Do we really need two public radio stations in Boston?
Trying to get in tune with the political times, GBH, Boston's other National Public Radio-affiliated station, launched a
'
in 2023
.
The news show was intended to help combat polarization and give voice to listeners in red America. On a recent Thursday night, I drove home listening to an episode, broadcast from Birmingham, Ala., about the Christian right. It lived up to its name and featured a perfectly civil conversation between an author and a minister.
With advertising revenue dropping at WBUR and expenses taking a toll at GBH,
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Boston is one of only four cities that has the luxury of two NPR stations; the others are Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. So the Boston public stations will suffer twice the pain if government backing is lost, even though only a
of their funding comes from taxpayers.
The city does lean liberal, and WBUR and GBH have cultivated their own loyal audiences over the years. Lunch time wouldn't be the same without 'Jim and Margery,' Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, who cohost and quibble during their daily call-in 'Boston Public Radio' show on GBH, which often gives airtime to the state's top political figures. The live news production 'Here and Now' is consistently WBUR's top-rated show and can be heard in 90 percent of the country. WBUR reaches approximately 387,000 listeners each week, and GBH has a weekly audience of 299,000, according to
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Still, a hard question lingers in the Boston air: Do we really need two NPR affiliates in Boston? Rather than cutting both operations to the bone and seeing a decline in the quality of their programs, might it be wiser to merge the two stations? I can already hear the howls of rage across the city coming from our highly educated, affluent population — NPR's target audience.
The question has been asked previously and rejected. GBH's Goldberg, who moved to Boston after a successful run at National Geographic,
said last week that speculation about a merger was premature.
NPR
And given the loss of so many newspapers over the past decade and so much of
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Trump would consider seeing an NPR station disappear as a victory. That's one big reason not to merge GBH and WBUR.
In February 2019 I gave one of the first public talks in CitySpace, to promote my latest book, 'Merchants of Truth.' As senior WBUR executives proudly showed me around, I did wonder whether a public radio station could afford this crystal palace. Maybe we will soon know the answer.
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Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
NEW ORLEANS -- A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state's public school classrooms is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state, and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students — especially those who are not Christian. The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. Backers of the law argue the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because they are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law. The plaintiffs' attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court's decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit. 'All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,' said Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs. The appeals court's rulings 'interpret the law for all of Louisiana,' Hayes added. "Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she disagreed and believed the ruling only applied to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit and that she would seek to appeal the ruling. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana school children from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion. The mandate was signed into law last June by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The court's ruling backs an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision. Law experts have long said they expect the Louisiana case to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, testing the conservative court on the issue of religion and government. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion.' The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose. In 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin.
American Press
2 hours ago
- American Press
Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday signed a bill mandating the displays of the 10 Commandments in all Louisiana public schools. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press) A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state's public school classrooms is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state, and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students — especially those who are not Christian. The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. Backers of the law argue the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because they are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law. The plaintiffs' attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court's decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit. 'All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,' said Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs. The appeals court's rulings 'interpret the law for all of Louisiana,' Hayes added. 'Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she disagreed and believed the ruling only applied to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit and that she would seek to appeal the ruling. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana school children from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion. The mandate was signed into law last June by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The court's ruling backs an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision. Law experts have long said they expect the Louisiana case to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, testing the conservative court on the issue of religion and government. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion.' The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose. In 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state's public school classrooms is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state, and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students — especially those who are not Christian. The mandate has been touted by Republicans, including President Trump, and marks one of the latest pushes by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms. Backers of the law argue the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because they are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law. The plaintiffs' attorneys and Louisiana disagreed on whether the appeals court's decision applied to every public school district in the state or only the districts party to the lawsuit. 'All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,' said Liz Hayes, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs. The appeals court's rulings 'interpret the law for all of Louisiana,' Hayes added. 'Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.' Louisiana Atty. Gen. Liz Murrill said she disagreed and believed the ruling applied only to school districts in the five parishes that were party to the lawsuit and that she would seek to appeal the ruling. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' order stems from a lawsuit filed last year by parents of Louisiana schoolchildren from various religious backgrounds, who said the law violates 1st Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion. The mandate was signed into law last June by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The court's ruling backs an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision. Law experts have long said they expect the Louisiana case to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, testing the conservative court on the issue of religion and government. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion.' The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose. In 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin. Cline and Brook write for the Associated Press.
