5/5/10 Well, after the Saints Superbowl win and a Mardi Gras to remember , we didn’t think things could get much better. But a visit from Peter Sagal and the Wait Wait….Don’t Tell Me gang certainly raised the roof at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre on March 11th. An enthusiastic sold-out crowd greeted Carl Kassell with some high decibel cheers that lasted throughout the show. It was good fun and a pleasure to see so many WWNO listeners gather together. The show was broadcast nationally that weekend. If you missed it you can hear the show on our homepage in the Wait Wait box. Up next David Sedaris on 4/29/10 at the MJT.
Also much thanks to all who helped make our Spring Membership Drive a success. Over 1000 listeners renewed or joined WWNO as new members. A big thanks to all the volunteers and guests who donated their time and talent. Membership dollars are the backbone of support for WWNO. Thank You!
Story Corps continues its visit to New Orleans. You can see the Story Corps recording studio in front of the National WWII Museum till April 18th. WWNO will begin airing the Story Corps New Orleans segments on Thursday April 15th.
Reminder: WWNO will be at French Quarter Fest as we host the Classical Music Stage at Le Petit theatre in the Quarter - April 9, 10 & 11.
The TV series Treme, set in New Orleans, debuts this weekend on HBO. All indications are that this could be big and we are all looking forward to watching.
2/11/10 Been away from the blog for awhile, and a lot has transpired since my last post, too much to go through event by event. But I think I can sum it up with this: I was talking with someone who had been away from New Orleans for the last 3 weeks on business travel and had just returned. He said it was like coming back to a different city. It’s true! There is an all new level of energy, optimism and excitement in the Crescent City these days. It is no doubt sparked by the Saints Superbowl victory - which was huge, but extends beyond that. There is a feeling that a corner has been turned and we are now building the future instead of just rebuilding the past. Of course there is still much work to do, but the feeling that we can and will overcome any obstacles is a powerful force. So cheers to all!! (…..and Mardi Gras weekend is just kicking off!)These are busy times for WWNO. NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller visited the station last week. She spoke at the IP building downtown and also a WWNO hosted reception at Le Chat Noir. It was a great opportunity for her to meet with the New Orleans public radio community. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!comes to New Orleans on Thursday March 11th. It’s a live taping at The Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the show that will air nationally on that Saturday. Watch for a special “Not My Job” guest…..March 19th – 26th is WWNO’s Spring Membership Drive. Special guests on-air all week. This is an important fund raiser for the station, so please help support your public radio station.New Orleans Speaker Series at the Mahalia Jackson:April 29thDavid Sedaris Garrison Keillor one man show - rescheduled for May 20th (it was originally scheduled for the night of the Saints victory parade, thought it might be a good idea to move it).
10/20/09
Catching up….. Had the opportunity to enjoy a great LPO concert in Mandeville on the Lakefront on September 27th. It was a wonderful gathering, well-attended and so nice to listen to live music while watching the sunset on Lake Ponchartrain. Also Art for Art's Sake on Julia Street, the Jazz and Heritage Foundation's Blues and BBQ Festival and opening Night of Tosca with the New Orleans Opera Association. So many good things going on in New Orleans. Make sure you check it out!
Our annual Fall Membership Drive Week is Oct 16-24th. This is a good time to look at how WWNO is funded and how it has been affected by the economic recession. WWNO’s cash support is funded by three sources. First and foremost are member dollars. 45% of our funding comes from you, our members., 35% comes from local business underwriting support. 10% from area foundation and grant support, 10% from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). CPB funding continues to decline and we do not anticipate that trend to change. Though we are grateful to receive in-kind support (studio space) from the University of New Orleans, we receive no direct cash support from UNO. This is the most often misunderstood point. WWNO must raise the cash necessary to run its operation. And this year all our state support has been zeroed out. For these reasons your support is more important than ever. Without member support, WWNO would have to close its doors! Of course no one wants to see that happen, so please make a donation, if you can, during WWNO’s Membership week. Member dollars keep WWNO strong and allow us to improve public radio service in New Orleans for you.
9/21/09
First of all, many thanks to all who stopped by the WWNO sponsored Cultural Collision on Sept 2nd at NOMA. It was a great turnout with over 1300 people in attendance and a great night for the arts. This far exceeded our expectations. Many thanks as well to all our cultural partners, in particular Jim Mulvihill of NOMA, Janet Wilson of the NO Opera, Jess Brown from NOBA, Amiee Hayes and Julie Hamburg of Southern Rep, and Jenna Cronin of the LPO. We look forward to next year’s Collision!
You may have noticed a couple of new programs on WWNO. We are proud to offer the WWNO produced “All Things New Orleans. “ It is WWNO’s on-air radio magazine, with a half hour a week devoted to issues, arts, news, and cultural of the New Orleans region. It will include pieces contributed by WWNO staff and independent producers with many New Orleans voices. It airs Thursday evenings at 6:30pm and Saturdays at Noon. We have also added, long-time-part-time New Orleans resident Harry Shearer’s “Le Show” on Sunday evenings. It is an international weekly show featuring Harry’s satirical look at media, news, cyberspace, business, politics, and of course New Orleans.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that our Fall Membership Drive starts on October 16th – 24th. We are very excited as the guest list is shaping up nicely. If you can volunteer to help answer phones (a great way to meet other listeners) you can call 850-7000. Our Fall Membership Drive is our most important fundraiser of the year. Your support, especially now, is vital to the continued ability of WWNO to serve your community.
