PRX: Public Radio Archive

Aggregated timely economy-related public radio content from local stations, independent producers, and news sources.

The Austin scene

By Laura Hertzfeld | Published: March 12, 2010

Even if you can’t make it to Austin for the big South by Southwest conference this week, there’s plenty going on online, including new (and free!) music, great ideas in social media and other ways to boost your business without spending a lot of cash, and innovative technologies to keep up with the kids these days. Here is some of what the public media crew is planning for the week:

EconomyStory will be hosting a panel on Saturday called Covering Big News on Small Budgets – something we think we know a little bit about by now! The panel recording will be made available online following the event.

To give a sense of what we’ll be talking about, check out this slideshow showing how public media covered some of the biggest events of the past year:

Former NPR producer’s Davar Ardalan previews SXSW Interactive in Austin with notes on speakers and activities:


PBS will be broadcasting live video interviews and updates from Austin, so you can keep up with all the panels online and on Twitter @PBS.

Austin NPR station KUT (Twitter @KUTAustin) has a comprehensive roundup of events and ideas. KLRU’s Austin City Limits is taping its first episode of the new season during the festival, with Cheap Trick in the studio on March 18. For more on music, NPR’s All Songs Considered previews the bands to watch over the next week.

You can follow all the Austin happenings on Twitter, too. All of the public media attendees will be adding their posts under the search: #pubsxsw. A list of SXSW speakers is here and I’ll be tweeting from @economystory and @laurahertzfeld. Yeehaw!

Also posted in Econstory, NPR: Aggregated Local News Feed, NPR: Local/National Collaboration, PBS: Video, WNYC, Youth Radio: Youth Stories | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who are you calling Shorty?

By Laura Hertzfeld | Published: March 5, 2010

It’s Oscar weekend, but in the world of social media, a set of honors for a more prolific crowd went out this week – the Shorty Awards, which praise the best Twitterers on the planet. Some of the most impressive are from the world of finance, who’ve had some success in explaining the economic crisis in 140 characters or less.

The top six finance Twitterers include personal finance guru Suze Orman (@SuzeOrmanShow), debt help radio program The Dave Ramsey Show (@RamseyShow), finance blog site Mint.com (@mint), UK markets strategist Ashraf Laidi (@alaidi), LendingClub founder Rob Garcia (@robgarciasj), and finance site Bulls on Wall Street (@BullsOnWallSt).

How much of a difference can you make in 140 characters? The David Ramsey Show, which claimed second place in the awards reports on how listeners can learn to be debt-free and shares their stories on Twitter:

Blake: Total debt paid off by just those who got thru on the phones today on #TDRS = $876,000. Year to Date = $9,149,900

The popular personal finance blog Mint shares links to content on their main site over Twitter, like the pros and cons of offshore banking and the urban legends surrounding credit scores. But Mint also provides real-time news and advice solely on Twitter, like today’s project where they are retweeting savings tips from readers:

RT @ekmurphy: automatic savings plan helps build savings every time I get paid, not just at the end of the month when I look at what’s left

Outside of finance, but still in the realm of news in the public interest, The Diane Rehm Show @DRShow and Matt Laslo @MattLaslo of Capitol News Connection were both finalists in the news category. Washington, D.C. radio legend Diane Rehm shares inside views of her guests, like health care expert and NIH director Francis Collins, and asks listeners to answer questions on relevant news topics.

Matt Laslo at Capitol News Connection gives real-time updates from his reporting escapades on Capitol Hill. A recent adventure found him hearing about Texas Independence Day:

Did you know it’s Texas Independence Day? Me neither, until Cornyn (R-TX) started talking about it on the Senate floor.

Who are your favorite economics and news experts on Twitter? My favorites are listed here, on the @economystory bloggers list.

Also posted in CNC: Ask Your Lawmaker, Econstory, NPR: Local/National Collaboration | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Under one roof, or none at all

By Laura Hertzfeld | Published: March 1, 2010

The job shortage for recent grads is forcing more young people to think about alternatives to getting their own apartments after finishing college and going out into the “real world.” Often this means moving back in with their folks. But those who can move in with family are the lucky ones – homelessness has also increased with this recession.

In many countries, young people often live with their parents until they get married and start a family of their own. In this country, “moving out” has become a rite of passage, but that’s changing, as The Takeaway reports in Many Generations, One Roof: “President Barack Obama does it, and according to a study by the AARP, so do 33 percent of all 18-to-49 year olds.”

Having an extra person in the house can be more costly for parents. Smart Money magazine mentioned this phenomenon in a piece about renovations in the current economy, explaining that having a child move back into the house as an adult can necessitate expensive changes – such as redoing an attic or adding a bathroom.


