PRESENTING 61 ESSENTIAL PUBLIC RADIO TALK & INTERVIEW PROGRAMS – PLEASE HELP ME FIND MORE

THIS IS THE FIFTH OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE PUBLIC RADIO TALK & INTERVIEW PROGRAMS

This week we have been taking a closer look at station-based talk and interview programs primarily on NPR News Stations. We believe this genre of programming has been (in some cases) an overlooked and misunderstood genre. Because these programs are often not given the respect they deserve, many stations have not pursued them.  This is a missed opportunity.  Done properly, local talk and interview programs can become  distinguishing brand attributes with powerful pitch points. They also generate originl content that can be used on all platforms.

The number of station-based talk and interview programs has dropped 37% between 2007 and 2015. In most cases these programs have been replaced by syndicated programming, particularly WBUR/NPR’s Here and Now or WNYC/PRI’s The Takeaway.

The loss of “local service” is obvious. Beyond that, stations lost an opportunity for in-the-moment live programming. The ability to be “live” instantly is one of radio’s best assets. It is also an essential part of the news mix because what happens on these programs can become news itself.

I have a received quite a few compliments but most people want to hear more specifics.  Before more station managers will embrace talk and interview they need to know specifics: How these programs perform in pledging, underwriting, ratings, etc. Most importantly, are they sustainable?

Finding this information is my next quest. Today I am sharing my list of talk and interview programs that air locally between the “tent poles,” typically 9am to 4pm. (Shows that air a minimum of three days per week are required to make my list.)

The charts below contain information about 61 talk and interview programs. I’m sure I haven’t included all of the programs, particularly new ones.  Some information may also be dated.  If you don’t see your program on the list, or if key info has changed, please let me know.  My email is publicradio@hotmail.com. Thank you.

If you don’t see your program on the list, or if key info has changed, please let me know.  My email is publicradio@hotmail.com. Thank you.

If you don’t see your program on the list, or if key info has changed, please let me know.  My email is publicradio@hotmail.com. Thank you.

 If you don’t see your program on the list, or if key info has changed, please let me know.  My email is publicradio@hotmail.com. Thank you.

IOWA PUBLIC RADIO’S TWO TALK SHOWS ARE ESSENTIAL TO IPR’S UNIQUE IDENTITY

THIS IS THE FOURTH OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE PUBLIC RADIO TALK & INTERVIEW PROGRAMS

Katherine Perkins

What distinguishes Iowa Public Radio (IPR) from NPR and other NPR News stations?  Two daily talk shows: Talk of Iowa and River to River.

Katherine Perkins, Executive Producer of IPR’s talk shows says the two programs are essential to the organization’s brand and identity. “You can hear NPR from lots of different sources but these programs are available only from IPR. It is one of our major pitch points."

INSIDE THE TWO PROGRAMS

 Talk of Iowa is heard weekdays at 10:00am plus a repeat play at 9:00pm. The host is Charity Nebbe, a native Iowan who left for big-city lights and then returned in 2010. 

Nebbe was the co-host and co-founder of Chinwag Theater with Daniel Pinkwater. She is also an author of children’s books and appears on Iowa Public Television.

River to River is heard weekdays at Noon please a repeat play at 10:00pm. Ben Kieffer is the host. Kieffer has hosted talk shows on IPR since 2000. Another native Iowan, Kieffer gained his report chops when he worked as a freelance reporter in Europe for more than a decade. He reported on the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Velvet Revolution in Prague.

River to River is the “newsier” of the two programs. When Iowa’s legislature is in session, River to River provides deep coverage of state issues and politics. Talk of Iowa specializes in cultural and lifestyle topics. Parker considers both programs to be news: “There is an Iowa thread in every story.

Both shows are produced at WSUI/KSUI, IPR’s program hub in Iowa City.  They share four production and editorial staff. The programs are mostly live and originate from locations outside the studios whenever possible.

SUSTAINABILITY WITH STRONG MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

Iowa Public Radio is a work-in-progress. Until 2004, WSUI in Iowa City, WOI in Ames and KUNI in Cedar Falls were fierce competitors.  They were merged in a “shotgun wedding” and have been working out the details ever since. Now IPR is humming as an almost statewide network. Talk of Iowa and River to River have helped bring IPR together.

According to Perkins, the essential metrics of both shows are solid: “Our two talk shows are highly tated programs. Pledging is going very, very well. We have high fund drive goals and often surpass them. IPR knows the value of what we do.  We more than pay our own way.  And we provide a unique bridge to Iowa businesses, educators and nonprofit organizations.”

INTANGIBLES ALSO MATTER

Talk of Iowa and River to River often win national awards.  Under the rules of the Public Radio News Director’s (PRNDI) annual awards, IPR competes with the biggest shops in public radio: WNYC, KQED, WBUR, WAMU, etc.  IPR programs have beaten all of these stations in PRNDI’s Best Talk Show category.   

{DISCLOSURE: I was a one of the judges.] Here are comments about IPR's winning entries in recent years:

2014 CATEGORY “A” SECOND PLACE

  

2013 CATEGORY “A” HONORABLE MENTION

2009 CATEGORY “A”  SECOND PLACE

CELESTE HEADLEE: “LIVE AUDIO IS ONE OF PUBLIC RADIO’S MOST POTENT TOOLS”

THIS IS THE THIRD OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE PUBLIC RADIO TALK & INTERVIEW PROGRAMS

 

Celeste Headlee

  Celeste Headlee is the Executive Producer and Host of On Second Thought (OST) from Georgia Public Radio (GPB), part of the new generation of public radio talk shows we are saluting this week. It airs weekdays from 9am to 10am [link] on GPB’s statewide network now including WRAS in Atlanta.

Live is important to Headlee and her team because of the in-the-moment urgency it brings. When live audio is captured it can be multi-versioned into podcasts plus digital and social media platforms.

“Live audio is heard on about 80% of the show,” Headlee said. “We consider the on-air folks the be human beings, like you and me. Occasional mistakes are allowed because they are real human moments.”

PROGRAM CLOCK REQUIRES PRECISE TIMING

Several of the out-state GPB stations use automation that requires a strict  clock with “hard posts.” As you can see in the rundown template at right, OST has three major segments. There are typically five, and a minimum of three, topics per day. 

The show has several reoccurring

features: Georgia Playlist, a Desert-Island-Disc segment where guest’s Georgia-oriented tunes are played; and, The Breakroom where a Friday panel of guests and insiders dissect the week’s news and listen to live music.

Cultural and arts topics are frequently included, but according to Headlee “They must have a news peg because the bottom line is that we are a news program.”

An example is OST’s recent coverage [link] of Savanna’s tribute to an Elvis Presley concert held in the city 60 years ago. “The anniversary and the opening of a related photo exhibit made it relevant, something happening new that our listeners might want to attend.”

Here is how GPB promoted it: 

Sixty years ago, a pair of blue suede shoes touched down in Georgia.  Savannah played host to Elvis Presley's first concert in that city in June 1956.  The concert hall was packed with fans, mostly teenagers.  One of those was 14-year-old Dee Sutlive, who is now covering the show for the Savannah Morning News.

Be there or be square.

SO FAR, SO GOOD

OST  (as well as GPB’s Atlanta station) began less than two years. Both are evolving. For instance, OST currently has a larger staff – four people – that the entire Atlanta station’s newsroom.

Since then Atlanta station WRAS is gaining momentum and listeners. As we reported in last March [link], in Fall 2015 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings WRAS was the fasted growing NPR News station in the nation.