Ok, this rant is going to come under the heading of, “When the hell did the tail start to wag the dog?”

My annoying, non-life-threatening-yet-time-consuming illness is keeping me way out of the loop…while trying to get enough stuff done to get by until I get fixed, I haven’t been reading Current magazine or otherwise paying attention to the nonsense National Public Radio has been up to. It wasn’t until a kind letter from Scott Walterman, Program Manager for XM Public Radio that I started to research the latest bull-hockey that NPR is shoveling to complacent member stations and the rest of the world.

The Connection, long-running WBUR Boston program and the 2000-battleground between Christopher Lyden and the station which resulted in the firing of Mr. Lydon, ends its run this Friday. Acting General Manager Peter Fiedler, “after months of extensive internal reviews and in consultation with National Public Radio,” has decided to make major changes to the schedule, including firing The Connection host Dick Gordon and closing down the show. They will be replacing it with the frenetic and irritating “On Point,” hosted by Tom Ashbrook (fortunately for those of us who listen to XMPR, we only have to deal with one hour of this during the day, while the evening run remains).

Ok, they can shut down anything they want (although you gotta think Mr. Lydon is thrilled beyond words, and if I were him I’d spend a few minutes on Friday saying, “Na-na-nana-na!” to WBUR). But they have also decided to restrict the wonderful Here and Now, giving it, “more of a New England focus.”

You can bet that idea came straight from NPR.
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