I also had the pleasure of attending the recent Opera on Tap at the Abita Brew Pub on Sept 16th. It was great fun and a packed house had a wonderful time. Make sure you check out an Opera on Tap this season (there are 11). It’s free and you can get the schedule at the New Orleans Opera Association website.
The LPO’s open nights at the Mahalia and on the NorthShore were a big success, artistically and for attendance. (1700 in attendance at Mahalia and over 900 in Covington). WWNO was at both performances. I attended the First Baptist performance in Covington and sounded great and I enjoyed meeting so many listeners.
Good to see so many people supporting the arts!!
8/16/09 Well I have taken a bit of a summer break from writing, but we are back in the swing. It’s still hot outside, which makes it hard to believe that summer is moving into fall …..at least on the calendar. I would like to extend a big thank you to all who stopped by the WWNO booth at the recent White Linen Night on the corner of Camp and Julia. It was a warm evening and the WWNO free iced tea was a big hit. A great turnout for the event made for a nice night for the city. And plenty of folks dressed in white! It was a pleasure to get to talk so many listeners. Speaking of events, coming up we have a new event that WWNO is helping organize in collaboration with a number of area arts and culture partners. It’s called “Cultural Collision” and it will be an opportunity for the public to meet members of the arts community at a free party at NOMA on September 2nd, 6-8pm. It’s a fun way to kick of the unofficial official arts season. I hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate the arts in New Orleans. We also have a couple of “big” events that we will be announcing shortly. Summer may be over - but Fall in New Orleans is just getting started!
6/1/09 I had the pleasure of attending a production of King Lear by the Shakespeare Festival of Tulane at the Lupin Theatre this past weekend. Kudos to James Fitzmorris, Ron Gural and all at the Festival for a first rate show. Everyone should catch a performance of this timeless play. They will be running productions this summer. It is another example of the wonderful talent and culture here in New Orleans. I’m glad WWNO was able to air an interview on this production as part of WWNO’s expanding local arts and cultural coverage. We look forward to covering more events.
5/22/09 Some New Programs in June: WWNO’s goal is to provide the best service to our listeners in a rapidly changing world. The media landscape is changing and that means we must periodically evaluate the effectiveness of our program mix. Listeners consistently tell us they want a comprehensive range of local, national and international programming. In order to address this, WWNO will add “The World” with host Lisa Mullins to our schedule beginning Monday June 1st. This program will provide an international perspective to our news and information presentation. The World, produced with the BBC, will provide that element, helping to put local issues and ideas into a wider context. "The World" will air 3pm weekdays and be followed by All Things Considered. We are excited to have this top quality program on WWNO. On Saturday mornings, WWNO will be adding “The Splendid Table” to compliment Car Talk and Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. “The Splendid Table” is hosted by Lynn Rosetto Casper and is a fun look at the intersection of food and life. It will air at 11am on Saturday Mornings.
We will also launch a half hour local arts, culture and weekly news magazine produced by WWNO. Details to come.
5/4/09 A quick update on our Spring Drive - I want to thank everyone who renewed their membership or became new members during our Spring Membership Drive. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise 20% percent more money than last year and welcome 30% more donors than last spring! This is especially heartening because we understand that people have less money to give these days. I want to thank all our volunteers and staff for helping make our drive a success. Every member dollar enables WWNO to do more for you and the community. Thank You!
4/11/09 I have had the pleasure of attending some performances at the recently reopened Mahalia Jackson Performing Arts Center. It was wonderful to see the genuine joyful reactions from performers and audience alike at having this historic venue open again. It does mark another milestone in the continuing rebuilding of our great city!
WWNO is about to begin our Spring Membership Drive. Yes, twice a year we turn to our listeners and ask for your financial support. Member Support represents almost 40% of our operating budget, so these drives are important to the future of the station and what we are able to do to better serve you. This spring, we know that everyone is dealing with the uncertain economy. WWNO is not immune from its impact. With your help we can continue to provide the quality journalism from NPR that is so vital during times like these. And also provide classical music and cultural programs that give us all a chance to step back and enjoy the arts.
I would like to share with you something we have planned for 2009. We are already beginning an initiative to bring more New Orleans voices to the air. We are in the process of expanding our ability to report on news, arts, events, culture and issues in our region. Perhaps you have heard Eileen Fleming’s reports during our newscasts or Diane Mack’s feature stories on upcoming cultural events or Eve Abrams’ reports on the people and events that make New Orleans so unique. I invite you to listen at www.wwno.org under the WWNO newsroom. We would like to do more of this kind of reporting. But it is only possible with your support. So this Spring Membership Drive, if you can support WWNO at any level, I ask you to consider making not just a donation to public radio but an investment in building your community.
