Farewell to a Cultural Icon

Come April 30, throngs of early morning commuters and National Public Radio (NPR) fans will miss a familiar voice. NPR has asked—read commanded—Bob Edwards of “Morning Edition,” long a morning-radio staple, as much a part of each a.m. as grapenuts and coffee, to vacate his post as host to the popular daily show as part of a larger effort to update the network’s content and style. Edwards, who has served as host since the show’s inception in 1979, will be sorely missed by all who enjoyed his soothing tones and inspired insight.

Growing up, many students now at Harvard heard the mellifluous sounds of Edwards’ voice as they drove to school each day, a calming contrast to parental nagging that both informed and entertained. Edwards presented this generation with the sharp reality of the world in a kinder, gentler manner than the daily newspaper and without the flash and dumbing-down of the night-time news. Whether parents weaned them on NPR at a young age or they discovered it as questioning youngsters in search of good reporting and interesting stories, generation Y’s news-followers came to rely on Edwards as a friendly presence in a hectic world.

NPR claims that Edwards was losing his edge, increasingly out of touch with today’s fast-paced, youth-oriented world. But the network never consulted Edwards about his style in order that he could try to cater to a younger generation. Nor did NPR officials ask their audience, many of whom are members of a more forward-thinking age, whose cultural touchstones come from MTV and “Sex and the City” rather than Studio 54 and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Indeed, many of the youth NPR hopes to attract have come to treasure Edwards’ wizened views on the world, which offer us a more seasoned take than our fresh-faced generation’s ace reporters. While young America certainly appreciates cutting-edge journalism with a more youthful spin, curious American youth also like the few sensible voices of our country’s more advanced generations.

What makes this move even more confusing is that Edwards’ audience was increasing, growing 41 percent in the last five years. This figure is not as dramatic as NPR’s overall growth of 64 percent over the same time period, but it was still enough to make “Morning Edition” one of the most popular morning shows in the country. There doesn’t seem to be any good reason to make this change.

But despite all the controversy, we are happy that Edwards will stay at NPR as a senior commentator. He might not be around to accompany future high-school students on their commute to school, but at least his wisdom will still be on the air once in a while.