Ben Tanzer: “But how does one get a piece on the show? Or even meet Ira Glass who I understand rests in a cryogenically sealed chamber between shows? I imagine one could lurk outside the studio or Ira’s home, though again please note that I am not a stalker, and that the charges to that effect filed by NPR’s legal office here in Chicago did not stick. One could also submit their work, which I have done, but how well does one’s actual work reflect their wit, timing, and ability to move the public to tears, joy, and maybe even arousal in the space of one sentence? Not well my friend, not my work anyway.” (via Pete Anderson)
Tanzer’s a brilliant guy, and his comments hold a lot of weight for those of us who know how difficult navigating the backwaters of big media can be.
I met Ira Glass when I was working at the old public radio station in Champaign/Urbana U of I campus in the mid-nineties. He had worked there too. I can’t say now, but I remember then he looked exactly like a college student. Very freindly too.