LIANE HANSEN, host:
Now, to your letters.
Last week we talked to diversity columnist Michelle T. Johnson of the Kansas City Star about African-Americans who erase race from their resumes to increase their chances of a job interview.
Matthew Scallon(ph) of Chula Vista, California wrote to us about his father who had difficulty finding work in the 1950s and had what many would consider to be a black name - Leroy. Scallon continued: When he changed the name of the resumes to Roy, the offers finally came in.
Many of you enjoyed our visit to the Silver Spring, Maryland home of pinball machine collector David Silverman. Kathy Brown(ph) left this comment on NPR.org: I was most excited when Liane asked to play the Addams Family pinball game. I have many fond memories of playing that pinball game at the local roller skating rink in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania in the 1980s. And Ralph Spencer of Rossville, Georgia shared this memory: Somehow I associate pinball machines with truant officers. Boy, those were the days.
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HANSEN: A few weeks ago, we asked you to take part in our social media survey. More than 7,200 listeners responded. Thank you all. Your suggestions will help us make both this show and WEEKEND EDITION SATURDAY with Scott Simon even better, both on the air and on the Web. Here's what some of you had to say. I always felt that Ms. Hansen and Mr. Simon were warm human beings and top-notched journalists. But now following them on Twitter gives a new additional dimension of understanding them and the shows they host. That's from a male, age 44.
From a female, age 58: With the addition of the Facebook feed, it makes the work of the staff, in addition to Ms. Hansen and Mr. Simon all the more visible.
A female, age 47: I can't always catch WEEKEND EDITION on the radio at the right time, but when it's sitting on my Facebook page, that gives me a way to not only catch up with the story, but scroll around and check into other things I may have missed.
Our survey revealed that following WEEKEND EDITION through social media like Facebook and Twitter is a relatively new experience for most of the some 7,200 people who took our survey, but one they engage in frequently. Listeners say they initially became WEEKEND EDITION followers because they wanted to receive updates and additional information, but they have continued because they've enjoyed the interaction and the peeks behind the scenes.
And over the past six months, listeners who have become social media followers say they have developed more favorable opinions of WEEKEND EDITION and of NPR.
If you want to read more about our social media survey, go to NPR.org/Soapbox. And really, thanks again to all of you, our listeners, friends and followers.