It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of KQED Public Radio, although I listen fairly regularly — for the NPR shows. KQED is one of those stations that prefers to cut away from NPR for local programming, which is usually identified by any combination of three traits: Berkley-esque liberal, sleep-inducing, or just plain annoying. Aside from The California Report, which preempts the last ten minutes of Morning Edition, KQED also broadcasts something called “Perspectives.” This segment forces listeners to hear the opinions, stories, and ramblings of “ordinary” people, most of whom have voices poorly suited to radio. While we’re listening to someone tell their story about putting a dog up for adoption or whining about the sort of thing better suited to blogs or Twitter, KQED is once again preempting NPR’s Morning Edition.
When these programs come on, I usually switch over to KAWL, a much lower-powered station but one that plays Morning Edition in its entirety. This morning when I switched over during “Perspectives”, guess what NPR story KQED was preempting?
The same-sex marriage hearing in the local San Francisco State Supreme Court!
That’s what I call serving your audience.
