Ketzel Uprooted

American Moxie, an NPR feature series, came to a surprising end recently when Senior Correspondent Ketzel Levine got laid off.  The series was all about surviving layoffs and featured deeply personal stories from people all across the country.  How ironic for the show’s host to get the axe right before Christmas, but she flipped a negative into a positive on a recent CNN video clip when she remarked what a fitting end to the series it was.  It’s inspirational to see moxie like that.

Levine’s NPR profile is pretty impressive, but what really hit home for me was her honesty and humor.  Even better is that listeners and readers like and appreciate these traits, just as I do.  Reporting the real world is hard enough, so it’s refreshing to see journalism with personal insights and a sense of humor.

Thanks Ketzel!  You give hope to the rest of us in the unemployment line!  Good luck with your next gig.  I’ll be listening in for more of that wonderful wit.  Meanwhile, I expect you’ll be tilling and planting the ground you’re holding firm.

Read Ketzel Uprooted @ www.ketzel.com

Friday, January 2nd, 2009
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Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Ketzel Uprooted”

  1. peter stock Says:
    January 14th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

    So, just how does a senior reporter manage to get laid off with 64 others, after 31 years in the business, most of them with NPR?
    we all need a change every once in a while but this seems weird.
    What kind of a severance package must NPR have offered to induce Ms. Levine into early (well, early-ish) retirement.

  2. Mike Says:
    January 17th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    Good question, Peter. Thanks for your comment.

    What crossed my mind was this…If a senior reporter with 30 years experience, mostly with a major media outlet like NPR, gets canned in a major layoff, then what chances do I have as I minor league blogger and writer?

    It may well be true there’s a major shift of focus going on with the major media outlets. I know I get more news from my web browser than my TV.

    - Mike

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