd need to listen to it :)
I'm very saddened by the cancellation of the BPP. As a native east coaster transplanted to a city without NPR, the BPP has been my saving grace. I enjoy the breadth and depth of programing not covered on the myriad of other NPR programs. It has helped me keep my sanity and laughter in a not so sane world.
The loss of the BPP will leave whole in the NPR lineup not easily filled.
Thank you for your creativity and willingness to break the "norms" of public radio.
I'm with many of the comments posted above. If 200,000 BPP listeners each donated $10, we could fund your annual budget. I know I'm game. If 100,000 BPP listeners donated $20...and so on. NPR, try a truly democratic experiment. Let us try to save our show...let us donate directly to fund THIS PROGRAM. That, or lose us forever. Signed, Devoted BPP Listeners. (Oh, and if someone can put up a 'save the BPP' website, that'd be great!).
I am planning on burning all my BPP podcasts to a DVD (I'm lazy so I haven't deleted them all) and sticking it up on my bookshelf. Someday in the future, perhaps when I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, I will pull it down and listen again to what a great show this was. I suspect it will be pretty apparent that it was a "radio" show before its time. Enjoy the last two weeks! You guys deserve some fun amidst all the job searching...so do whatever you like. I'm sure it will be good.
Here's what I emailed to the ombudsman....who else can we protest to?
Way to go NPR......you've decided to can the Bryant Park Project, one of the best and most innovative shows you've come up with in a long time and why?.....for the almighty dollar.....I am saddended and disgusted that your focus has shifted from expanding the minds of your public to the bottom line.
If you take the BPP off the air you will have just sold your souls to the devil...demonstrating what's worst about our country....BOOOOO!
I just read that the BPP was canceled- and was immediately moved to come over and express my support of the decision. I'm in the demographic that this project was intended to target but for me, the BPP epitomizes a move that I've been very sorry to see NPR make over the last five years, adopting a much more informal tone.
NPR is news for grown-ups (even 24 y/o grownups), and listening to the broadcasters incorporate more and more slang into their dialogue has been embarrassing and annoying. I won't go into greater detail because I'm sure this comment won't be posted, but when I donated to the most recent pledge drive I commented on my support for my favorite shows on NPR and added that I thought that the BPP was taking NPR in the wrong direction.
I'm very sorry you have lost your jobs, and best wishes on finding new ones, but I'm extremely happy NPR decided to eliminate the BPP and hope this heralds a move back towards the NPR I grew up with in the 80s and 90s.
Well, with BPP canceled, I'll have to quit my job. There is no way I can slog through another miserable day without having this show to brighten it up. Unfortunately, I cannot fill 10 hours with Morning Edition, ATC, and Fresh Air. Can nothing be done??
And for all of you who came to this site simply to support the decision, please understand that you sound like close-minded fuddy-duddies. Sure, mono-tonal voices delivering morose war stats and quaint stories about gardening are one acceptable form of public radio,but they are not the only one. Opinions like yours are what give public radio a bad reputation. Instead of advertising your dismay at NPR's "new direction," please leave the decisions surrounding the future of public radio up to those of us who will actually still be alive in 10 years to listen to it.
NPR, i want my pledges back.
I am hoping this is some kind of cruel joke. I love the BPP and will go through mourning if/when I don't get a daily dose. What are you thinking, NPR?
Also, @ Rachel: when i hear young people expressing opinions like yours, i am seriously terrified for the future. "NPR news is for grown-ups"? Who are you to define what does and does not qualify as "adult"? Did I miss an announcement that the BPP is staffed by 9th-graders?
I think you must have meant to send your pledge to NFR (National Fascist Radio,) because i don't know how someone of any other political leaning could be so narrow-minded and absolutist.
@ Rachel: Does "NPR news for grown ups" mean that it can't be entertaining as well as informative? I'm grown up, nearing 40, and I like my news to be interesting in subject matter and delivery. I like watching The Daily Show and Colbert Report, too. Of course, if these acts make me "one of those young kiddies" in a 38 year old body. I'll take it.
As a side note: I wonder how much money is being spent on someone at NPR reading, reviewing and editing all of the these comments prior to display ! ;)
I'm very disappointed. BPP is fresh, engaging, and relevant.
I enjoyed your skill and mistakes.
This feels like another sad example of old media not having enough vision to see the possibilities, and shooting itself in the foot.
I haven't loved a show this much since "heat" with John Hockenberry.
good luck to you all!
Oh, get this, had Talk of the Nation on Sirius for a bit on the way home. What did they play during one break? The generic NPR Now (Sirius channel) promo for the BPP! It touted the things we like about BPP. Sigh.
