Signal WSIU Public Radio
An Online Newsletter
Vol. 6, No. 6 • June 2013
This Month on Morning Conversation June 4 • The Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale will preview their Summer Camps and other summer activities for kids. June 11 • SIU Carbondale Chancellor Rita Cheng June 18 • Café Society. We’ll preview the next meeting of this statewide Illinois Humanities Council conversation series. June 24 • SIU President Glenn Poshard Scott Ballard, a herpetologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, teaches Carbondale Boys & Girls Club members about the American alligator at a 2012 summer camp. Photo: Boys & Girls Club.
Morning Conversation airs at 8:30am on Tuesdays and other weekdays, as scheduled, and repeats at 5:30pm. For updates, check the Morning Conversation Calendar at wsiu.org/programs morning-conversation. Host Jennifer Fuller
Summer 2013 Community Support Celebration June 24-28 | 800-745-9748 or wsiu.org/pledge Join WSIU Radio as we celebrate the season and all of the great programs you enjoy every day on WSIU with our 2013 Summer Community Support Celebration! Your financial support is more important than ever as we approach the end of the fiscal SIU student Nicole Kmiotek answers year on June 30. Your gifts not the phone during WSIU’s Fall 2012 only help to pay for the unique Community Support Celebration. Photo: Monica Tichenor. programming that’s only available on WSIU Radio, they also help us leverage federal dollars for the coming year. If you’ve ever wondered how your dollars make a difference, here’s how! In the past year, you’ve helped us:
smooth jazz, and blues, and the local series Computer Ed exploring the latest in computer news and technologies; • add the local feature SIU Reviews, featuring movie reviews by Dr. Walter Metz of SIU Cinema & Photography, and MCMA Ph.D. student Liz Faber; • expand the number of monthly episodes on our local news program Morning Conversation; • provide coverage of 2012 election races and the Governor’s State of the State and Budget Messages; • sponsor an SIU campus Soundwalk with Sounds Like Radio host Dave Armstrong; and • host a successful trivia night fundraiser for SIRIS, our radio service for individuals who are sight-impaired.
• launch a second HD channel, WSIU 91.9 HD-2, which brings you the best in News & Talk radio;
Our phone and on-air volunteers are also key to WSIU Radio’s success. Join us at this year’s event and enjoy camaraderie with public radio fans – and great snacks!
• debut our new local series, Magic Soul with DJ Sweets, bringing you the sweet sounds of soul, neo-soul, R&B,
To sign up, contact Susan Patrick at (618) 453-6184 or susan.patrick@wsiu.org. Thank you for your support!
Meet SIRIS Summer Operations Manager
David Whitfield
WSIU Radio membership drives. He also writes and records the radio station’s oneminute segment at 6pm featuring WSIU-TV’s primetime lineup. Whitfield says that his experiences at WSIU Radio have helped to prepare him for his new role as Summer Operations Manager for SIRIS.
“I spend a lot of time organizing and prioritizing tasks at SIRIS, such as deciding which local newspapers need to be read first,” he says. “I coordinate the volunteers’ schedules, supervise their work, and edit recordings. I also send SIRIS applications and radios to new users.” David Whitfield. Photo: Robby Ballard
David Whitfield is a strong believer in the power of communication to impact lives and communities in a significant way, which is why the Cairo, Illinois native is pursuing a Ph.D. in SIU Carbondale’s Speech Communication program, with a focus on intercultural communication and pedagogy. “I’m interested in how people communicate within and across cultures,” says Whitfield. “I’m also exploring how to make the study of intercultural communication accessible to students in the classroom.” After high school, Whitfield briefly attended NIU in DeKalb and worked in Chicago. At 23, he joined the U.S. Air Force where he served eight years active duty and three years in the reserves. While based at Scott Air Force Base, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Workforce Education through SIU’s military program. After completing his military service, Whitfield worked at Chicago Title, a subsidiary of Fidelity National Title Group, before returning to SIU to earn a Master’s degree in Workforce Education and to enroll in his current Ph.D. program. While working on his Master’s degree, Whitfield got involved with the Saluki Volunteer Corps, which led to rewarding work at a nursing home and a food pantry in Murphysboro. “When summer rolled around, I thought I’d explore new possibilities,” he says. “I saw WSIU Radio on the list and thought, with so many students gone for the summer, the station might need help.” Over the past year, Whitfield has worked as a board operator, written and recorded promos, and served as on-air talent during
