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Saturday, March 08, 2008

Ask your local public radio station to carry The Sound of Young America



Hey... I'm posting this to ask you to do me a favor.

Here's the deal: you probably noticed that in July of last year, The Sound of Young America started being distributed by Public Radio International. PRI are a bunch of really cool, nice folks in Minneapolis who are committed to what's next in public radio. They're the folks who decided to pick up This American Life after NPR turned down Ira Glass twice, for example.

Anyway, it was a really gutsy move for them to pick up a show produced by a 26-year-old in his apartment. Most people in public radio still think this is pretyt much insane.

I would love it if you would help me show all the doubters that they're 1000% wrong.

If you think the public radio station where you live is ready to be more awesome, please drop them a line. Write them a letter, send them an email or make a phone call. Tell them that you love public radio, and you love The Sound of Young America.

Lots of stations are looking for younger programming, but a lot of stations are also worried about alienating older listeners as well. Tell them that despite its name, The Sound of Young America is awesome for everyone. Tell them why you love it. Send them a link to a favorite podcast. Tell them that you're ready for something new.

Almost every public radio station's website has a contact page. If you can't find contact information for your favorite station, email me at jesse@maximumfun.org and I'll give you direct information. I've created a thread on the message board at maximumfun.org where lots of people are talking about their experiences doing this, and they're almost all positive. When you write, share! Public radio survives on listener donations, so they're all about listening to their audience. Tell them what you want!

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4 Comments:

Blogger Justin (koavf) said...

Jesse,

I searched the forum, and this is a question that has always intrigued me: how did you get picked up in Hattiesburg? Initially, I thought you just mentioned your Hattiesburg affiliate to be silly, but I guess that is one of the first few radio affiliates that you had, right?

-JAK

March 08, 2008 9:06 PM  
Blogger Jesse Thorn said...

Hattiesburg was the very first affiliate I had. I was interning for another show, West Coast Live, which is carried on WUSM. I called to check in, basically, and the program director had listened to the show (streaming) on the old splangy.com. He asked if I'd be interested in having it carried in Hattiesburg, and I said, "Fuck yes." They're not a PRI station, but they've been grandfathered in.

March 08, 2008 10:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Email sent to my local NPR station. But just so you know for next time - you had me at "hey friends", though the water was a nice extra touch.

March 12, 2008 1:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Same heres! You should give yourself a hard candy at the end of a message like that.
We loves ya!

March 12, 2008 5:52 PM  

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