Super Bowl Update

We members of the WMRA community have a special place in our hearts for NPR's Carl Kasell. After all, he delivered our morning news for decades,  he still keeps score on Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me, and he came to visit us last January!

In this blogger's opinion, Carl Kasell's appearance at Blackfriars Playhouse for WMRA was the brightest bright spot of a long, cold, snowy winter!

So it was with great delight that I heard of his recent election to the National Radio Hall of Fame and Museum. If ever a broadcaster deserves affectionate veneration, it is  -- don't you agree? -- Carl Kasell.

The NRHFM website -- again, in this blogger's opinion -- gave Carl a shockingly bland biographical paragraph . . .

NPR broadcaster Carl Kasell has spent over 50 years in radio holding positions such as news director, morning anchor, and newscaster. Currently he is the official judge and scorekeeper for NPR's weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Kasell also provides newscasts at the top of each hour throughout NPR's daily newsmagazine Morning Edition. Over the course of his career, he has won several awards for his contributions and commitment to public radio.

I mean, does that give you any sense of who the man is or what he did for NPR or for Saturday mornings on Wait, Wait?  Let alone what he did for you and me last January?

Another well-known broadcaster, nominated for the fourth time, was not elected. And this broadcaster, Howard Stern, chose to be an ungracious loser. He directed particular ungraciousness at Carl Kasell.

Robert Feder reports on his blog that

[Howard] Stern blasted the outcome anyway on his Sirius XM show Monday. Saying “everybody else sucks,” he called it “almost ludicrous” that he lost in the national/active category to retired NPR news anchor (and Chicago Public Media luminary) Carl Kasell.

Inside Radio, which also noted that despite nearly 20 years in syndicated radio and a peak of more than 60 affiliates, Stern has never won a Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, quoted him as saying:

“Even if you hate what I do, you couldn’t discount what I’ve accomplished. It’s laughable. The idea of having a Radio Hall of Fame is ridiculous because there aren’t enough guys in radio that are good enough to even have one. The radio dial is just an abomination. There’s such a lack of talent, it’s sickening.”

In response, Carl Kasell, seemingly the mildest of men, did what amounts to stepping into the verbal ring with Howard Stern.  To watch what transpired, just click on the link below.