Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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This isn't about politics, per se, but sometimes you just have to indulge me or hit the BACK button on the old browser. But I think you'll find this interesting.

Jayne Solinger, the producer of MPR's All Things Considered, is about to embark on her last few days at Minnesota Public Radio before she moves to Atlanta to do...well... I'm not really sure what it is she's going to do , but whatever it is, she'll be the best person doing it.

I've always enjoyed the behind-the-scenes anonymity of the radio business (which I recognize has disappeared for me since I started Polinaut and was asked to do Current newscasts). I think the behind-the-scenes people are fabulous, partly because they really are often the "straw that stirs the drink." That's not to say the on-air folks aren't great; they are. But they're all you hear and while they tell you the whole story, you can't really get the whole story -- if you know what I mean.

What's happening behind the scenes in this business is usually controlled chaos. Sure, it sounds easy when you're sitting in the car listening, and that's a testament to the job they do. What you don't see is the last-minute breaking story that just eliminated an entire day of planning. You don't see the reporter  coming out of a production booth at 5:18 p.m., shouting "DCART (the digital audio system) just crashed and ate my story," a story that you were scheduled to hear at 5:20 p.m., the premier spot on All Things Considered. You don't hear the give-and-take between a boss who thinks you should hear a story about national elections in East Nowhereyoucareabout, and a producer who says, "you know, I'm sure East Nowhereyoucareabout is important, but the Minnesota House just passed a bill prohibiting the sale of certain video games to kids under 17 and that might have some impact locally, doncha think?" in a way that doesn't get the producer fired, but gets the story she's convinced is more important on the air.

There are a lot of people in the business who wilt under that. Not only does Jayne  thrive in it, she does so while smiling and telling jokes.

You don't see the people staying here late because there's something you should hear; the missed anniversaries, or birthdays. You don't hear the one word a producer takes out of a lead to a story that is the difference between music to the ear and a verbal assault.

More often that not, you might hear perfection (or what comes close to it), but you don't hear the person behind the scenes demanding it of herself, and -- because of that -- the dozens of people who respect her so much, that they demand it of themselves too.

We had a little party for her in the newsroom a week or so ago, and reporter Annie Baxter told the story of when she moved down from Collegeville a year or so ago and Jayne took her in to her home (which apparently she renovated with her own two hands and a butter knife). On Annie's birthday, a bouquet of flowers waited for her at the top of her stairs. They were, of course, from Jayne.

There's lots of people who make the engine go  at MPR.  Jayne not only is the best of this lot, she's the best of any lot.  In all the usual hubub about public radio and the money thing that, let's face it, we hear all the time... let me tell you, MPR members, you got your money's worth with Jayne.

This is a transient business and for all the benefits of being in it, one of the parts of it that wears thin, is the part where you're always saying goodbye to good people.

You probably never met Jayne Solinger before. But now you have. And if you're like us here at MPR, you miss her already.

She's got a few days to go, but I'm posting this today becaue Polinaut will be off the grid for a week or so.

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Bob Collins

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Jayne Solinger, the producer of MPR's All Things Considered, is completing her last week at Minnesota Public Radio before she moves to Atlanta to do...well... I'm not really sure what it is she's going to do , but whatever it is, she'll be the best person doing it.

Goodbye, Jayne

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