We had some questions about finding recordings on the web recently. One listener asked: “I have been trying for months to listen to the Friday news round up but cannot figure out how to get to it. Is there an app or SOME way to stream it after I’ve missed it? Thanks.” This had us wondering what program she was looking for. Our News Director Ben Schachtman guessed that it was the series 1A, and he wrote to send her a link to the NPR website where 1A posts their episodes daily. The other way to find recordings of NPR news programs is to download the NPR app and use the search function. Be sure to localize the NPR app to WHQR as your local station.
We also got questions about our local programs. We recently broadcast a special program in partnership with the Lower Cape Fear YWCA to bring their series “Talk on Health” to a wider audience. One listener asked “How do I find a previously broadcasted show? I heard the Talk on Health episode on childhood trauma has aired, but I missed it. Can someone send me a link to the episode or tell me how to find it?” This program is not available on the WHQR website yet. Right now the only place to find that program is on Facebook on the YWCA Lower Cape Fear page. We will be
adding this series to the WHQR website under the WHQR Presents banner on our Podcasts page soon. Please stay tuned.
Another listener had a question about Smooth Landing: “I’ve been trying to get access to the Smooth Landings playlist for this Tuesday. I’ve tried using your website but it doesn’t respond after I input the date. All I see are a few titles from several years ago. I live in northeastern NC but often tune in to the program when I’m visiting family in southeastern NC. I heard a cover version of the CSN song Long Time Coming and I’m eager to hear it again and to share it with a friend. Thanks for your time and for the great programming.”
Host George Scheibner responded, writing “Last week was overly busy for me dealing with radio engineering work while fighting a nasty sinus cold. I won’t bore you with details. The track you heard was “Long Time GONE” covered by Austin-based singer songwriter Ruthie Foster along with the Blind Boys of Alabama. It’s from her CD “Let it Burn”. I’ll try to be more regular in posting playlists in the future. It’s good to know you are out there listening.” That’s right, not only is George Scheibner the voice of WHQR and the host of Smooth Landing and Soup To Nuts Live, he’s also helping keep us on the air in engineering. As a result, the playlist just doesn’t make it to the website. We apologize for that.
We got this complaint from a longtime listener recently: “I am a listener and supporter since Greenfield St days. Lately I have been annoyed by the interjection of local stories into Weekend Edition Saturday. These stories have been aired all week and don't need repetition.” Program Director Ken Campbell responded, writing:
“You may be what we in the industry call a "core listener"-- someone who spends a lot of time with the station. We are certainly grateful for that and it's core listeners like you that are the foundation of our support.
The flip side of that is that if we do encore a piece, you would understandably find that unnecessary. But the fact about radio is that not everyone who listens to the station listens at all hours and it makes good sense to play a feature that we've spent a reporter's time and effort on at different times for different audiences. I'm sorry that this bothers you and I'm sure you're not alone, but we do like to make sure our reporters' work runs more than just one time, if possible.
We love to get your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, or X, or email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.