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NPR Stations Had Pushed for Change (LYNETTE CLEMETSON, 3/30/04, NY Times)

National Public Radio's decision to remove Bob Edwards as host of "Morning Edition" is part of a broader push by the network, at the urging of many of its local partners, to remain competitive in an increasingly demanding and crowded news marketplace, several public radio managers across the country say.

The announcement that Mr. Edwards would leave his anchor post, effective April 30, to take on a new assignment as a senior correspondent, and his statements that the move was not his idea, ignited widespread criticism. NPR, based in Washington, has received more than 17,000 calls and e-mail messages from angry listeners, its officials said. A Web site, savebobedwards.com, has generated close to 3,000 signatures. [...]

In recent years, however, several station managers confirmed, some member stations have voiced concerns to NPR management that Mr. Edwards, who has served as host of "Morning Edition" from its beginnings in 1979, often seemed less engaged on the air. More critically, some station officials said, the program's traditional anchor-dominated format, heard live from 5 to 7 a.m., Eastern time. and rebroadcast with updates throughout the morning, has left NPR ill positioned to respond instantly to breaking news.

"A host, when news is breaking, actually needs to be able to interact live with a reporter on the scene and do live interviews with analysts as a story is unfolding," said Jeff Hansen, program director for KUOW in Seattle, and an independent coordinator for news-focused radio statons that carry NPR programs. "We owe a lot to Bob Edwards for setting exactly the right tone for the first 25 years. But I think there is probably wide agreement in the public radio system that it is time for an evolutionary change."

Though it was a Saturday, so not on Mr. Edwards's watch, their coverage of the Columbia disaster was exemplary, helped greatly by their correspondent Pat Duggins, whose coverage of the space program is outstanding. Meanwhile, some of the best reportage early on 9-11 cvame from Imus in the Morning, when Warner Wolf heard the planes flying over his Manhattan apartment and was able immediately to say that the first hit was a jumbo jet, not a small plane as some first thought. Maybe there's more "luck" involved in such fast-breaking stories than they care to realize.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 30, 2004 7:16 AM