A sad day for listeners of KERA; the passing of Glenn Mitchell
I have been very busy lately between work and preparing a presentation at an academic conference, and there has been no time for blogging. I intended to start back today, but I had no idea I would be writing about such a tremendous loss.
Several of my posts have referenced "The Glenn Mitchell Show" on KERA radio in Dallas. I tuned in KERA at 9:00 this morning and the first thing I heard was an announcement that Glenn Mitchell had passed away in his sleep this weekend.
Glenn Mitchell was the best talk show host of any kind I have ever heard in my life. Period. No one else even comes close. Glenn's show covered the entire spectrum of topics, and he was always prepared and knowledgeable on every subject. He made an effort to read, see, or listen to whatever his guests had done. He presented all viewpoints on his show. To put it in the context of today's social and political climate, he had guests from the far left to the far right. And he treated every one of them in the same manner. He was courteous. He was civil. He allowed them--through his insightful questions--to express their views without hinderance. He was never confrontational, in spite of the fact that he refused to lob "softballs" at his guests. He never interjected his own personal views into any interview or show. To this day, I do not know his political, social, religious, etc. affiliations or positions. Indeed, I am not sure he had any.
Glenn could go from ultra-serious to whimsical effortlessly. The best segment of his show happened every Friday at noon. It was called "Everything You Wanted to Know," with the tag of "All questions answered, all knowledge revealed." Listeners would simply call in or email questions about anything from the hardcore scientific to the sublime to the completely ridiculous--and everything in between and beyond--and other listeners would call or email the answers. It was a rolling feast of information. The show would be broadcast at regular intervals from the Dallas Public Library, which is a major research library, with the help of the research librarians, or as Glenn called them, "the professional smart people."
I cannot possibly convey now (or perhaps ever) how special "The Glenn Michell Show" was. Those who ever heard the program understand. For those who never heard the show, I am sorry that you missed out on that experience.
And now Glenn no doubt has gone on to the place where indeed "All questions are answered and all knowledge revealed." If anyone out there goes to the same place, don't be surprised if it is Glenn who meets you and starts asking you a few questions. And don't be worried if that does happen, for even if Glenn is quizzing you, it will seem like heaven.
Several of my posts have referenced "The Glenn Mitchell Show" on KERA radio in Dallas. I tuned in KERA at 9:00 this morning and the first thing I heard was an announcement that Glenn Mitchell had passed away in his sleep this weekend.
Glenn Mitchell was the best talk show host of any kind I have ever heard in my life. Period. No one else even comes close. Glenn's show covered the entire spectrum of topics, and he was always prepared and knowledgeable on every subject. He made an effort to read, see, or listen to whatever his guests had done. He presented all viewpoints on his show. To put it in the context of today's social and political climate, he had guests from the far left to the far right. And he treated every one of them in the same manner. He was courteous. He was civil. He allowed them--through his insightful questions--to express their views without hinderance. He was never confrontational, in spite of the fact that he refused to lob "softballs" at his guests. He never interjected his own personal views into any interview or show. To this day, I do not know his political, social, religious, etc. affiliations or positions. Indeed, I am not sure he had any.
Glenn could go from ultra-serious to whimsical effortlessly. The best segment of his show happened every Friday at noon. It was called "Everything You Wanted to Know," with the tag of "All questions answered, all knowledge revealed." Listeners would simply call in or email questions about anything from the hardcore scientific to the sublime to the completely ridiculous--and everything in between and beyond--and other listeners would call or email the answers. It was a rolling feast of information. The show would be broadcast at regular intervals from the Dallas Public Library, which is a major research library, with the help of the research librarians, or as Glenn called them, "the professional smart people."
I cannot possibly convey now (or perhaps ever) how special "The Glenn Michell Show" was. Those who ever heard the program understand. For those who never heard the show, I am sorry that you missed out on that experience.
And now Glenn no doubt has gone on to the place where indeed "All questions are answered and all knowledge revealed." If anyone out there goes to the same place, don't be surprised if it is Glenn who meets you and starts asking you a few questions. And don't be worried if that does happen, for even if Glenn is quizzing you, it will seem like heaven.
posted by WCharles @ 11/21/2005 01:07:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home