Contributors

Judging by the company they keep, Feature Story News is the best in the business.  “FSN is the world’s leading independent broadcast news agency,” says their website, and it just might be.  The Economist, Deutsche Welle, AIR News, Channel NewsAsia, Radio New Zealand, Fox News Channel, Westwood One, Vatican Radio, SRN, and The Washington Post may agree.  They’re examples of media outlets who think enough of FSN to contract their services.  And there are many others.

Boots on the ground, microphone in-hand, Feature Story News goes EVERYWHERE there’s news.  FSN is an independent company, with a wide breadth of coverage, now, but small enough to still  reflect the virtues of accuracy and integrity of its founder and president Simon Marks — even after twenty years of growth.  I can personally attest to this as Mr. Marks actually answers his own email.(!)

“From the outset, the company was founded to provide top-quality, cost-effective, ready-to-air material for our clients around the world.  And over the years, we’ve been able to deliver exclusive interviews with some of the world’s leading newsmakers plus compelling stories of specific interest to our clients’ diverse audiences,” said Mr. Marks.

FSN has fully-staffed bureaus in Washington DC, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, London, Brussels and Moscow — and since October 31, 2011, in Denver, CO as well.  I’ve seen reports originating from Sydney and Beijing as well.

The five-minute news summary is an excellent newscast.  It is always lively, timely, well-produced, and interesting.  Radio Newark is both pleased and fortunate to have access through the kindness of Mr. Marks and FSN.

Thanks, FSN!  We wish you all the best.

Listeners, enjoy the broadcast, and let us know what you think.

Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of JPL, offers a great description:

“Trailblazing has been the business of JPL since it was established by the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s.  America’s first satellite, Explorer 1 which launched in 1958, was created at JPL. In the decades that followed, we sent the first robotic craft to the moon and out across the solar system, reconnoitering all of the planets. Pushing the outer edge of exploration, in fact, is the reason JPL exists as a NASA laboratory.

“In that spirit, this is an exceptionally busy period for JPL in laying new paths. Last November, the Deep Impact spacecraft made a close flyby of a small, peanut-shaped comet, one of only a handful ever visited. In February, our Stardust spacecraft executed another flyby, making a return visit to a comet Deep Impact had studied years before. The asteroid belt was the destination in July when the Dawn spacecraft arrived at the protoplanet Vesta, which it will orbit for a year before continuing on to the dwarf planet Ceres. In August, we launched the Jupiter-bound Juno; in September, the GRAIL twin spacecraft to Earth’s moon. Soon we will launch our next flagship rover mission, Mars Science Laboratory.”

I’m a child of the Space Age.  I remember very well the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  We watched as a family, about 11pm on July 21, 1969, as “man on the moon” happened.  Having a scientist for a father and an educator for a mom, they made sure me and my friends knew how momentous an event this was.  We watched for an hour afterwards, talking and thinking about what we had seen.

My boyish love of science has not abated.  I am still fascinated by the laws of the universe and the mathematics of science.  And so we have a very strong focus on science in general, here at Radio Newark.  I am thankful that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory produces such good audio so that we may all follow them along on their next enthralling adventure.

— Steve

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half” — attributed to the successful retail executive John Wanamaker.

If Mr. Wanamaker had known Roy H. Williams, he would have known which half was being wasted.  Roy would have told him in no uncertain terms.

Roy H. Williams has made a science of the formerly intangible question of why people buy.  From thought particles to Broca’s area, Roy patiently, engagingly explains to us (those willing to take the time to learn) why we act the way we do.  Then, armed with this knowledge, he challenges us and prepares us to design businesses and advertisements that move people to action.

Indeed, his business model — retaining a percentage of the increase of his clients’ revenue — depends on his ability to MOVE our customers.

And — because he’s a Radio Guy — Roy’s Monday Morning Memo podcasts are created to a high standard of audio production levels.  They sound fabulous, darling!

Over the years of Monday Morning Memos I’ve gotten to know a little bit about Wizzo.  I am constantly surprised.  Amused.  Entertained.  But mostly enlightened.  I hope you feel that way too.

Roy, I will meet you one day.  I want my business to be one of your flock.

