We got a concerning email from a listener about the WHQR app recently. He wrote “Yesterday I went to my WHQR app on my phone and said there was an update. I clicked on the update, and the little spinning wheel is still spinning, about 26 hours later?” Ah, technology. The WHQR app was recently updated. We wrote back to this listener that the best course of action was to delete the app and re-download it. Other listeners wrote to us that some of the stories they saw featured on the app after the update were from 2020. Others wrote that they could no longer find their favorite podcasts on the app. We’ve been working with our app developer to fix these problems and hope to have the new app in shape soon. This struggle puts me in mind of the IT expert who told me once “Well, I fixed three things but broke two others, so I declared victory and walked away.”
We got another email about the upcoming Little Lunch Music concert at WHQR next Monday by students from the Vivace Music Festival. She wrote “I noticed in the email I received today from WHQR that some of the young performers in the Vivace Music Festival will be at the WHQR studio Monday, August 4, at noon. In an email I received from Vivace a couple of days ago, it says that the Monday, August 4, performance at WHQR will be at 1 p.m. Please clarify the time of the August 4 event”. I’m happy to do that. Next Monday’s concert of the young performers from the Vivace Music Festival will be at 1 PM, not noon. WHQR’s Little Lunch Music concerts are normally held at noon, but the organizers of Vivace have notified us that they cannot get to the WHQR studios by noon, so it’s now one hour later, at 1 PM. This is a performance we all look forward to, so I encourage you to come down to 254 North Front Street on Monday at 1 PM if you possibly can for this free concert.
I want to close this week with a heartfelt thank you from all our staff to everyone who donated during last week’s “emergency” pledge drive. The response was overwhelming, and your comments warmed our hearts. It made us all so happy to hear how our community valued what we do. We heard comments like “A democracy requires an informed citizenry. NPR keeps me and thousands of others informed, “ “We value public radio and understand in these turbulent times that we must support the great work of our local station,” “ “Excellent local new coverage and fact-based national/global news, plus great cultural program, including Smooth Landings” and “I listen all day to classical HQR. It keeps me intact;while all around me are losing their heads” with a hat tip to Rudyard Kipling. This gives us great hope for the year ahead, our first year without federal funding. Again, thanks from our staff to you.
We love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. You can email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.