Lee Hill, here ...

So, little did folks know that, after yesterday's program, Michel Martin and Producer Arwa Gunja rushed out of here to catch a plane. They headed off to St. Louis to take a piece of Tell Me More to Missouri and learn more about the public radio community, as well as our listeners, there.

Here's Arwa, with notes and pictures of the road ...

TMM Producer Arwa Gunja (right) and Michel Martin pose for a photo at St. Louis public radio member station KWMU. Mary Edwards/KWMU

 

Thanks, Lee.

Greetings from the Show-Me state. I am still trying to figure out why Missouri is nicknamed that, and so far the explanations I am reading are a bit too complicated to wrap my head around (I did, afterall, wake up at 4am today).

Michel and I will be on the ground in St. Louis for less than 24 hours. And though we won't get a chance to see much of the city, our interviews with Governor Jay Nixon and former Senator John Danforthgive us a nice flavor of the state. And a lot of Missourians met with us last night at a dinner, where Michel and NPR Newscaster Lakshmi Singh were guest speakers. Michel and Lakshmi introduced themselves to the St. Louis community by doing what they do best -- they interviewed each other. And even I learned new things about them.

I never knew this, but Michel mentioned that the day she decided she wanted a show like Tell Me More was the day John Johnson died. (He was the founder of EBONY Magazine, and helped bring the Emmitt Till story to light.) Michel tried to convince her editors at her previous job to give this story air time. But they declined. That day, she said, she knew she needed to have more control over pushing content she knew was important but wasn't getting the attention it deserved in the mainstream.

And then there were some things she said at the dinner that I had always known -- like the fact that censoring herself has never been a problem. Oh, really Michel?

It was a great event and we thank NPR member station KWMU for inviting us.

Now it's time to head home. In the meantime, enjoy more pics below ...

Michel Martin and NPR newscaster Lakshmi Singh (left) were the guests of honor for "Talk, Toast, Taste," sponsored by KWMU. Arwa Gunja/NPR

 





A sizeable audience gathered for a chance to see the people behind the radio. Arwa Gunja/NPR


 


Thanks, Arwa. Safe travels to you and Michel. See you back on this end.

And enjoy your weekend...

categories: 'Behind the Curtain' at TMM

1:15 - May 8, 2009

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