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KGOU Newsletter for November 2006

Note: Links to other sites may no longer be active or content may have changed.

We Are Thankful . . . For Our Members

The KGOU staff would like to thank the more than 1100 individuals, families, and businesses who pledged their financial support for the daily operations of this public radio station before and during our recent membership drive.
Thank You !

Thanks to those who pledged early, we were able to eliminate 81 hours of on-air fundraising (of 133 hours in an average 7-day drive), and began the on-air portion of the drive more than halfway to the goal of $135,000.

We also thank Jock Campbell, Adam Cohen, Sherri Edge, Cindy Pullin, Brad Raley, Lisa Raley and John Thompson for lending their voices in testimonials for the drive. And we thank our gracious phone volunteers and those that provided food for them: Café Plaid, Valerie at Mother's Catering, and Hideaway Pizza.

Reaching the goal means that we can continue to bring KGOU listeners the best journalism and conversations on the air. Listener support makes it possible!

We Are Thankful . . . For Our New Broadcast Home

KGOU photo
Kurt Gwartney gives a news update from the new studios We've done it! KGOU signed on the air at 5 a.m. Friday, November 17 from the new studios in Copeland Hall. This is a giant step forward, but there is still much to be done. We'll be settling into the new space and making adjustments to the new equipment for awhile; please be patient with us as we work to get the best sound possible for KGOU listeners.

For this larger space where we can produce more and better programs, for new equipment, and for a reasonably smooth transfer of the broadcast signal from one building to another without a long interruption of service, we are truly thankful.

Even as we settle into our new workspace, we are still mindful that we'll need private donations to help pay for it. We thank those who have pledged support to our Capital Campaign, a total of more than $130,000 so far. The campaign is ongoing, and KGOU is still seeking pledges so that we can take advantage of a $150,000 matching grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

KGOU Presented National Murrow Award

KGOU News Director Scott Gurian was honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio - Television News Directors Association. The annual awards promote excellence in electronic journalism in the name of one of the great pioneers of broadcasting.

Scott was joined by his family – Mom and Dad, grandmother and brother – at the ceremony in New York City October 16.

His feature "Catfish Noodling" won the national prize in the Feature Reporting

category for radio stations in small markets. "It's an honor to be recognized alongside coverage of Hurricane Katrina and other national stories from some of the largest and most well-known television and radio news organizations in the country," Scott said.

Scott was in good company – also accepting Murrow Awards were Joshua Levs for NPR and Brian Williams for NBC. While in New York, Scott also attended a reception for the New York Festivals Radio Programming and Promotion Awards.

Book Giveaway – Just For e-Newsletter Subscribers !

Looking for a stocking stuffer for the news junkie on your list? KGOU will give away four copies of John Burnett's book, Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions: Travels with an NPR Correspondent. Read an exerpt.

We'll hold drawings for the books on Friday, December 1. To win one, send an e-mail to membership@kgou.org by midnight on Thursday, November 30, with your name, address and phone number. One entry per person, please. We'll notify the winners the next day.

Ticket Giveaway – To e-Newsletter Subscribers

Calling all train enthusiasts! KGOU has a limited number of tickets for free admission to the 30th OKC Train Show, December 2 - 3 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. Call 325-0022 to request tickets on a first-come, first served basis. Admission is regularly $6, with children under 12 admitted free.

Help For A Turkey Emergency

It's becoming a Thanksgiving tradition: Turkey Confidential, a two-hour call-in program hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper of The Splendid Table.

Turkey Confidential serves as a culinary "triage" for holiday cooks across the nation. Lynne and her guests will be taking calls live on the biggest cooking day of the year (when you’re likely to need her most). The phone lines open at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Thoughts from NPR

Turkey and dressing, football, sharing with family and friends – Thanksgiving holds a different meaning and different memories for everyone who observes the holiday. Read these essays from NPR staffers as they share their thoughts on Thanksgiving.

A Political Thanksgiving - Ken Rudin
The Thursday Before the State Football Championships - Steve Inskeep
The Memory of Thanksgiving Ham - Juan Williams
A Kind of Non-sectarian Christmas - Peter Sagal
An Expatriate’s Thanksgiving, 1983 - Liane Hansen
A United Nations of Foods, Music, and More - Lakshmi Singh

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some mention of Susan Stamberg's famous cranberry relish. Every year since 1971, she has managed to sneak in her mother-in-law's recipe on the air. Well, who are we to break tradition?