Whitfield praises his volunteers for their dedication and initiative. “Some of them bring newspapers from St. Louis and other cities, so our listeners can enjoy something a little different,” he says. “ We also read sale circulars and promote local events like HerrinFesta Italiana. I’m also hoping to build our supply of evergreen programs, so volunteers who show up unexpectedly have quality content they can read for us to use at a later time.” While attending an outreach presentation with SIRIS director, Vickie Devenport, who is retiring this summer, Whitfield met SIRIS users face-to-face – an experience that moved him deeply. “I saw how SIRIS impacts individual lives in such a personal way. It makes me feel honored to be part of this service.” “Unless you live in a world without sight, you really don’t understand what it’s like to be cut off from the world. When I was younger, I gave money to charity, but didn’t understand the value of donating my time and energy to a cause. Getting down in the trenches, getting involved personally and seeing how what you do can make a difference is life-changing.” Whitfield is a long-time PBS and NPR fan. “I discovered BBC America and Britcoms when I moved away from the area and started listening to All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Fresh Air on NPR. But, I absolutely love Car Talk! The Tappit brothers are so funny! I never get tired of listening.” He also enjoys WSIU Radio’s local news, Morning Conversation, Magic Soul, Rhythm in Bloom, Sounds Like Radio, Reading Baseball, and election programs. Whitfield also greatly values WSIU-TV’s local programs. “Shows like Expressions, WSIU InFocus, Studio A...they are all great examples of WSIU’s role as an outreach arm for the University. That’s powerful.”
Whitfield says working with WSIU staff has been a valuable experience. “I really appreciate the opportunity to work with staff like Lisa Morrisette, Jennifer Fuller, Jeff Williams, Brad Palmer, Vickie Devenport, and Jak Tichenor, and to interact with other volunteers and students. I am always impressed by the station staff’s talent and their commitment to provide the region with the best programs and services.” Looking ahead, Whitfield is hoping to launch a teaching career. “I didn’t know I would love teaching as much as I do,” he says. “I want to use my education and experiences to make a difference – to keep finding opportunities to learn and grow, and to give back to the community. I’m trying to be in the spaces where those opportunities surface.” To learn more about SIRIS or to find out how to volunteer, contact Whitfield at (618) 453-2808 or david.whitfield@wsiu.org.
SIRIS Director to Retire It is with great sadness that we announce the retirement of SIRIS director and adult outreach coordinator Vickie Devenport (right) on June 30. Since 2006, Vickie has provided visionary leadership for SIRIS – upgrading the automation system, expanding services, securing additional funding, building new and strengthening existing partnerships, revitalizing the SIRIS board, and raising awareness about this vital community service. As adult outreach coordinator, Vickie also has led many community engagement projects, including Excellence is Color Blind: Facing History & Ourselves in Southern Illinois, Honor & Sacrifice: WSIU Remembers WWII, Science Cafés, WSIU & SIRIS at the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival, Cherokee Storyteller Robert Lewis, Illinois PBS LearningMedia, and Community Cinema, to name a few. Look for an expanded article about Vickie and the many lives she has touched in the July issue of Signal!
What’s the Scoop? Dollar for Dollar none of us knows for certain which ones will rise in the future. What we can control are the fees we pay for the equities we buy.
Buying Art | Morning Edition, Week of June 10 It’s a hard time to be a saver. The average interest rate for a savings account at a major bank is a measly 0.1 percent, according to Bankrate.com. If your savings are stashed in one of those accounts, you’re actually losing money to inflation, which is running at about 1-1/2 percent annual rate. Given those dismal numbers, what do you do with your savings?
The Internet makes collecting and even investing in art accessible to all. NPR’s Uri Berliner pays $450 for a painting he’s only seen online by an artist he’s never heard of. Is it an investment or simply a painting he’s happy to have hanging on the wall? Does the answer matter?
NPR’s senior business editor Uri Berliner sets out to find out in Dollar for Dollar, a weekly series that explains how various investments work. He’ll take $5,000 from his personal savings and explore the options, from stocks to real estate to buying consumer goods in bulk to acquiring art.
