Signal | WSIU Radio | December 2009

Issue 15: December 2009

Signal

An Online Newsletter from WSIU Public Radio

End the Year with Morning Conversations December 1: Representatives of The Friends of Bald Knob Cross will discuss their ongoing fundraising and restoration project.

December 8: SIU Department of Public Safety Director Todd Sigler and Carbondale Police Chief Jody O’Guinn will talk about crime statistics for the campus of SIUC and the city of Carbondale.

December 15: SIUC Chancellor Sam Goldman will stop by to discuss campus issues and look head to the next year for SIUC.

December 21: SIU President Glenn Poshard will talk about budgets, the new SIUC Chancellor, and more.

December 22: Representatives of the Liberty Theater in Murphysboro will talk about a fundraising and renovation project for the historic theater in Murphysboro.

Tune in to Morning Conversations at 8:30am on Tuesdays and other weekdays, as scheduled. If you miss the live broadcasts, tune in to our podcasts at www.wsiu.org and also follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

SIU President Glenn Poshard.

Photo: Provided.

Robert Lewis Shares Native Stories Native American Storyteller Robert Lewis returned to Southern Illinois on Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20 to perform colorful Native stories and folklore in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

Local Southern Illinoisans interact with Robert Lewis during his performance at SIUC. Photo: Katrina Stackhouse.

Nearly 500 people gathered in Ballroom B of the SIUC Student Center for Lewis’ Carbondale performance. Lewis also engaged an enthusiastic audience of 80 people at Cedarhurst Center for the

Arts in Mt. Vernon. Lewis also performed for hundreds of elementary students at Southeastern Illinois College, Shawnee College, and Pope County Schools.

Lewis is a School and Community Specialist from the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His visit was sponsored by WSIU Public Broadcasting and the Shawnee National Forest.

Carl Kasell Says Goodbye to Morning Newscast Carl Kasell has raised more than a generation of listeners with his calm and authoritative newscast and has been the first voice many people have heard each day. After 30 years of waking up at 1:05am to anchor the top of the hour newscast during Morning Edition, Kasell has decided the time has come to sleep in.

Kasell will leave his newscast post at the end of this year. Happily for

listeners, he will still be spending time on air with the NPR family. Kasell will continue to serve as the Official Judge and Scorekeeper for Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, the show that turned him from a newsman into a rock star! Kasell will also continue his travels to stations around the country on NPR’s behalf.

Tune in to his last newscast on Wednesday, December 30 on WSIU Radio.

Carl Kasell. Photo: Antony Nagelmann.

SIRIS Volunteer Profile: Dylan Cook Meet Dylan Cook, a senior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy. Originally from Bloomington, IL, Cook has comfortably made Carbondale his home during his college career and has willingly given his time to local organizations, including the Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS).

As a student employee with SIRIS, Cook finds the organization’s efforts to be vital for the regional community.

“The premise of SIRIS is to serve as an information service,” he states. ‘“Often the populations that we serve, including the blind and the elderly, have a tendency to get disconnected from their community. SIRIS tries to keep people with visual disabilities in tune with their local society.”

Cook learned of SIRIS through the organization’s director, Vickie Devenport. “During my sophomore year of college, Vickie had a position open for a broadcast programmer.

Considering my interest in community service, we both felt that SIRIS would be the ideal outlet for me to work with.”

Over the two and a half years that Cook has been with SIRIS, his duties have varied. As broadcast programmer, he edited daily recordings to prepare them for air. Today, he serves as the organization’s operations assistant.

Dylan Cook. Photo: Rachel Snow.

Cook feels that public broadcasting, in general, also puts communities in tune with local news and events. “Public broadcasting is another avenue for people to stay connected to what is going on around them.”

Now that Cook is preparing to graduate from SIUC this December, he would like to express appreciation to SIRIS and its community for their support throughout his time of employment with the organization. “Thank you to Vickie Devenport and the volunteer readers for allowing me the opportunity to work with SIRIS.”

When Cook is not attending class or working with SIRIS, he enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and also taking roadtrips across the country.

Learn how you can give back to your community as a SIRIS volunteer by calling (618) 453-2808 or clicking on the SIRIS tab online at wsiu.org.

SIRIS Upcoming Events and Announcements Below are announcements from the Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS) regarding occasions approaching at the end-of-the year.

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The SIRIS Advisory Board will host its Annual Holiday Luncheon for SIRIS volunteer readers on Thursday, December 3 at the SIRIS location. All volunteers are invited to come anytime between noon and 2pm to enjoy lunch and have an opportunity to meet other volunteers and the Board.

