How did we do on day one?

Stephanie Curtis February 21, 2012, 3:00 PM Feb 21, 2012

“It was terrific. Pace. Enthusiasm. Intelligence. Good interviewing. Great guests. It was wonderful.”

–Chris Worthington, managing director, MPR News

He might be a little biased.

What did you think?

Here’s Kerri looking calm as always, halfway through the debut of the show:

–Stephanie Curtis

About the blogger

Stephanie Curtis

scurtis@mpr.org • @stephcurtis

Stephanie Curtis has produced events, daily news shows, documentaries, conferences and call-ins for MPR News. She also was among the pioneering producers who launched The Current. You can hear her discuss movies every Thursday on The Cube Critics.

If only you’d get rid of Kari Miller. The woman asks vanilla questions, has little political knowledge, and is so into herself one wonders how she manages to ask a question at all.

It’s hard enough listening to her interview authors with all that vanilla frosting, but to discuss real issues–no no no. Steve Inskeep is a much better choice. In less than 5 minutes he DOES ask substantive questions and is not afraid to interrupt the interviewee when they are not consistent. I’m afraid Kari is so busy looking in the mirror she simply can’t focus on anyone other than herself.

Alan

I hate to say it, but I may as well be the first: the name should have been The Daily Circus. It felt way too schizophrenic; I knew right away in my gut when it was described as a “fast paced new show” that it was going to be a bad idea…

Indeed, I’m just not sure this new program format can work, even if executed “perfectly.” It’s not cohesive, and there are far too many cooks in the kitchen. I sure hope management has a plan B (and C) in the wings (which hopefully begins with returning to what was working just fine before, with a national profile no less). Otherwise, truthfully, I just can’t see a reason to keep listening. I’m really saddened that MPR has taken such a large step back (and moreover, appears to be blind to seeing it).

However, to at least say something (!) positive, the website actually looks pretty good. This is a HUGE improvement over the old Midmorning site. Kudos to that; keep that trend going!

JBL

I liked the pace of this show much better than the old ones- of course, I wasn’t a loyal Midmorning or Midday listener. I’m not speaking ill of Eichten, love the guy, but I found the shows kind of boring. I like the switch up between two hosts instead of each having a long block. That adds interest I thought the other shows were lacking. I liked the balance between politics, lighter story with substance, human interest that’s not sappy, and crazy guy that I hate (Norquist). I am optimistic about the show.

Eleanor Krahn

I tune in five days a week. The show today was doing too many things without enough uninterrupted focus on anything. Did not enjoy it.

Chris Worthington, MPR

Thanks everybody for the feedback. We’re good listeners and fast learners. All constructive criticism is welcome. Save the nasty, though. It’s uninformed.

Jessica TR

I’m a Sustainer who can’t listen during the workday, and my favorite thing to do as I unwind from work at night (sometimes after nonprofit board meetings) used to be listening online to the Midmorning and/or Midday shows I was interested in but had to miss. With the new structure, I can’t find anything on The Daily Circuit page (messy!) that lets me listen to anything that happened today…so I can’t even weigh in on what I think about the new format. I will say that if it’s not focused, single-guest, in-depth journalism that gets into “the weeds”, as Mr. Eichten so properly put it, I will be frustrated and reconsider the possibility that I’ll up my contributions. I rely on MPR – I don’t subscribe to newspapers or watch TV, and in this CRITICAL year with SO much happening that will determine the direction of our country’s political landscape and that we need to be strongly versed in for those family- or neighborhood-conversations, I can’t afford to lose what I’ve come to rely on: MPR, a news source with hard-hitting, interesting, fact-based, probing interviews and reporting.

Ryan

I listened to the first half (through the book pick) of the show yesterday. I would agree with a number of the comments above that it seemed a little busy–more like All Things Considered than the old Midmorning/Midday format. I’ll give it another listen but I definitely prefer the longer format allowing for in-depth conversations with the guests like Midmorning/Midday. For example, I enjoyed the round table discussions on Midmorning in the last couple weeks–those went all hour with several topics but it worked.

Caleb

My response to the first day was mixed.

A few of the positives:

The webpage is much better than most, and complements the show well. I can see myself using it a lot.

Use of social media is great, even though I won’t be using that aspect myself.

GREAT guests and topics. This really saved the show for me. Honestly though, I think the guests at times carried the show rather than the other way around.

Some of the negatives:

There were more topics and segments presented than were put in the schedule on your website, it was hard to know what was when or what was going to be covered.

The back and forth between short topics or segments and longer in depth coverage was difficult to follow. The feeling of ‘breaking news’ coverage was pervasive but not really well suited. Also, having some of the segments be presented in the proximity that they were was at times dizzying.

Overall my impression can be summed up as this: At the end of the day when I was having a conversation about the new show and the format, I couldn’t remember anything to talk about except for some of the great bits with Andrew Zimmern. The overall cohesiveness of the coverage suffered, and it didn’t leave a lasting impression or stick in my mind. It feels like the show lost precisely what it was meant to emphasize by the way that it was presented.

My suggestions? I would really enjoy a segment of the show devoted to the short pieces and ‘news’ stories from a purely reporting viewpoint, and have the in depth analysis portions be left uninterrupted. Maybe have 2 such segments with a faster paced news and short story segment in the middle.

Pat Olsen

Wow, yeah, I came away with the same impression as Caleb. The first two days have been largely forgettable (definitely no classic “I heard on Midmorning/Midday…” moments!). All the segments are too short and the “mini” ones are dizzying–as is the back and forth between hosts (do we really need two?).

