2845

Then it might be local public stuff. I’m not sure. AM radio is just he thing I turned to if my phone is broke and I need to know what traffic is like when traveling out of town.

They repeat the most bizarre stuff, but it’s definitely AM radio. I remember that from looking at the radio as a kid.

2846

That sounds like typical AM talk radio, which is a very different thing from NPR.

2847

In fact the overwhelming majority of NPR stations are FM, not AM.

2848

Well I don’t listen to public radio. NPR is public radio right, so when someone says they do listen to public radio, that’s the one I think of.

Since I don’t listen to it, I just took them at their word. I personally have zero engagement with NPR or this other public radio the others are listening to.

Which is why i said… possibly.

2849

Glad to help shed some light on the subject, as NPR is generally considered to be liberal and factual, while AM talk radio is typically right wing crazytown.

2850

So NPR is classic music, jazz and some news feeds but not really radio personalities? Is that an accurate description?

2851

NPR has “personalities” sorta… like Terry Gross, for instance. But she’s a real journalist, not a Sean Hannity type.

On some level, she’s still a talk show host (she hosts Fresh Air), but it’s pretty low key and mellow compared to crazy partisans.

2852

Oh gosh no, it’s mostly news and shows, with music sometimes filling in the wee hours of mornings when other progframming isn’t running, but often the BBC world service news runs overnight insteads of music.

2853

This American Life is kinda representative of the general tenor of NPR.

2854

Well thanks guys.

I guess I have no idea what these guys are listening to then, but I will divorce that from my thoughts of NPR from now on. They don’t mention the big names I’ve heard and it’s AM mostly because of the mountain ranges they drove through so they don’t have to turn the channel all the time. I assumed that’s why it’s so often talk radio and not actual music. I suspect none of them would listen to classic or jazz.

2855

I love NPR and PBS. I watch the PBS Newshour 6 days a wee. I don’t drive much (especially post-covid) but it rare my radio isn’t tuned to NPR, and I listen to many NPR podcasts.

The problem is that at first approximation nobody watches it, except for when a Ken Burns special is on. The PBS NewsHour averages under a one million viewers, and just don’t see that increasing, unless they really change their format. Sadly, most NPR/PBS just aren’t exciting enough to attract a bigger audience.

@Nesrie you should give NPR a listen I think you’d enjoy some of the the news shows.

2856

Most of that old AM radio was bought by right-wing businessmen and corporations in the 80’s and 90’s when Newt was pushing his b.s. in Washington (that’s how Sinclair started iirc). They’ve only got more conservative since. Oh, and ESPN own some of those stations as well. Major metros will have a straight news or sports stations too, but out in the countryside it’s mostly trash.

2857

Heh. Next trip I might try it. I only really listen to radio in the car. It’s how I know who Drake is. I don’t know that i can have news in the background like others do though. When I watch or listen to news… I really do which is why I do so little of that.

PBS I do watch because they pick up the BBC stuff and some other specials. I get e-mail and mailings from the local SOPTV of PBS. They also had Simply Ming which I watched for a bit, but when I cut cable I lost some of that suffering stuff.

Yeah this has to be it. So they’re just wrong. It’s not public. It’s just AM talk shows that can reach into those mountain ranges where you have that or country music or you know that rest of us phones.

2858

You also have the conspiracy nutters that would call in to Art Bell’s show, which was an AM radio/trucker staple for decades. I think it’s still going with some other host these days.

NPR is sometimes referred to as Nice Polite Republicans, for what it’s worth.

2859

I miss Car Talk.

2860

Hell yeah!

2861

Me too, there used to be fun stuff out there, now its analog OAN or worse.

2862

Art Bell has an NPR show, and it let’s people call in and just talk about their conspiracies?

2863

George Noory. He’s a little more into the conspiracies than Bell was, I think.

2864

Sorry, those were two separate thoughts. The AM long haul radio could have been Art Bell along with whatever local talk stations were broadcasting. NPR does their own thing. Their framing leaves a little to be desired (hence Nice Polite Republicans) but on the whole they’re good.