Terry Gross

First off, apologies to all you Mississippi readers out there. Not only did they cut your favorite radio program, but I’m sure you already get a lot of shit about your state. So, sorry for what I’m about to do …

But according to reports coming out of aforementioned state, Mississippi Public Broadcasting has stopped broadcasting a show beloved of book publicists because it’s one of the very last places for long-form radio interviews of authors. Yes, they’re dropping WHYY’s nationally syndicated radio show “Fresh Air,” hosted by Terry Gross, as of Monday.

“Fresh Air” has been taken off the air before, but due to budget cuts. Speculation this time around is inappropriate content. And when I say “speculation,” I mean that the station has yet to publicly announce its reason for pulling the show, but the following internal email leaked online:

“MPB no longer airs this program [Fresh Air] due to recurring inappropriate content.” (dated July 12 2010 from Kevin Farrell, director of MPB radio)

While no further details have been released, many online commentators (including Gawker) have speculated that it might be because last weeks show focused on the movie “The Kids Are All Right,” starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and (my personal favorite) Mark Ruffalo. Why is this a problem? Its about lesbian parents. Oh no!!!! Run to the hills!!! The gays are coming for you!!!

COME ON MISSISSIPPI. SERIOUSLY??

I’m not saying Terry Gross is my favorite radio host (I don’t want to play favorites since I am a book publicist and treat all NPR radio fairly), but Mississippi deserves a breath of fresh air (see what I did there? for more clever wordplay, check out my headline).