Gary Eichten had the magic formula right: a FULL hour with one or two guests. Else it’s like eating candy for lunch, hardly very satisfying. This new show almost seems akin to CNN headline news…fine if you’re stuck in the airport, but not exactly something you’d plan to watch (let alone share and discuss with friends). Is that the direction MPR really wants to go?? It’s not what I want in a radio station, that’s for sure. Yikes.

jfh

My reaction goes with the others–but, perhaps we complainers about this new pace are of an age that learned to think in longer bytes than eight bits.

It’s this format that makes Kerri sound like an intelligent Terry Gross instead of the best insightful interviewer on the radio today.

Of course, MPR has been seeking ways for some time now into the twenty-and-thirty-somethings’ interests and pocketbooks. Maybe this will give it to them while the rest of us fade out. I know I have found ‘the pace’ using the hiptalk of the new communication stuff increasingly frothier and predictable.

Too bad. Things change, and a golden example of public radio journalism is re-mixed to be new.

I think I will go see if Ira Glas has gone short-attention-span, too.

Jim H.

Larry Johnson

My comment is that you guys don’t want to forget who your star is.

What Kerri Miller did on Midmorning was right at the top of radio journalism. Although different is style, she is in league with Charlis Rose with respect to the quality of her program. (I might add that Krista Tippett is also outstanding, but her subject matter is limited.)

Bottom line… the format and presentation of Midmorning was consistently pretty damn good. It fell off markedly when Miller was absent or on vacation. I think you need to keep that in mind.

Suzanne – member, sustainer

I agree with the comments that this is way too scattered and has a “Headline News” feel to it. It felt unfocused and I have not tuned in since I listened to the first show. I’ll wait a couple of weeks and hope it finds a better pace.

Please stop! The roundtable is so outrageously self-indulgent, please stop! What was one of Gary Eichten’s key secrets to success all those years? It was NEVER about him! We live in a world flush with drivelling opinion, I think you all are better and can do MUCH better than this!

I agree with AJ! Sounds too gossipy…yuk. And, do we all have to know that Kerri toured in Sweden when the bit about King & Queen coming to visit MN?? It didn’t add to the conversation, only boasted. Yes, Gary Eichten never put the focus on himself. The whole Daily Circuit sounds like trashy talk radio. I listened this whole week, as I’ve done for number of years, while running errands, doing chores, cooking…all things that don’t give me time/access to look at the tweets or facebook or whatever. I just listen to the radio. Plus, I’m tired of listening to Kerri for THREE hours. It’s the same drone…no change in intonation, no background music changes, no nothing. When she was 2 hours, and Gary followed, the pace, intonation, beat all changed (signaling to me – time for the LUNCH hour to start!!). I may give it another week, but will probably start looking to other talk radio stations…whether I agree with talk radio speakers or not, at least they get fired up about something. AND…where was Kerri on Gary’s last week? She was missing from the airwaves on giving Gary a bid farewell.

Sloopydrew

I the new MPR CEO is a corporatist and he’s destroying what made Minnesota public radio special. Kerri and everyone are doing their best to suddenly appear like hipsters and present this Morning Joe type garbage, but it is as useless as Morning Joe. Public radio was the one place that was like public radio. With The Daily Circuit, public radio is trying to be just like every single other morning show out there. It’s a shame. And a sham. But Jon McTaggart could care less, as long as it brings in more corporate sponsors. Dear Mr. McTaggart – It’s called PUBLIC radio for a reason. Quit serving the 1% and start serving the PUBLIC again. Thanks!
Tom K

I’m so glad to have found a place where feedback is being taken. That’s an interesting point, Sloppydrew–has anyone else noticed that the number of advertisements have increased by at least a factor of two or three in the new program? I’m not appreciating that one bit (and that soul selling hardly endears one to contribute!).

As for this whole Daily Circuit debacle (as seems to be agreed upon here and certainly among everyone in my social circle–MPR is taking a nosedive on this one), I’m beginning to wonder (or hope) that this is a “New Coke” ploy by MPR. I mean, look at the glowing review by the managing director above–that either illustrates gross incompetence, too many trips to the Kool-Aid bowl…OR perhaps some sneaky smoke and mirrors. Put out (and hype to death) a terrible new program to make everyone appreciate and pine for what they had before. Well done…I guess.

So, let’s hope that Midmorning “Classic” and Midday “The Next Generation?” are coming back sooner! Otherwise, wow, maybe video finally killed the radio star. This new “Daily Circuit” show is awful. Sorry, but please figure this out before it’s too late…there are plenty of alternatives out there.
John E.

I have been a loyal Midmorning and Midday listener for over ten years, a member of MPR for seven, and a member of the 25-35 demographic that MPR seems to be catering to with this show. I understand that this show is new and it will take a while for the hosts to get their “sea legs” as they adapt to the new format, but I have to say that I have not been impressed so far. I drive for work a great deal, and I have always enjoyed the three in-depth segments from nine to noon. The current format seems to be more akin to the vacuous cable news drivel that MPR claims to be the antithesis of in their never ending pledge drives. If this continues, I will not be a MPR member for very long. And that makes me sad.
CR

I posted here on 2/24/12 and did give Daily Circuit another week. I found that 3 hours of Kerri Miller every day was like enduring a never ending stack of narcissistic holiday letters.

The week after that, I went through mourning just knowing that MPR wasn’t going to change for the better. I mourned for Gary Eichten’s show. I wondered if Gary ever went fishing, camping…heavens, I wondered if he was in a book club and toured Sweden. The fact that I was wondering about things Gary never shared on his show, while he was interviewing guests, made me realize that I was listening too much to Kerri.

Now, the radio is not on MPR 9-noon. I feel sad MPR chose 3 hours to put into one show. All eggs in one basket, so to speak. My suggestion on how to fix (or improve) the Daily Circuit is to return to the old format and add another show at 11am using another host. More baskets to put eggs into.