Author: Brian Lambert

  • Why Does MPR Fight with Virginia Christian Rockers?

    (UPDATED): After wasting almost three days trying to get some illumination on Minnesota Public Radio’s on-going/protracted fight with a tiny Christian Rock station in Norfolk, Virginia — and getting stonewalled by that station, its Christian attorneys in D.C. and a bland press release from MPR — I finally connected with Steve Behrens, editor of Currents…

  • Are You Among Par's Chosen People?

    Former City Pages editor, Steve Perry, has been busy tunneling through some juicy news troves as he prepares to launch his much anticipated website, The Daily Mole, (Think: A young, hip, bra-less version of MinnPost). In the process, he came across an interesting piece of Star Tribune in-house stategery, (as W* would say) that we…

  • A Little Perspective on That Gas Tax Poll

    The Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll, now out-sourced to New Jersey, has been in heavy play this past week. For decades a valuable snapshot of Minnesota attitudes, the Poll, as many of you know, was seriously down-sized under McClatchy ownership and “right-sized” into oblivion by Avista Capital Partners. The Poll’s most recent director, Rob Daves, was…

  • Back in the Saddle Again

    I admit I had a few, fleeting concerns that my new partner, Ms. Rybak, might need a while to find her swing here in blogland. The daily newspaper grind is a pretty confining habit to break on a moment’s notice. In Capital “J” journalism one is expected to treat all subjects with equal respect, as…

  • Local Radio. It Ain't Pretty.

    A commenter asks Ms. Rybak and me to say something about the sorry state — make that “the perpetually sorry state” of Twin Cities radio, since people have been complaining about how dull, dim-witted, choked-with-advertising and uninspired local radio is since I started paying attention to it back in 1989. It’s not like it has…

  • Niggling with "The War"

    Proving once again that if God himself arrived on Earth X% of the chattering classes would complain that his luminous vestments were not luminous enough, his beard had split ends, his diction was stilted and (for balance) Satan thought him intellectually lacking, the niggling over Ken Burns’ “The War” has begun. OK, so we’re off…