This is just wrong. Bring back the BPP in 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hold on to hope.
I think that you guys need to put together a Sopranos parody for the last show...with a little Journey of course.
Bryant Park Show,
I listen to the show every morning as I begin my day at work -- mindlessly entering data for 8 1/2 hours. Your program makes me laugh, think, and mostly importantly -- pass the time! You guys are witty and interesting, I will miss this show!
listened everyday while milking cows in Oregon; the only NPR program worth much; will return to BBC or CBC I guess; thanks for what was great.
I admit I'm the worst demographic...a 63 year old DC lawyer...but I love BPP (on Sirius) and have been spreading the word...Sad to lose Luke and Rachel...Mike is the best and only replacement for Luke...I was anxiously awaiting Alison's return--along with the Bill & Alison dynamic--only place to hear Krulwich regularly...now all is lost!!!
wow. so many posts.
I haven't gotten myself to post something since Monday as I have been waiting for this news to undo itself and magically the bryant park project will be saved by a millionaire who loves it as much as I do. Unfortunately I cannot be that millionaire because I'm a 21 year-old college student with an internship in Iowa. Everyday the bpp has saved my sanity of not having anything to do at my 'full time' internship.
I truly enjoyed your show. It became a big part of these last couple months, suggesting great summer books, (which by the way i loved Petropolis), and keeping me informed with news that actually spoke to me. I neither watch TV or read the newspaper so maybe that's sad that this was my only source of news besides morning edition, but i will definitely miss it. cuidate mucho
Huge mistake to cancel this show ... I guess it is just too much fun for the NPR. Love to see some of you defect to a broadcaster that's willing to innovate.
I'm sorry to hear about BPP being cancelled. I started listening earlier this year when I gave up Howard Stern for lent. Now I'm hooked. I'm turning 50 next year (I'm an old guy) and I like how BPP makes me feel young and hip. I love The Ramble and The Most. I still don't understand what it means to Twitter and now I guess I never will.
I wish we were solicited to donate directly to the BPP - I would've gladly helped support this program...
Please don't cancel BPP.
I loved the BPP when it first started, but I've got to say that I stopped listening when Mike Pesca stayed on- if I wanted to hear smug negativity and rude interruptions during interviews, I'd watch Bill O'Riely.
That said- this has been a great show and a wonderful new format for NPR and I certainly hope that we'll be hearing from the staff in other NPR shows! Best of luck!
Is the cancellation of the BPP a result of Ken Stern's departure as CEO of NPR? It seems that Mr. Stern would have been a champion for the BPP's approach to the internet (blogs, video content, Twitter/IM).
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87980852
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/06/AR2008030603473.html?nav=rss_email/components
An earlier WSJ article points toward Ken Stern's success with NPR. Keep in mind that this success is happening while print and tv network news programs are suffering.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119301180052966496-Hd3qi2w0kl9xF2tqdoCODPIc09o_20081021.html
In any case, I'm disappointed in NPR's decision. My hope is that other Public Radio groups (American Public Media and Public Radio International) or NPR realize that there is a growing (and younger) audience for fresh content on both radio and the internet.
I will miss the BPP.
I'm so saddened to hear about your departure from the airwaves. I've come to line up Morning Edition, All Things Considered and BPP to fill my work day with information and news - rather than mindless regurgitated oldies music. It was the perfect balance of perspectives and missing the BPP will leave a huge hole in the NPR line up. There is nothing else offered comparable and if you regroup and reorg in another format, you'll have legions follow I'm sure.
wow, I listen to NPR all day every day when I am driving for work sometimes 5 hours at a time. BPP by far is my favorite show and it actually motivates me to get in the car and drive! Loved Alison since MTV days when I was in college and so glad to hear her leading our generation on the radio. I am always telling my fiends about the show and the minute I mention her name they are immediately interested and want to hear what is happening at BPP. Sad day can't believe NPR would be willing to loose such a all encompassing show that speaks right to 30somethings- have we no voice??
You all will be missed
I listen to NPR on my morning commute to work and when I discoverd the BPP a few months ago it became a part of my morning here at the office.
Sadly, I heard that yesterday was your final day. However, it appears you're doing a shorter version of the BPP for the next couple of weeks. These broadcasts will most definitely be bittersweet.
I just discovered the show..to find out that it's being cancelled! This is so disappointing.
The Bryant Park Project started as a blog in the summer of 2007 and ended as a radio show and online community in July 2008. Read our frequently asked questions and discussion rules.
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