This month, Dylan Cook, SIRIS student daily operations assistant, will be graduating and leaving the service. Dylan has worked at SIRIS for two and one half years, and he will be

missed greatly! We wish him well as he ventures out into the world and a career in his field!

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SIRIS will be closed during SIUC’s semester break from Saturday, December 19, 2009 to January 18, 2010.

WSIU Radio Programming Update Listeners, please be reminded that WSIU Radio has issued several changes this month to its Sunday programming.

Beginning Sunday, December 6, WSIU Radio will slightly alter its afternoon program line-up. You will still hear the same great programs – just at a different time.

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SIRIS volunteer readers Jim DeYoung (l) and Pat Harward enjoy a meal during last year’s holiday luncheon.

Photo: Vickie Devenport.

Travel with Rick Steves - Moves from 3pm to 2pm on Sundays Planetary Radio - Moves from 2pm to 3pm on Sundays State Week in Review - Moves from 2:30pm to 3:30pm on Sundays

Weekend All Things Considered will continue to air in its current afternoon spot at 4pm on Sundays.

Underwriter Profile: Blacklock Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors and her team provide investment services, asset management tools and comprehensive financial advice using a holistic approach toward various stages of life. Barbara notes that “I’m proud to be with Wells Fargo Advisors because of its history and reputation as an American institution.”

Barbara Blacklock. Photo: Arthur Agency.

WSIU Radio news, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Fresh Air, are underwritten in part

by Barbara Blacklock, Managing Director - Investments, Blacklock Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors in Carbondale. Wells Fargo Advisors is a registered broker-dealer and separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, providing financial advisory, brokerage, asset management and other financial services (member, SIPC). According to Barbara, she

Barbara Blacklock is a longtime supporter and also underwrites WSIU Public Television. She says, “I began underwriting WSIU Radio because I think that WSIU listeners share common interests in terms of education, intelligence, and sophistication, and understand the scope of financial issues.” Barbara personally enjoys listening to news, classical music, and Zorba Paster.

Barbara would recommend WSIU program underwriting because “… the dollars invested in WSIU bring you value. You can hear the outcome, it creates something real -- programs that people care about. It has benefited my business through the community recognition and positive association with WSIU’s quality. It’s about shared values in terms of trust, ethics, and service. When I’m out in the community, people actually thank me for underwriting, they mention how much they appreciate our sponsoring WSIU.”

“It’s important for the community to support public radio. As a listener it becomes part of your daily routine... you can count on it. WSIU Radio is

Barbara can be contacted at Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. 1401 Financial Park, Carbondale, IL 62902, (618) 457-8145.

Thank You, Underwriters!

Together, our members and underwriters make public radio possible! Please join us in thanking the underwriters who recently began or renewed their partnerships: The EarthWays Center of Missouri Botanical Garden Sujatha Rao, M.D. of Hem-Onc Care Rend Lake Resort & Conference Center SIUC Division of Continuing Education SIUC School of Art and Design To see a complete list of WSIU underwriters and information about underwriting WSIU programming through your business, group, or organization, please visit us online at www.wsiu.org, or call (618) 453-4286.

an important educational resource that quickly brings you up to speed.

Credibility is at the forefront of everything you hear.”

Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 6pm Dec 5 • New Releases Last chance to suggest a release for Album of the Year. Tune in to great selections from new and recent Celtic albums.

Dec 12 • Thirty Years Ago (Best of 1979, Part Two) Irish and Scottish traditional recordings were on the upswing in the late 1970s, and this week we look back 30 years ago to some of the albums that were released that year.

Dec 19 • A Celtic Christmas Join us for a Celtic Christmas celebration, drawing from a rich variety of Christmas albums including Irish,

Scottish, English, and North American performers. Sorry, no Bing Crosby songs!

Dec 26 • The Holly and the Ivy Americans have a fascination with a Dickensian English Christmas/Yuletide season, and we will fuel that fascination this week with English traditional music for the holidays.

Dec 31 • Best of 2009 Tune in to find out which album is selected as the Celtic Connections Album of the Year for 2009. Past recipients are listed on our website, www.celticconnectionsradio.org.

WSIU Public Radio Communications Building 1003 - Mail Code 6602 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 1100 Lincoln Drive Carbondale IL 62901 • 618/453-6101 • wsiu.org • wsiuradio@wsiu.org