# Garrison Keillor--get off the goddamn radio! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091 "2005-12-17T20:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/41 "2005-12-19T03:06:58Z")
I’m always amazed that people who are so adamant in their dislike for a particular show, appear to be very well-versed in its content. Really, if it doesn’t appeal to you, why waste time with it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/42 "2005-12-19T05:50:17Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > I’m always amazed that people who are so adamant in their dislike for a particular show, appear to be very well-versed in its content. > > Really, if it doesn’t appeal to you, why waste time with it. Uh, where have I shown myself to be well-versed in its content? I know its some soporific bullshit about a small town, that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/43 "2005-12-19T07:07:42Z")
I repeat: If you don’t like it, don’t frickin’ listen. Others do, and they will. Until you’re in charge of programming at your local public radio station, that’s your only option. I’m not making any demands for the entire Fox News lineup to be taken off the air. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/44 "2005-12-19T14:02:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I can take or leave Keillor. Most of my negative reaction to him is that the brother of a good friend (I know- cousin’s nephew’s father-in-law’s barber’s brother, but I do know the person) was a writer on his show and says that he is an absolutely dreadful and abusive person to the people who work for him. He has mentioned his extremely high turnover of writers, but he blames it on the low wages he can pay compared to television or other venues. Mike Nelson paints a pretty damning portrait of Keillor in his novel _Death Rat_. “Gus Bromstad” is a hollow, insecure, sociopathic crank who’s nevertheless managed to become a beloved icon of simple folksy charm. Funny stuff. I agree with everything in the OP. I had a girlfriend who was into Keillor and PHC (her family were German Lutherans—pretty much Lake Wobegone archetypes). One of my most grueling memories is of listening to the Wobegone tapes I got her one year for Christmas. There was a song about meatballs that must have used the word “lovingly” 80 times; I still hear it in my nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/45 "2005-12-19T14:41:37Z")
Nitpick: Ain’t no German Lutherans in Lake Wobegon. The population is divided neatly between German Catholics, Norwegian Lutherans, and a scattering of Scotch-Irish-Canadian Sanctified Brethren (the Keillors, and Louie the bank teller from _Lake Wobegon Days_). I used to like this guy but I just got tired of his gasping burbling simper. (O-o-o-o-ooh! Chon-ny!") And his just-a-hayseed-in-the-city airs on the _American Radio Company_, while subtly associating himself with the urban, the urbane, and Bob Elliott. And the dull grimness of a lot of the books (_WLT_, for instance). And the sentimental windups. And the cute doggerel poetry. You wanna know what Garrison is? He’s not the yuppie Lawrence Welk. He’s in some ways worse: he’s _the thinking person’s Arthur Godfrey._ ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/46 "2005-12-19T14:46:04Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > I repeat: If you don’t like it, don’t frickin’ listen. > > Others do, and they will. > > Until you’re in charge of programming at your local public radio station, that’s your only option. > > I’m not making any demands for the entire Fox News lineup to be taken off the air. Actually it’s not. During your local radio station’s annual membership drive, you can call in and mention your favorite shows. If no one mentioned PHC, it would soon disappear from your station. Money, of course, talks louder than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/47 "2005-12-19T14:47:48Z")
\ > [@JonScribe](#): > > I’m not making any demands for the entire Fox News lineup to be taken off the air. I for one would be overjoyed if they canned everybody but Alisyn Camerota, Page Hopkins, Janice Dean, Julie Banderas, Lis Wiehl, and the panel of _Fox News Watch._ \ ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/48 "2005-12-19T15:07:52Z")
I’m not sure what a seething Pit harangue is doing in Cafe Society, but what the hell. What I will say is that the OP doesn’t really invite difference of opinion, is itself arrogant, unnecessarily belittling and prompts a huge: What accomplishments have you? Keillor’s shtick has not aged particularly well, but he is beloved by legions of listeners and tolerance on your part isn’t a bad idea. I’ve tuned in to a few recent shows on drives to and from the airport, and have chuckled at certain parts. Overall, the show isn’t for me, but his live performances sell out everywhere and if people enjoy him, what’s it to you? I’ve also read some of Keillor’s magazine articles (sorry, no cites) in years past and have been impressed at his prose–blows away anything I’ve ever found on this board. I don’t listen to Writer’s Almanac, but if you can do a better job, send a query to PBS. I can think of many other media personalities I’d like off the air before Keillor, among them Howard Stern. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/49 "2005-12-19T15:11:51Z")
Well, I’ve never listened to “Writer’s Almanac” (and didn’t even know it existed), and have never read any columns by Keillor, so I can’t address those beefs. I do occasionally listen to _A Prairie Home Companion_ and enjoy it every time I do. I also enjoy the “tired and stale jokes” of _Car Talk_ that people seem to be hatin’. I also like most of the Public Radio lineup. :: shrug :: Different strokes, and all that. But I do dislike _Wadda Ya Know_, so maybe that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/50 "2005-12-19T15:30:07Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > You wanna know what Garrison is? He’s not the yuppie Lawrence Welk. He’s in some ways worse: he’s _the thinking person’s Arthur Godfrey._ You probably have to be of a certain age to understand this comment, but I bow to **Beware of Doug** ’s insight. I think he’s nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/51 "2005-12-19T15:30:30Z")