The simplest way to invest in real estate is through a REIT, or real estate investment trust. It’s how many Americans include real estate in their retirement accounts. REITs generate income for investors by leasing the commercial properties they own and manage. As NPR’s Uri Berliner reports, what counts as “real estate” in a REIT keeps expanding.
Cheap Funds | Morning Edition, Week of June 3
Investing in the stock market can be a daunting experience. There are so many stocks and funds to choose from, and
Real Estate Investing | Morning Edition, Week of June 17
Final Segment TBD | Morning Edition, Week of June 24
The Acoustic Nature Hour with Kevin Boucher Sundays 2am WSIU Radio & WSIU 91.9 HD-1
Sundays 5am
WSIU Radio 91.9 HD-2 Kevin Boucher, Traffic Manager for WSIU Radio and a twodegree graduate of the SIU College of Mass Communication & Media Arts, invites you to unplug and unwind in this Photo: Robby Ballard. soothing new local series. The one-hour program combines acoustic guitar music with the sounds of nature and stories of nature experiences as told by hikers, campers, and others who love spending time in the beautiful natural areas of southern Illinois. “My hope is that this program will provide listeners with the same excitement and peace I find when I spend time outdoors,” says Boucher. “Using the magical ‘theater of the mind’, one-on-one quality that is the strength of radio, I hope to create awareness of the beautiful natural areas right here in southern Illinois. In our hectic, cubicle-controlled, increasingly online lives, I feel there is a tremendous need for all of us to reconnect with our planet.” Share your comments, questions, and nature stories at kevinboucher1989@yahoo.com.
Holy Rhubarb! Bring Spring to the Table with These Tasty Recipes Rhubarb, the pink and green vegetable usually available only from April to July, is as fleeting and lovely as spring. It’s name is also baseball slang for a brawl! (We’ll have to share this tidbit with Pete Peterson of Reading Baseball). Food writer Nicole Spiridakis shares her rhubarb obsession with Kitchen Window readers through recipes for scones, syrups, and even a salad. Get started at http://npr.org/kitchenwindow.
Thank You Underwriters! Please join us in thanking the underwriters who recently began, renewed, or expanded their partnership to make public radio possible:
Carbondale Main Street, Carbondale IL Etcetera Flowers, Fine Gifts, and Gourmet, Marion, IL School of Music at SIU, Carbondale, IL Department of Theater at SIU, Carbondale IL
Saturday 7pm • Sunday 6pm June 1 • New Releases Bryan Kelso Crow presents his selections from new and recent releases from Ireland, Scotland, Canada & the U.S.
June 8 • Child Ballads X This is the tenth in our occasional series looking at the classic ballads of Scotland and England, which were collected and numbered by Harvard Professor Francis Child over a century ago. New artists like Anais Mitchell are helping to keep these ballads alive and fresh.
June 15 • Old Favorites We’ll take a break from the new releases to listen to songs and tunes that are not quite new, or possibly quite old!
June 22 • Summer Festival Preview Summer is a-coming, and so are the Celtic festivals far and wide. We’ll listen to performers who are appearing at some of this year’s festivals.
June 29 • Civil War Music In honor of the July 4th birthday of Stephen Collins Foster, we look at music surrounding the American Civil War period, including melodies that were brought over by Irish immigrants and adapted into songs about the Irish Brigade.
Voss Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., Murphysboro, IL Hedman Vineyards, Alto Pass, IL For a complete list of WSIU sponsors and information about sponsoring WSIU programming, visit us online at wsiu.org or call (618) 453-4286.
Cook Your Cupboard! Got a few food oddball items in your fridge? A strange can of beans in your pantry that you panic-bought before a storm? Any fancy salts you received as a gift? An ingredient you bought for a recipe that’s never seen the light of day? Pose your pantry puzzlers to the comments section on NPR’s Cook Your Cupboard where you can get, and give, advice. Visit http://cookyourcupboard.tumblr.com for ideas on how to cook up your kitchen flotsam. Plus, Morning Edition will invite chefs like Nigella Lawson to offer advice on occasional segments this June. WSIU Public Radio Communications Building 1003 Mail Code 6602 Southern Illinois University 1100 Lincoln Drive Carbondale IL 62901 (618) 453-6101 wsiuradio@wsiu.org