Listener Feedback: Pronunciation, appreciation, and opportunity

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, January 24th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Time now for Listener Feedback.

We begin with a correction this morning. During our January 2nd newscast we apparently had the recently reopened French cathedral on our minds when we reported on the Sugar Bowl delay, we mentioned the two schools: Georgia and “Notre Dame” instead of “Notre Dame” . A few of you got a good laugh at that.

BROWN: Speaking of mispronunciations…over the last year we’ve gotten a lot of emails from listeners informing us that we are mis-pronouncing the first name of President Jimmy Carter’s wife. Here’s a recent example from our reporting:

LINDSAY MAST: James Earl Carter Jr. was born near the tiny south Georgia town of Plains in October 1924. The ambitious younger Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and married Rosalynn Smith the same year.

That prompted one listener to write in, saying:

“I'm a big fan of Lindsay, but it was grating to hear her mispronounce [Mrs.] Carter's name when [she] passed a few months ago and now again at Jimmy's passing. I'm a big fan and love all you do. I felt a duty to call this out as it seems no one caught it last time.”

REICHARD: Well, we’re sorry you found it grating but we’d like to go straight to the horse's mouth so to speak for our response. Here’s a short montage of Jimmy Carter over the years pronouncing his wife’s name:

MONTAGE: I was cruising around Plains and saw Rosalynn on the front steps of the Methodist Church / Rosalynn joined the church after we came home from the Navy / I approached the decisions very carefully because I knew it affected my whole family, particularly Rosalynn.

So if you are one of the many people who thought her name is pronounced Rohz-a-lynn…don’t feel badly…it’s been a perennial problem for decades. In fact, not everyone on our own staff gets it right. The official word on how to pronounce her name was included in Jimmy Carter’s biography His Very Best by Jonathan Alter. Alter writes:

“The next year, on August 18th, 1927, Allie gave birth to their first child, Elanor Rosalynn Smith, who was named for her maternal grandmother, Rosa, which is why her name is pronounced “Rose-a-lynn” not “Roz-a-lynn.”

Hopefully that settles the debate.

BROWN: Now for a few listener comments on recent segments. The story that got the most response this month was from Associate Correspondent Rachel Coyle and her profile of a woman who lost her life savings in an online scam.

Listener Valerie Wright had this to say:

VALERIE WRIGHT: I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate the podcast that aired on Tuesday, January 14. Rachel Coyle did a great job with this subject. It isn’t a glamorous story but one that needs to be told. As a senior citizen who has saved my entire adult life for retirement I would be devastated to have lost my money the way Connie did. Anyone is vulnerable to this type of scam. I will be more vigilant while using my computer going forward. Well done.

I have shared this with my friends and they agree with me. Many, including me, are interested in hearing a follow up story to this original podcast. Any chance this will happen?

I am fairly new to The World and Everything in It, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Many of the emails inquired about a follow-up story. There’s nothing new to report in Connie’s case, but we will keep our ears open for other related stories that can help others avoid being taken advantage of.

REICHARD: Another segment that got a lot of attention this month was Addie Offereins’ story on H1B visas. The report prompted businessman Jason Woodward to leave us this voicemail about his experience:

JASON WOODARD: It was refreshing to hear a balanced discussion on this important topic that is often overlooked in broader immigration conversations. As a manufacturing executive with over 20 years of operational leadership experience, I would typically prefer to hire US citizens for certain roles given the simplicity and lower costs involved. However, finding manufacturing engineers who are not only technically qualified, but also willing to spend time on the plant floor solving hands on problems and positively engaging with the workforce is often challenging and sometimes not possible.

Through the H1B program, I've had the privilege of hiring several engineers who perform this type of work with excellence. These individuals brought critical technical expertise, a collaborative spirit, and a problem -solving mindset that significantly strengthened our organization and positively impacted our teams.

I also appreciated Nikita's story, especially her faith journey and her trust in God's sovereignty. It's a reminder that H-1B recipients are not just contributors to the economy, but individuals who are made in God's image with unique stories, aspirations, and the potential to make a lasting impact.

BROWN: We also received a lot of email this month regarding our two-part Doubletake series on Syria from reporter Caleb Welde. Listener Beverly Uhlmer Roberts left us this message:

UHLMER ROBERTS: I was inspired by the story of the Syrian woman who returned to her home country to tell others about Jesus. My father came to Florida from Syria as an infant, with his parents and several aunts and uncles because, as Catholics, they could not prosper in their home country.

I thank God every day that I am an American! My heart breaks when I hear of the chaos in the "old country", where I likely have family members. I pray for courage to tell Muslims here in Texas about the love of Jesus.

Susan Jones from Indianapolis also wrote to us after that episode:

“The astounding coverage of the harrowing, courageous adventures inside Syria deserves some kind of award-winning status! Thanks for our front row access! And thank God everybody involved lived to tell us about it!”

We couldn’t agree more. We prayed hard for Caleb while he was there.

REICHARD: And speaking of Doubletake before we go, Doubletake producer and WORLD’s new Editor in Chief is here with an opportunity for you to tell us more about your thoughts on what we do. Les, thanks for being here…

SILLARS: Hey, Mary Myrna. It is great to be here.

REICHARD: One of the things you’re doing in your new role is getting to know our staff, but you also want to meet our listeners and readers…to that end, tell us about next month’s Focus Group meetings:

SILLARS: So we're gonna be holding a series of focus groups next month from February 11th to 14th. We'll be holding two an evening, and we are looking for people who are willing to come to an online video conference call and to tell us what they think of us.

BROWN: Who are you hoping will participate in these focus groups?

SILLARS: We're looking for our regular readers and listeners. We really want to hear from you. We really want to know how we can serve you better. But we also really want to hear from you if you only read or listen to us occasionally. We want to serve the widest group of people that we possibly can. And so we want to hear from a wide variety of people. We want to hear from people who listen to the podcast, read the website, and read the magazine. We want to hear from as many people as we can.

BROWN: How do people sign-up?

SILLARS: You can go straight to wng.org/focusgroups. We'll also have a link on the homepage of our website: wng.org.

REICHARD: Finally Les, why should listeners participate?

SILLARS: At WORLD News Group, we believe that our job is to help you see the world clearly so you can live rightly. And for us to fulfill the calling that God has for us, to help you see the world clearly, we need to hear from you. So we can understand you, we can understand your needs, we can understand how you read and listen to our stories, our articles, our commentaries. We need to hear from you and we need to know how we can serve you better.

REICHARD: Les Sillars is WORLD’s Editor in Chief, the address for signing up is wng.org/focusgroups… we’ll put a link to that in our transcript. Les thanks for doing this. We’re looking forward to hearing what listeners have to say!

SILLARS: You know what? I'm really looking forward to it too.

REICHARD: And thanks to everyone who wrote and called this month. We’re grateful for the time you give to listen each day and for your feedback.

BROWN: And that’s this month’s Listener Feedback!

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