The Bryant Park Project

In case you haven't noticed on the right hand side of this blog, I'm a pretty devoted National Public Radio junkie. It's an addiction.

I even crumpled this year during one of those never-ending pledge drives and finally got my very own Colorado Public Radio mug. In case you ever thought it might be a neat addition to your morning cup of joe, it's one heck of an ugly mug.

It turns out NPR spent some of my mug money this summer, developing a new newscast that throws out tradition. The surprising part? The Bryant Park Project is a great show!

You can listen to it HERE where they are tweaking the concept right now.

This definitely ain't your daddy's NPR.

It's a hipper, more conversational concept clearly aimed at a younger, more net-savvy crowd. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's clearly not meant to replace the harder news stuff NPR already carries. I see it more as a lighter way to draw listeners once Morning Edition winds up. It's a bold, exciting direction for NPR.

Now, for the reality check: Will this new pair of socks fit Colorado Public Radio? Call me skeptical. This is the crowd that's strangely trying to coax people to listen to the news feed on digital radios no one owns. These are the same people who assumed that a local news station didn't really need local news updates.

At least I know some of my ugly mug money has gone to help develop The Bryant Park Project. Let's hope Colorado Public Radio finds room for something that thinks outside of their box. It's supposed to roll out to stations nationwide this fall.

UPDATE (9/21): It turns out Joanne Ostrow at The Denver Post had a blurb about this in her TV/Radio column earlier this week. My gut instinct about CPR not carrying it is now confirmed:

"For now, Colorado listeners are out of the loop. KCFR (90.1 FM) will not pick up the new NPR morning show. "We're concentrating on expanding our local news," said spokesman Sean Nethery. "

KUNC up in Fort Collins, but available here in Denver, won't be carrying it either. That's less of a suprise as they're still a hybrid NPR station playing music in between news. So here on the Front Range it'll be online or satellite only, at least for a while.