'Mixed Signals' in Metamorphosis

NPR is revisiting its participation in the "blogosphere", ending its Web log, Mixed Signals, after about eight months. "NPR has decided that yes, this blogging thing might have some legs. So we're going to do more blogs," writes J.J. Sutherland, in the final Mixed Signals blog post.

Andy Carvin, the founding editor of a nonprofit online social network known as the Digital Divide Network and a field correspondent to the video blog Rocketboom, is helping NPR decide how and when to blog next. Carvin says there were two issues with Mixed Signals that NPR execs are addressing:

Technical difficulties with posting and commenting
No one having clear responsibility for it, so that it was both everyone's job and nobody's

Judging from readers' reactions, NPR will be back with a new blog, or blogs, in the near future. As J.J. wrote, "Stay tuned."

StoryCorps Blog Features Lawton Visit

Speaking of NPR blogs, here's a couple you might like — the StoryCorps blogs. These blogs are written by the facilitators who staff the booths and assist in recording participants' stories. StoryCorps mobile recording booth

Oklahomans have been telling their stories at StoryCorps' west mobile recording studio, which made a stop in Lawton over the past few weeks, at the invitation of KCCU at Cameron University. Facilitators Andrew and Mitra have been doing some exploring of the local community, and you can see photos they've taken and some of their thoughts in the MobileBooth West blog.

One of the entries features Marquetta Brown, who happens to be the mother of our own Jolly Brown, who jumped at the chance to record some of her mom's favorite stories.

Weekend Edition Host on Sabbatical

After 18 years of working Sundays, Liane Hansen is taking a three month sabbatical from Weekend Edition. Liane has no books or other projects in the works, but simply has an opportunity to step away from the show and the grind to refresh and reinvigorate. Beginning November 11, Andrea Seabrook will host through the end of the year.

New Dimensions

OKC Minister Featured on New Dimensions

"Real Christians take chances for peace. So do real Jews, and real Muslims, and real Hindus, and real Buddhists — so do all the faith traditions of the world at their heart believe one thing: life is precious." These are the words of progressive minister Robin Meyers, pastor of Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, in a speech at a peace rally on the University of Oklahoma campus. Meyers will be featured on New Dimensions December 3 at 7 a.m.

Highlights from the Networks:

Election 2006 ~ What's Next

The votes are in, but the ramifications of the mid-term elections are still making news. From recounts to resignations, get the latest from NPR Online, and read what Americans might expect from a Democratic majority in Congress.

Take a look behind the scenes at NPR's studio 4A and see how Robert Siegel, Linda Wertheimer, and a team of reporters and producers pulled together NPR's election coverage.

OU's "Mr. Ambassador" Breaks Barriers

In the 1980s, South Africa was a nation in turmoil, struggling with Apartheid and unfavorable world opinion. Edward Perkins stepped onto South African soil as the first black U.S. ambassador to that country, appointed by President Reagan. Perkins, now Executive Director of the International Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma, was the subject of the first of Juan Williams' profiles of American pioneers, aired October 24 on Morning Edition.

Listen to the story and read an exerpt from Perkins's memoir, Mr. Ambassador: Warrior for Peace, at npr.org. The book was published by, and is available from the University of Oklahoma Press.

Novel Ideas: How Writers Create Their Fiction

November is National Novel Writing Month, and NPR.org asked fiction writers to explain the essence of creating a novel, from how they write to their approach to writer's block. Read authors' responses, with new Web-exclusive content each day.

007 Movie Title Songs Never Say "Die"

The actor playing James Bond may change, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, but he almost always has a song in his heart – or at least under the title credits. Movie-music maven Andy Trudeau breaks down the Bond-song phenomenon, from All Things Considered November 12. Hear clips and take a quiz!

Preserving Historical Recordings

Each year, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress chooses 50 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" to preserve for all time. NPR's All Things Considered examines five recordings selected for the 2005 registry in a five-part series that started Saturday, October 28. Listen to the first, second, and third reports, and learn why these recordings were chosen from experts, historians, and cultural commentators.

toad

Cocker Spaniel Hooked on Toads?

NPR Online's most-e-mailed story in the past six months and still counting: A suburban family's secret struggle with an uncommon addiction comes to light in this personal essay by NPR intern Laura Mirsch. Listen to this talented young writer's story, and pass it on!

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