The sad but boring truth is that NPR, like CBS, skews older, particularly toward people with **Wendell Wagner** ’s demographic: Well-educated Baby Boomers with money. They throw in “This American Life” to try to attract younger listeners, but the truth is that NPR appeals to an older audience. This audience loves PHC. It’s that kinder, gentler humor that people whine isn’t being done anymore. It’s sort of the anti-Stern. And as long as this audience is moved to pledge every year, it’s going to stay on the air. Don’t like it? Pledge during a show you do like; this is how member stations measure their audiences. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/52 "2005-12-19T15:35:39Z")
BTW, **Aeschines** , no disrespect to you, but you’re too intelligent to let a radio show get you so wound up. It’s silly. You might as well hate gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/53 "2005-12-19T15:35:53Z")
What **commasense** said. Oh, and I went to see the show this summer and it was the best theatre experience I’d had in years. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/54 "2005-12-19T15:36:49Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > The sad but boring truth is that NPR, like CBS, skews older, particularly toward people with **Wendell Wagner** ’s demographic: Well-educated Baby Boomers with money. They throw in “This American Life” to try to attract younger listeners, but the truth is that NPR appeals to an older audience. > > This audience loves PHC. It’s that kinder, gentler humor that people whine isn’t being done anymore. It’s sort of the anti-Stern. And as long as this audience is moved to pledge every year, it’s going to stay on the air. Don’t like it? Pledge during a show you do like; this is how member stations measure their audiences. > > Robin Yeah, let’s just keep Stern off PBS. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/55 "2005-12-19T15:48:09Z")
Let’s rant in the Pit and not in Cafe Society. TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/56 "2005-12-19T15:57:08Z")
MsRobyn writes: \> The sad but boring truth is that NPR, like CBS, skews older, particularly toward \> people with Wendell Wagner’s demographic: Well-educated Baby Boomers with \> money. Oh, wow, now I’m a demographic. Actually, I’m probably on the younger edge of the audience for NPR: Well-educated (and probably somewhat better off than average) people between 50 and 70. That’s not really Baby Boomers specifically. It’s more like people anywhere between the decade before the Baby Boom to somewhere in the middle of the Baby Boom. I suspect the younger Baby Boomers don’t listen to NPR much. Although I contribute to NPR and PBS, I don’t listen to much radio anymore. A few years ago I started listening to courses on tapes while I drive to work. Occasionally I listen to bits of the weekday interview shows and the news on NPR, but I just don’t happen to listen to much weekend radio at all. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/57 "2005-12-19T16:20:05Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > You probably have to be of a certain age to understand this comment, but I bow to **Beware of Doug** ’s insight. I think he’s nailed it. [Tony Marvin] “that’s right Arthur.” [/Tony Marvin] I agree! that’s a most accurate, subtle and perceptive comment **Beware of Doug**. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/58 "2005-12-19T16:20:54Z")
Thank you, **Carnac** , for a couple of apt comments. **Aeschines** , you seem to have an irrational personal resentment toward Keillor. I haven’t re-read every one of your posts, but I don’t recall any reasoned critiques, especially of PHC. You just say that everything Keillor does is shit. This dismissal of 25 years of original and creative work that has entertained millions, whether you personally like it or not, is childish and beneath contempt. And although you mention a few NPR shows you like (e.g. _Fresh Air_) you have offered no suggestions for what you’d rather see in place of PHC, _Whad’Ya Know_, and the other stuff you clearly don’t like. As I said in my last post, I won’t stand up and defend _The Writer’s Almanac_, but I get the sense that even if Keillor read the kind of poetry you like, you wouldn’t be satisfied. Something else seems to be going on here. Did Keillor kill your brother, **Aeschines**? Personally, I don’t like _The Thistle and Shamrock_. Just not into Scottish and Irish music that much, although clearly quite a few other people are. So I don’t listen. And I don’t go around dumping on Fiona Ritchie, who I’m sure is a very nice lady. And even if she’s a bitch from hell, that’s not my problem. Keillor may be an egomaniacal pompous ass. Many people in show business, and the real world, are. I think he is intelligent and well-read and funny. I like at least one of his radio shows and listen whenever I can. Sorry if you don’t feel the same way, **Aeschines**. Surely there are other things you can do on the weekends. (And thanks, **Cliffy** , for your support.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/59 "2005-12-19T16:28:48Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > > [@Beware of Doug](#): > > > > …he’s the thinkiing person’s Arthur Godfrey. > > You probably have to be of a certain age to understand this comment, but I bow to **Beware of Doug** ’s insight. I think he’s nailed it. Why thanks. For those of you not yet in your dotage, here’s [Wikipedia’s entry on Godfrey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Godfrey), one of the biggest names in radio and TV in the 1940s and 50s. Folksy, deep-voiced, eccentric, modestly talented, surrounded himself with great talent, and apparently a real stinker in private life (and sometimes in public as well). ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091/60 "2005-12-19T18:14:39Z")
So Keillor’s a jerk off air? Whoop-de-doo. So was [Arthur Fiedler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Fiedler), beloved [grandfatherly-looking](http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drg700/g782/g78202wf0fd.jpg) conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for umpteen years. Should his impact, for good or ill, on the world of classical music be measured by his private persona? As it happens, I didn’t start listening to APHC until a few years ago. It’s not Great Art For The Ages but it’s pleasant, often amusing, and offers an enjoyable mix of guest musicians. I’ve heard some wonderful artists whose music I never would have encountered otherwise. Plus on Saturday evenings it leads into two back-to-back broadcasts of [_Says You!_](http://www.wgbh.org/radio/saysyou/index), and if the money Keillor brings in helps to keep that show on the air, it’s fine by me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garrison-keillor-get-off-the-goddamn-radio/336091.md?page=4)