NPR and Satellite Radio

Will NPR grow up and offer real programming on satellite radio?

I am not trying to belittle that which NPR offers on Sirius Satellite Radio. They offer some pretty good stuff, however they avoid the meat of their programming. "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" are not available via satellite.

Now I am a truckdriver. I am a prime candidate for satellite radio. Nothing would please me more then paying $12 a month to reliably get "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" via satellite. But that is not what Sirius is doing. Sirius is offering obscene amounts of money to Howard Stern for his brand of broadcasting while NPR can't figure out a way to turn the meat of their efforts into revenue. I have heard Howard might eventually turn his fluff into as much as $400 million from Sirius alone. Can't NPR figure out how to ride the cash cow?

I understand why NPR does not want to offer their "tent poles" to satellite radio. It might undercut local Public Radio stations and their bi-annual fund drives. But for me the local stations do not cut it. Broad swathes of our nation are not served by Public Radio stations. Don't let me start on how pissed off I get when I travel from one radio footprint where "All Things Considered" is just starting into another where it is just ending due to different programming schedules.

As for anyone else traveling trying to tune into public radio, stick to the low end of the FM dial. Notable exceptions include Des Moines, IA where NPR talk is on the AM dial (with a high power signal and a big footprint) but this is the exception.

All we can do is hope that NPR one day learns how to milk the cow instead of being run over in the stampede. You would think all the intellectuals in NPR could figure out how to turn a buck like Howard Stern. Is Howard really that much more brilliant then they are? I already know NPR has better programming then Howard.