Heartfelt thanks and blessings to you, Pennie and the Academy.

Stephen Worden

Well, there are a fantastic number of good things to say about Robin Sharma because he’s an amazing, humble guy.  (You’ll learn that when you hear him on Radio Newark.)

He’s one of the world’s top experts on leadership and personal development. He’s a successful writer and MOTIVATOR. Hundreds of thousands of people have benefited from books like The Greatness Guide Series, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and The Leader Who Had No Title. His is a simple message that resonates with all of us — be who you are fully. He gives many examples of how to do this, and is an example himself.

Robin is the CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a global training firm with a simple mission: to help people Lead Without Title. He is profiled frequently in leading media outlets like CNN and MSNBC. Robin’s Fortune 500 clients include GE, Nike, FedEx, NASA, Unilever, Microsoft, BP, IBM, The Harvard School of Business and Yale University. His experience and insight make his perspective unique and his charismatic communication skills make his message powerful, engaging, undeniable, genuine.

His website http://www.robinsharma.com is one of the most popular leadership and personal development destinations on the Internet.

Radio Newark is very fortunate to have Robin’s permission to rebroadcast his podcasts. We are grateful for his kindness and support, and that of his staff at Sharma Leadership International. We wish Robin and his company much continued international success.

Here’s a link to his Knol page.

Robin, thank you very, very much.

Deutsche Welle is the external radio service of Federal Republic of Germany, similar to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France Internationale, and the Voice of America.  Naturally, the programming is Euro-centric, and that’s why we have it here at Radio Newark.  DW covers stories you just won’t hear on the US networks’ “Nightly News Tonight.”

Frankly, it is an honor to be affiliated with Deutsche Welle.  RN has access to their hourly new feed and the ‘actualities’ (individual recorded story segments) for a longer news program as well as DW’s soccer-oriented sports program.  THANK YOU, Deutsche Welle!

Deutsche Welle Radio News has already made it into our weekly rotation.  On the weekends, DW news replaces the VOA segment near the bottom of the hour (thirty minutes after the hour).  In the near future, we may alternate between DW and VOA on weekdays.

Thanks again, DW, for permitting Radio Newark to affiliate with your fine organization.

I’ve been listening to the VOA for about forty years. My two favorite shows were the World Music show hosted by Georges Collinet (way before Afropop Worldwide) and a jazz show hosted by Willis Conover.  And I’ve always enjoyed the news on VOA.  It is much more International in scope, and far more interesting than hearing about a house fire in Philadelphia.

But you may not be familiar with the Voice of America.  So here are a few notes of introduction.

The Voice of America is a professional broadcast media outlet, funded by the United States government.  It is constrained by charter and practice to news that is unbiased and reporting that is thorough.  The charter states in part, that the “VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”

The tone of the Voice of America was established by charter, but making objectivity a practical reality took some work.  One of those who set the pace of that work, back in the ’60s, was John Chancellor.  TIME magazine reported about his appointment as the Director of the VOA in August, 1965:

“He will need … aplomb in his new job. VOA is under attack, on the one hand, for broadcasting too much material critical of the U.S.; on the other, for trying to sell America too hard… Chancellor says that he intends to maintain VGA’s objectivity, reporting the bad as well as the good side of the news about the U.S.  [President]Johnson says he wants the same thing, though it can be argued that the Voice of America should not go out of its way to reflect the criticism of U.S. policies so regularly published in many newspapers and magazines. “Our main weapon is our freedom to make our own mistakes and solve our own problems out in the open,” says Chancellor.

The Voice of America Charter also states that “VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinions on these policies.”

VOA’s journalists also rely on a Journalistic Code, which lays out the standards for reporting accurate, objective, and comprehensive news. The Code establishes VOA’s principles and practices for “sourcing” stories, and ensuring accuracy, balance, fairness, context, and comprehensiveness.

We are very pleased to have the VOA’s award-winning newscast in Radio Newark’s hourly rotation.  At the present, you’ll find that segment near the bottom of the hour (thirty-minutes past the hour) on weekdays, and on the hour during weekends.

Thank you, VOA!