On Saturday the 22nd, Bob Edwards attended a book signing a few hours away from us at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., my new favorite brick-and-mortar bookstore (the cappuccino was excellent, even if the staff did tease me a bit about drinking more than one - hey, I’m an old man with a six-year old!).

We drove down for the day (hell hath no fury like tourists with all day Metro passes), and fortunately got there early enough to pick up a few copies of Bob’s book,
Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism before they sold out completely, and find seats in the crowded bookstore for Mr. Edwards’ talk.

Bob was on-time (although his coffee was a little late) and gave a short talk about Murrow and his affect not only on modern journalism but on Mr. Edwards himself. The question period is where the focus turned from Murrow to Edwards and his recent “reassignment” from the host position at NPR’s Morning Edition. He was given gifts by some folks who attended, including an inscribed baseball bat that he might want to use on the executives at NPR…na, just kidding.

I was struck at how little people have actually learned from Mr. Edwards’ interview style, though. Most questioners lengthily detailed their own personal views on whatever they were, “asking” about, and then after depleting the air in the room finally asked, “Isn’t that right?” In more than one case, Edwards could only respond, “I agree,” or, “I suppose,” and in one instance actually said, “How can I answer that question?” Folks, if we learn nothing else from Edwards’ interviewing abilities, let’s learn brevity. Really. Ask your question, allow the interviewee to respond, and listen to that response so you can decide whether a follow-up is necessary. We honestly don’t much care what you as the questioner think…we’re more interested in what the answerer has to say. (This exemplifies one of the many problems with what little I’ve heard of the new NPR morning show - the “hosts” seem more interested in showing off their preparation than in actually allowing the person they are interviewing to get a word in edgewise.)

After the talk and Q/A, Mr. Edwards sat down to sign a few gadzillion books while we queued up around the store and almost through the door; he was terribly kind to my six-year-old, who knows his voice as well as she knows mine (and he’s never said, “No,” to her, so she probably prefers it!), while signing my books (including a copy of “Fridays with Red,” given to me by a good friend many years ago). She got really shy when she was at the table with him, but later she admonished her mother for not getting a picture of him shaking her hand (someone walked in front of Annie at that moment).

This event gave me the opportunity to see Mr. Edwards, and hear him speak, without giving money to an NPR affiliate for the privilege. I find it disgusting that the locals, including WHYY in Philadelphia, are using Mr. Edwards to raise money while not beating up the NPR Board over this “reassignment.” Apparently his popularity is something to take advantage of, while his skills are no longer required by the stations or the brass. But here, I was able to listen to him speak while not violating my principles…I thank Politics and Prose for the opportunity (and the coffee).