All Things Go

Here in Austin, there's a bit of controversy brewing, or at this point, fully brewed, over the semi-removal of two programs from the local public radio station, KUT. You can read about the hubbub here. I say semi-removed because, while Paul Ray's Jazz and the Phil Music Program, hosted by Larry Monroe, were removed from the station's lineup, as well as the late night program that Ray and Monroe hosted together, they both still have programs on the station, including Monroe's "Blue Monday" (which I listen to most weeks). The shows that were removed have been replaced with programs that are basically commercial radio programs without commercials.

A group comprised of an ex-mayor of Austin, several local musicians, and KUT listeners, are upset at the change in programming, and have started a Facebook group and a website called Save KUT. They argue that this isn't just about getting rid of Ray's and Monroe's programs, but about the overall change in the programming at KUT. But let's face it, it really is about Ray and Monroe (something the website tacitly admits over and over again).

I don't really have a dog in this race, because the one program other than NPR that I listen to regularly on KUT, "Blue Monday," is still on the air. I occasionally caught Ray's jazz program, and only stopped to listen to Monroe's when I heard Robert Earl Keen ("The road goes on forever, and the party never ends!"). I do hope that, if enough KUT listeners really do want the Phil Music Show and Paul Ray's Jazz back, they get it, either by showing their disapproval through their donations, or lack thereof, or by making enough of a fuss to convince KUT that if it doesn't put them back on the air, it will suffer the consequences come donation time.

However, I honestly don't see the big deal. They were two radio shows, one of which (the Phil Music Show) was uniquely Austin, I'll admit, and the two talented DJs are still on the air every week. But ya know, to me it just feels like, well, what happens with stuff in the media all the time. I mean, most of the radio stations I've liked over the years don't even exist anymore, to say nothing of the programs I liked on those stations. TV shows come and go, radio programs come and go, DJs come and go. All things go. C'est la vie.

The amount of money that's been put into these protests -- at least enough for a website, town meetings, benefit shows to raise more money, and $1200 a week full page ads in the Chronicle -- seems to me, in the midst of an economic crisis, when I can't walk 3 steps from my apartment door without seeing people suffering because they were laid off and can't find work, or walk past a food kitchen without noticing how much longer the lines are now than they were this time last year, to be a bit over the top. How many of those people do you think are sitting around worrying about the current direction of KUT programming? There are better uses for this energy, for this money, and for this time, than protesting because two guys didn't really lose their jobs, when so many others are, and because the programming direction of a station isn't to your liking. I mean, log on to the friggin' internet and listen to some jazz or Texas music, or hell, create your own jazz/Asleep at the Wheel station on Pandora. And give your money to a real cause, where it's really needed.