|
 Great
news on the local media scene. Former Berkman
fellow and blogger brain-trust stalwart Christopher
Lydon will soon have
a regular gig on the airwaves once again. Ever since our upstairs neighborWBUR (90.9
FM) made the most spectacular gaffe in a truly horrendous recent string
of management missteps and broadcasting boners by canceling
Lydon’s "The Connection," we have anxiously been awaiting the inevitable
news that some other savvy station had snatched up the multi-talented
media personality.
Since having the pleasure of getting to know him personally through
blogging, we have regarded Chris with the sort of affectionate envy and
awe usually reserved for Big Brothers who can do everything better than
you, but don’t rub it in. On top of his mellifluous, stentorian voice,
his encyclopedic knowledge of politics and culture and his uncanny ability
to get people to relax and open up on microphone, Chris is an authentically
nice guy and understands the ongoing transformation of journalism like
few mainstream media figures ever have. We are sure his new show, "Open
Source" (scheduled to debut on UMass-Lowell station WUML-FM 91.5
this summer) will be an instant and overwhelming success. Of course,
we are
hoping Chris will make sure the broadcasts are also available as RSS-fed
podcasts, so we can listen to them anytime, not just at the scheduled
7 to 8 pm live slot (possible conflicts: blogging meetings and Red Sox games).
“Open Source” which will be marketed and distributed nationally
by Public Radio International, will be similar to ”The Connection," with
an hour long talk format featuring guests and discussions on specific
topics, Lydon said during a phone interview from the Lowell campus.
He will also draw on his experience hosting a website and webcasting
from
his Internet site christopherlydon.org.
”My vision is that we will have an open forum," said Lydon. ”There
will be a ten-day to two-week cycle of conversation, argument, and
preparation before a broadcast and . . . after a broadcast . . . a
distilled list
of links about what we were talking about."
The announcement also laid out a larger relationship between Lydon
and the UMass-Lowell. In addition to hosting ”Open Source," Lydon
will host a show in the fall to be produced and engineered by students.
He will also work with the school to design a new communications
major and contribute to the student-run station’s programming, staff
training,
and recruitment.
It is good to see Chris delving into OUR bailiwick – higher education.
If he needs any advice on how to put the fear of God into smart-ass undergraduates
or itty-bitty-balled academic administrators, we hope he calls the Dowbrigade….
from the Boston Globe |
