Day: November 11, 2008

Now parse this

annejjacobson3 Comments

Vivian Schiller, who heads the online NY Times operations, has been chosen as chief executive of the National Public Radio, the Times reports.  A quick google search reveals she has already had a very distinguished career in the media, and the fraught NPR, whose last ‘permanent’ chief executive was forced out by the board after 18 months, certainly needs a good person in the job.

Here’s what the board chairman, Howard Stevenson, said about her:

“what we were looking for were leadership skills, sort of a quiet, tough humility, the ability to implement and an energy to carry us and the stations forward in a positive way,”

Well, maybe they’d praise a male chief executive for his quiet, tough humility, but the comment looks like a warning sign to me.  I think they want her to do as she is told and not complain.  Presumably they’ll learn it isn’t quite so easy.

What do you think?

What the future holds!

Jender2 Comments

One sunny day in 2009 an old man approached the White House from Pennsylvania Avenue, where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, ‘I would like
to go in and meet with President Bush.’ The Marine looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.’ The old man said, ‘Okay’ and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’ The Marine again told the man, ‘Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.’ The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same U. S. Marine, saying ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’ The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I’ve told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?’

The old man looked at the Marine and said, ‘Oh, I understand. I just love hearing you say it.’

(Many, many thanks to Kate.)