Little Show on the Prairie

Earlier this week Iowa Public Radio announced that it is canceling the long-running show Live from Prairie Lights, which it coproduced with Iowa City's Prairie Lights bookstore. (The full article is here.) The news prompted an opinion piece in the Iowa City Press-Citizen that could have come right out of The Onion.

In a piece entitled "Some dim bulbs at public radio" Iowa's former poet laureate inveighs against the argument that LfPL's audience was too small: "The interim executive notes that many more people listen to "Morning Edition." This is like saying Iowa City musicians should pack it in because Madonna can draw 100,000. Why televise Iowa basketball when Kobe is on the tube?"

There's no word yet of a reprieve, but I'll keep you posted.--David E