KALW’s New Mid-Day Plan

Hi KALW Mid-Day Project blog participants,

After six weeks of program auditions and listener input, today I went on the air to announce the new mid-day line-up on KALW. 

In the end, having heard the pros and cons from hundreds of listeners, I decided not to go with any of the national programs we auditioned in the noon hour.  Instead, we’re revamping our afternoon lineup by putting some of our strongest current programs at noon, then aligning them with programs that make sense following them so you’ll want to stay tuned.  The new schedule will bring you arts, ideas, science and storytelling in the mid-day, while giving a prominent place to new and underrepresented voices in public radio.

You can see the revised afternoon program grid and descriptions of the new shows at kalw.org, and click here to hear my Manager’s Report if you missed it. 

I know from following this blog closely that many of you felt strongly about the programs we auditioned, and very much wanted to hear them on KALW.  I hope you’ll find value in the new line-up, and I will definitely be carrying forward what you had to say here as I think about the future of KALW’s programming.

Thanks for taking part, and I will keep checking here if you have comments, or you can write me at matt@kalw.org.

Sincerely,

Matt Martin

GM, KALW

The Mid-Day Project: What is it?

In December, KALW got the unhappy news that NPR is cancelling News & Notes with Farai Chideya as of March 20th. That means we’ve got to figure out what we’re going to put on the air at noon, and we don’t want to make that decision without hearing from listeners first.

So, between now and the end of February, we’re asking you to check out the potential shows, post your thoughts, and read what your fellow KALW listeners have to say.  The options we’re considering for the noon slot are: The Story from American Public Media, Tell Me More from NPR,  To the Point from KCRW/PRI, and Here & Now from WBUR/PRI.  Given some of the early feedback we’ve received, we’ll also consider running a variety of programs at noon, rather than one program across the week.

We’ll be airing each of the potential replacement shows at noon for a full week in February: Tell Me More the week of February 2nd, To the Point the week of February 9th, The Story the week of February 16th, and Here and Now the week of February 23rd.

Listen to to the audition broadcasts, or check the shows out on-line and let us know:  Does the program make you want to keep listening? Is it addressing subjects that matter in a way you trust? If KALW put this on the air at noon, would you tell your friends to listen?  Please don’t feel like you have to listen to episodes of every show before you comment — even fragmentary thoughts can spark a good discussion.

THANK YOU — without listeners who listen carefully and get involved, KALW simply would not be.

Comment on Here and Now

Hosted by Robin Young, Here and Now is public radio’s mid-day news magazine.  It combines journalism with intelligent, broad-ranging conversation to update the news from the morning and adds important conversations on public policy and foreign affairs, science and technology, and the arts.  Listen to a recent show and post your thoughts.

KALW will audition Here & Now at noon the week of February 23rd.

Comment on The Story

Hosted by Dick Gordon, The Story steers clear of commentators and analysts and seeks out  people whose lives are intersecting with significant issues in the news. Check out a recent show here and post your thoughts.

KALW will audition The Story at noon the week of February 16th.

Comment on “Add Variety to the Noon Hour”

Listener Walt wrote:  “I don’t think putting any one program on five days a week makes sense, especially at noon
when many people with diverse views listen to KALW while, like me, they eat their lunch.  Please add variety to the noon hour.”

Please comment on this idea, and if you like it, talk about what kind of mix you’d like to hear at noon.

Comment on To the Point

Hosted by Warren Olney, To the Point is a fast-paced, news based national program that focuses on the hot-button issues of the day. Check out a recent episode here and post your thoughts.

KALW will audition To the Point at noon the week of February 9th.

Comment on Tell Me More

Hosted by Michel Martin, Tell Me More brings fresh voices and perspectives to public radio:  Newsmakers,  thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders…and intimate dispatches of daily life around the world from NPR News correspondents on the ground.  Take a listen and post your thoughts.

KALW auditioned Tell Me More at noon the week of February 2nd.