"Out there" is a good thing

One of the things I like about the North Country, and about North Country Public Radio, is that we are a little "out there." A little loopy, often unpredictable, sometimes a little extreme. For example, one would expect any border news station to send a reporter to cover Obama's visit to Canada. But David Sommerstein, NCPR's guy on the scene, was probably the only one to skate five miles down the Rideau Canal to get to this morning's press conference. You would expect a bluegrass music host to enjoy and play old-time music. But Barb Heller has brought a dozen local musicians into the studio today, encouraging the world to play along with the radio, and providing all the sheet music online. One would expect an Adirondack reporter to cover outdoor recreation--maybe from an Olympic venue press booth. But Brian Mann reports from deep beneath Lake Champlain diving on a shipwreck, or from halfway up a cliff on an ice climb. In his spare time he writes a definitive book on the urban-rural political divide.

It's a little intimidating when all your colleagues have "exceeds expectations" written somewhere in their personnel jacket. But that's how we roll. That, and all the coffee.