William J. Karzas wrote:

>I think a more careful reading of the WETA response would note that it
>was concerned about getting the NPR news programs "Morning Edition" and
>"Weekend Edition" to an audience of some 300,000 which otherwise would not
>receive them.  It would gladly provide CM when there were other sources of
>the news, as "in the immdiate vicinity of Washington DC." It is clearly a
>matter of perceived priorities.

The good people at National Public Radio have an expansionist, almost
a missionary fervour to spread the word.  A story from Boston will
illustrate.  Twenty or so years ago one public radio station(WGBH)
broadcast All THings Considered, the other (WBUR) did not.  Then suddenly
it did, displacing an excellent classical music program, and starting a
trend which eventually resulted in the total elimination of classical music
on WBUR in favor of all the NPR programing available.  WGBH did not at that
time broadcast Morning Addition, and found itself under pressure to replace
the unique morning classical music announcer, Robert J.  Luertsma, with
Morning Edition.  The then director of NPR (whose mame slips my mind)
disparagingly refered to him as "a classical disk jockey", but Robert J.
was well established and survived the onslaught.  Today, WGBH broadcasts
some of Morning Edition, and blessedly avoids Weekend Edition.

Most people in the Greater Boston area can get both stations, but NPR is
into a cultural imperialism, IMHO.  These fine upstanding liberals are not
big on pluralism.  They want no alternatives to their view of the world.

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University