Look, this complaining about the Takeaway is ridiculous. I love the new program. Hockenberry, a national treasure that NPR is lucky to have landed, is a hilarious, a smart as a you-know-what genius.

Using small snippets of factoids, like motor scooter sales in Minneapolis, the Takeaway gives me far more news and insight than Morning Edition, and is far more edgy and entertaining. And I'm a 65 year old white male who was rooting for Edwards.

I don't want to hear about the sweet little shoe maker in Marin County who plays Woody Guthrie on his zither at night. I want more snarky humor, enlightening facts.

Don't change a thing, just put this on for more hours every morning!

After all the hype, what a disappointment.

First, I don't have to be told every three minutes that I'm listening to The Takeaway.

Second, I don't need two fast-talking, wisecracking hosts who are continually interrupting each other with dumb comments.

Bring back Morning Edition to WNYC AM and please take away The Takeaway.

I'm a long-time listening and supporter.

Most of the comments here are negative, and strike the same themes. What was the brass thinking when it gave this program the green light? The Takeaway is WNYC's Edsel. The question is whether they will believe their own press releases and keep it going, or acknowlege the obvious damage it has done to their core listener base and give it a decent burial.

If you like the takeaway, then you will probably like the other WNYC production: The Bryant Park Project. Thank goodness that the BPP does not air in NY. More prattle, more inappropriate music, etc.

Regarding Faith Salie (a Rhodes Scholar), her program is different, but it is appropriate for its time slot.

I'm not pining for Bob Edwards, and I appreciate there are doubtless a lot of intelligent, sincere people working on this show, but I confess I gave up this morning and went back to Morning Edition (staid, perhaps, but generally satisfying). And it occurs to me that as a 35 year-old phd student and musician, I might be within hailing distance of the kind of person the show is targeted at. Indeed, here's part of the problem: it's too overtly "targeted". In fact, it's almost pandering. This ensures the format won't win over the converts it's meant to - such people, I think, being allergic to pandering - but will manage to alienate much of the core of public radio listeners.

The trouble perhaps begins with the banter - it's grating, hokey, unfunny, and above all FORCED - and the constant jangly music etc., I suppose meant to impart a sense of perpetual movement and hipness to the proceedings. If your target is a younger audience I think the best way to win them over is with good, brave journalism - and, yes, certainly experimenting with new formats and voices - but not with a more intelligent, mildly less caffeinated version of private radio.

Please bring back Morning Edition on FM.

I gave The Flake Away a fair chance but it's just plain annoying.

- Free flowing banter between a male and female co-host, a la "morning zoo" commercial radio. Is this the Howard Stern show for people with higher incomes?

- Insipid, spurious "roger" tones beeping away when cutting to a clip, as if the whole show's being produced over Nextel's push to talk network.

- Dumb questions. Ms. Udoji asking this week why sectarian strife is bad for Iraq.

- Dumb new briefs. A (bomb or grenade) "rocked" the capital of Somalia. Big grenade? Small capital?

- Local NYC news accompanied by a pointless, muffled, trance/techno track in the background? Is that supposed to be more "dynamic"? Gee, let's just break out the Ecstasy.

I have learned nothing this week of morning torture except for how much more I appreciate podcasts.

You can Take (it) Away please. Hopefully that's already a tired joke at your offices.

Gary Perry

We've tried to give "The Takeaway" a chance, but its chatty style and weak news coverage is simply annoying at 6am. If we wanted this type of radio programming, we'd select from any one of the dozens of other stations that air morning talk shows.

As two young professionals, we prefer to listen to real news in the morning, which is why we would normally tune in to the "Morning Edition" at this time. Please bring the "Marketplace Morning Report" back!

Why not move the show to an afternoon slot, where it would probably do much better?

The change I made was switch my radio from the FM NPR station to the AM one so that I would not have to listen to the horrible banter and annoying clips on The Takeaway. Simply, singularly, unquestionably awful radio.

Love the show, John Hockenberry is a fascinating and enlightening host. Moves from new media to US finance with ease. I suspect there are lots more people like me who enjoy the new format. But the right wing of the NPR audience - and I don't meant mean politically RW - has rushed the stage to complain and drown the rest of us out. Ignore the belly-aching, make a few concessions, and forge on. Great radio!

In all honesty, who are these people that find the show "fascinating and enlightening"? Those of us that have rushed to complain do so out of an impassioned commitment to NPR and public radio in general--in defense of formats that offer more substance than found in commercial media. This show, in contrast, wants to be more like the commercial media from whom we (the "right wing") seek refuge. I was horrified to see Hockenberry cite Howard Stern as an influence (see NY Mag: http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/46473/). The show focuses more on entertainment than news and this is a grave mistake.

I really have a hard time believing that these overly positive comments can come from anyone but an intern on the Takeaway production staff! Again, please make this show go away, or at least move it to AM radio, or 3 AM...It has cost WNYC this listener's monthly donation, hopefully others.