Morning Edition and Bob Edwards

MORNING EDITION AND BOB EDWARDS

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this morning when I left my apartment on Capitol Hill, I bought a Washington Post. The first thing that caught my eye was a front page story that will be repeated in newspapers across America and probably other sources.

The headline says: "NPR Yanks Top-Rated Show Host." I stopped what I was doing and read it. It turns out National Public Radio has decided to remove Bob Edwards from Morning Edition after 25 years in front of the microphone.

Morning Edition is one of the most popular radio shows in America. It has 13 million listeners. Whether I am in Springfield, IL, listing to WUIS or I am in Chicago listening to WEBZ, when the clock radio goes on in the morning, the first voice I hear is Bob Edwards.

They decided at NPR it is time to tell Bob Edwards he can no longer serve as the host of Morning Edition. What was Bob's reaction to that? The newspaper says:

I would have loved to have stayed with "Morning Edition." But it's not my candy store.

Well, the article goes on to really analyze why in the world NPR, after 25 years, would remove from the Morning Edition show a person with such a reputation as Bob Edwards'. Well, it cannot be because of the audience, because from the time Bob Edwards has been on Morning Edition the audience has more than doubled for NPR in the last 10 years. As he says, who else can say that?

Bob Edwards is running rings around other radio talk show hosts. Bob Edwards came to the show in 1979. They asked him to take over Morning Edition for 30 days until they found a permanent host. Twenty-five years later, he is still at the microphone.

So they went to some of the leaders at National Public Radio and asked: Why are you removing Bob Edwards from the Morning Edition?

Well, they think the decision was made primarily by Jay Kernis, an NPR senior vice president. They explained it as such. They said the idea behind it was:

. . . to make sure we were in the best position to serve the changing needs of our listeners.

They went on to say:

In today's news environment, people demand both immediacy and depth.

That is the reason why they want to remove Bob Edwards from Morning Edition? Frankly, that is not good enough. I went to the NPR Web site, NPR.org. On that Web site is an explanation of Bob Edwards leaving the show. They do not say they forced him out, just that he is leaving the show.

Here is the kind of response one would expect from Bob Edwards:

. . . Morning Edition will continue to be my first source of news.

He is still loyal to that program.

On the NPR Web site they list his achievements. Bob Edwards has received two Gabriel Awards; the 1984 Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for "outstanding contributions to public radio;" an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for Excellence; and the prestigious 1999 George Foster Peabody Award for hosting Morning Edition.

There is a letter from Bob Edwards on the NPR.org Web site. He says:

I am leaving a post that I have loved and have given my heart to.

It is pretty clear that Bob Edwards does not want to leave Morning Edition. For many of us, mornings in America will not be the same without the voice of Bob Edwards to greet us. I have never met him, but I really consider him a friend. He is a reliable source of information, has a voice that calms me when terrible things are happening around the world.

He is an American institution.

So here is what I am asking those who are following this debate to consider: If you believe, as I do, that Bob Edwards should continue as the host of Morning Edition, that America's Mr. Morning should stay in front of that NPR microphone, let us do something about it. If you are one of the thousands who contribute to National Public Radio, frankly we have a vested interest in what is going on on National Public Radio. Bob said, and I think he is right, "It's not my candy store," but let me say this: National Public Radio is a candy store that belongs to a lot of us, those of us who listen and those of us who contribute. Listeners who donate are actually the shareholders of National Public Radio. I think it is time for a shareholders revolt, and what I am asking friends of Bob Edwards to do at this point is to log on to NPR.org and send an e-mail to them. Let them know what you think about the removal of Bob Edwards from Morning Edition. Share that with the management who believes we need a new voice, a new style. I frankly think Bob Edwards is as good as it gets.

We have listened to a lot of Bob Edwards' Morning Edition lying down in our beds but we should not take this dismissal from Morning Edition lying down. If people have followed this debate and they believe Bob Edwards is worth an e-mail to NPR.org, please do so. Possibly you may want to share that with some friends on your e-mail list. Let's see if we can tell some of our friends at National Public Radio we have a national treasure we cannot afford to lose.