The NCAA March Madness tournament starts today, but the real action is in public radio feuds. Radio station 89.3 KPCC has 32 NPR shows going head-to-head in an NCAA-style tournament bracket. The smart money is on Bullseye to take the whole thing against Car Talk in the finals.
It’s not uncommon around this time of year for people to try to cash in on March Madness by making a bracket for just about anything. It’s a competitive month for a lot of people, but this is the first time in recent memory that public radio shows have gone all Hunger Games on each other.
KPCC is hosting the voting for the tournament on its website, and the first round of voting is open from now until March 20, at which point the herd will be narrowed down to the “public radio sweet 16.” That round goes until March 24 before eliminating eight teams for round three, which will run between March 25 and March 31. April 1 kicks off the Final Four with voting until April 4, and championship voting will run from April 5 to April 9 before the winners are announced on April 10.
@jessethorn Pro Tip: you can vote as many times as you like— ᶜᵒᵇʸʳᶰᵉ (@cobyrne) March 18, 2013
So if you have a favorite, you can expend all your energies voting for it repeatedly. Conversely, you can also put energy into smiting your enemies — if your enemies are public radio shows you don’t like.