Talent Questers unveil their demos

Online voting is underway on five-minute demos created by the five remaining contestants in the Public Radio Talent Quest.

Lehrer was soft on Petraeus and Crocker

Like many viewers, PBS ombudsman Michael Getler wasn't too impressed with Jim Lehrer's questioning of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Sept. 12. Getler writes of the NewsHour segment, "For an issue that is at the heart of this moment in our history, the half-hour, as a whole, seemed too flat and dry to me, an under-utilized opportunity. It offered a calm nod to those frustrations that engulf millions of Americans about where this war is going without really pressing more specific questions about military and diplomatic strategy and the associated costs in lives, money and reputation that are on people’s minds." (See video and transcript of the segment.)

Also off-limits, South Side: Cokie Roberts

The suburban Chicago Daily Herald points to a broadcast segment about a bar fight between spunky two women to characterize :Vocalo, Chicago Public Radio's idiosyncratic new offshoot station for the young and nonwhite. The new station in Indiana, which reaches only southern parts of Chicago, went 24/7 this month, the Sun-Times reported. CPR President Torey Malatia described the thinking behind :Vocalo in Current. Listen for yourself.