And whether it’s a boomerang kid grounded by a tough job market or an aging in-law whose portfolio losses nixed her own housing plans, adults usually cohabitate best when everyone’s got some privacy. After all, who wants to bring a date home to a room that shares a wall with his parents or be woken at odd hours when Grandpa blasts his TV at full volume?

Making Sense: New England also has some tips for cheap home renovation:

But not everyone has that kind of back up plan. EconomyBeat struck a nerve this morning when it linked to a post by someone who’d turned to drugs and became homeless after losing his job.

I lived in California and worked for a startup in the tech industry. I was laid off and as a result of my depression, fell ‘deeper’ into my meth addiction as a way out. This caused me to lose my apartment, and 99% of my belongings.

And he’s not alone. Julie Rose at Charlotte’s WFAE reports on the homelessness problem in North Carolina and a survey that’s trying to get people off the streets.

There are about 6,500 homeless men, women and children in Charlotte. Advocates think some 500 of those people are chronically homeless, meaning they’ve been on the street for at least a year. But that was just a guess.

Also posted in Econstory, NPR: Aggregated Local News Feed, NPR: Local/National Collaboration, PBS: Video, WNYC | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chopinomics

By Laura Hertzfeld | Published: February 25, 2010
Frederic Chopin, 1849/Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Frederic Chopin, 1849/Credit: Wikimedia Commons

How much would you pay to take a piano lesson from Frederic Chopin? In his time, adjusted for inflation, the price tag on a piano lesson with Chopin would fall somewhere between $50 and $96 in 2010 dollars. Worth it? Classical station WDAV in North Carolina reports:

Considering the average daily wage for an unskilled laborer in Paris was one franc. That’s three weeks’ wages to pay for one lesson if you don’t eat.

To commemorate the composer, Poland put his image on money:

In 1982 Chopin and the first two bars of this Polonaise in F Minor appeared on the Polish 5000 zloty bill. This year, The National Bank of Poland is adding their two cents’ worth with a release of special, collectible Chopin banknote valued at 20 zloty – about $6.77. Fourteen of the new notes if you want a lesson from the old poet of the piano!

There’s a ton of zloty in music today. Apple’s iTunes hit its 10 billionth 99-cent download this week. In an unusual agreement from two bloggers on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas and GOP strategist Patrick Ruffini each speculated on Twitter about what that $10 billion in revenue could have gone to, had it been spent in government:

@PatrickRuffini: iTunes songs have been sold 10 billion times…less than the cost of the jobs bill
@Markos responded: Less than monthly cost of wars too!

Also posted in Econstory, NPR: Aggregated Local News Feed, NPR: Local/National Collaboration | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fighting for firefighters

By Laura Hertzfeld | Published: February 19, 2010

Some of the most vital jobs in local communities are being threatened daily by budget cutbacks and the struggling economy – including firefighters and police officers. While the White House says the stimulus bill saved thousands of these kinds of jobs from being taken away, some local stations are reporting that these types of jobs are still falling victim to state budget cuts.

Michigan Radio this week reported on some steep cuts in Flint.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling says the city will lay off 57 police officers. According to the Flint Police Officer’s Association, that will leave the city with fewer than 100 officers for a population of around 113,000. That is less than one officer for every thousand people.

The U.S. average is three officers for every thousand people.

The mayor says 23 firefighters will also get pink slips. The Firefighters Union says that will leave just 65 firefighters for the city.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., cost-cutting measures have already slashed firefighting and police coffers, and now even keeping the streetlights on and park restrooms open, are line-items, NPR reports:

All the restrooms have been closed. There’ll be very little watering, and crews will mow just once a month instead of weekly.

The city even trimmed its police and fire budgets and is auctioning three of its police helicopters on the Internet. Still, that’s not enough.

EconomyBeat wrote yesterday about the mounting conservative movement in Colorado Springs to prevent raising taxes at the same time that city services are being cut.

Colorado as a state is facing overall budget woes, and Governor Bill Ritter recently spoke about his cost-saving plans for the state.

In Atlanta, Mayor Kasim Reed addressed the Atlanta Press Club in January and outlined his fiscal plans for the city, including the choices he’s had to make in securing pensions for police and firefighters (watch his segment on the General Fund, around 8:00).

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What are the most vital needs in your community? Would you be willing to pay more in property taxes to keep the status quo?

Also posted in Econstory, NPR: Aggregated Local News Feed, NPR: Local/National Collaboration, PBS: Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment