NPR News Forms Investigative Unit

As many news organizations decrease serious, original investigative reporting, NPR is stepping up to the plate to do more. NPR has announced the hiring of its first-ever editor dedicated to investigative work.

 

Susanne Reber, who has led the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's News Investigative Unit out of Toronto since 2003, will join NPR's team of journalists just after the first of the year. "Susanne is a gifted radio storyteller and a tenacious, sophisticated investigative reporter. She is the perfect match for NPR News as we expand and invest in our ambitious investigative program," wrote Dick Meyer, NPR's Executive Editor.

 

NPR correspondents such as Daniel Zwerdling, Dina Temple-Raston, and others will work with Reber to develop investigative reports for broadcast.  Stay tuned!

 

Tomorrow, December 23, is the deadline for making donations by credit card to KGOU during the 2009 calendar year.  Changes in circumstances dictate that KGOU's online credit card processing service, TouchNet, will not be operational from December 24 until January 4.

 

The service is provided for KGOU by the University of Oklahoma, and another university department will be making upgrades during that time, necessitating an outage in service for all departments.  The system will not be able to take new pledges until January 4, and will not be processing scheduled monthly payments during the outage period also.  We apologize for this inconvenience, and we anticipate that in subsequent years we will be able to take last-minute credit card donations.

 

 

Let KGOU deck your holiday halls with the sounds of the season from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.  A number of holiday specials are in the lineup with traditional and non-traditional music, storytelling, and the Capitol Steps' humorous twist on the year in review.  Check out the schedule on our Programming and Limited Run Specials pages. 

 

By the time the big day arrives, you may have had your fill of piped-in holiday music, but if your ears are ready for the best of the best, NPR Music has its Jingle Jams stream up and running.  From Bach to the Ramones to Louis Armstrong, it's a perfect playlist for those who wish to indulge in the spirit of the season while working, online shopping or cooking.

 

In 1990 the bone condition called osteopenia -- slight thinning of the bones -- didn't exist. Today all over America women are diagnosed with osteopenia and given medication. NPR's Alix Spiegel reported how a drug company's marketing efforts changed the definition of a disease and created a new category of people who saw themselves as needing treatment.  This story tops the most-emailed, most-recommended and most-commented lists at NPR.org.

 

 

The Flaming Lips' latest release, Embryonic, is being hailed by critics as one of their most complex and accomplished records. Compared with previous offerings, many note that the band appears to be reinventing or challenging itself -- again.  Band frontman Wayne Coyne talked with All Things Considered weekend host Guy Raz on Saturday, December 19; hear the interview and excerpts from the album, at NPR Music.

 

 

The decade may not be quite over yet, but NPR is looking for your opinion on accents actors adopted for movie roles in the new millennium.  Which ones did you find believable enough to enhance the film, and which ones were so horrible they ruined it?  Cast your vote at NPR.org.