• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

NPR to discontinue Talk of the Nation

Some of the interviews were good - for the first 10 or 15 minutes until they started taking callers. Then it became as entertaining as root canal. Always made me appreciate Terry Gross not taking calls.

Here and Now is a much better show. Good move.

I wonder if the fact that WBUR's arch-rival WGBH now owns PRI has anything to do with this move.

Will Here and Now expand to two hours? Might make sense to keep it at one since many NPR stations either don't take or delay the second hour (in order to run the late feed of Fresh Air). Will Here and Now most to TON's time slot or continue to air at noon (with NPR also doing the early feed of Fresh Air)?

NPR already distributes WBUR's On Point (during the same time slot in which it also distributes WAMU's Diane Rehm). And WBUR produced Car Talk, which NPR continues to distribute in re-runs. It seems like this makes WBUR (Boston University Radio) the top outside producer of NPR programming.
 
Glad to hear Science Friday remains. I guess there are too many overlapping public radio programs in middays. In most markets, there's only one NPR News-Talk station. Both hours of Talk of The Nation were only getting cleared in a fraction of the country.

In the seven hours between Morning Edition and All Things Considered, you have all these shows available...

Talk of The Nation (2 hr.)
Here and Now
Fresh Air
Diane Rehm (2 hr.)
On Point (2 hr.)
Tell Me More
The World
The Takaway

Plus many NPR stations run their own programs in midday. WNYC NYC and WGBH Boston have four hours of their own shows, most other NPR affiliates have at least an hour or two. Some run an hour of BBC World News in the midday hours. And some, like Maine Public Radio, still run some Classical Music as well.

So I guess TOTN is a victim of too much overlapping midday programming.
 
As Gregg points out, public radio has a lot of daytime offerings. Nobody carries all of them (maybe a few stations come close using their HD sub-channels). Programs are fighting for clearances. NPR, PRI, APM and PRX are fighting to get them cleared.

It's getting Darwinian. Stations pay for programs. Programs that don't get cleared, don't get money. Programs that don't get money die. Stations drop shows that don't draw pledges. Programs that don't draw pledges die.

Stations that carry Here and Now already plus one hour of TON may likely take both hours of the expanded H&N. H&N may do better at clearing its second hour than TON has.
 
The New York Times story (see link above) mentions the following....
The plan, announced Friday, is the product of discussions that began more than two years ago between NPR and some of its biggest member stations. The stations wanted a magazine-style news show at the middle of the day, something along the lines of “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” the two bookends of most stations’ weekday schedules.

“Here and Now” fits that description.
Click to expand...

This is sort of disgusting. NPR had a "magazine-style news at the middle of the day." An excellent one. It was called "Day to Day" NPR cancelled if almost exactly four years ago. NPR periodically staffs up and then cuts back. During this cut back they decided to cut "Day to Day" and keep "Tell Me More," although from what I have read "Day to Day" had more cume and more stations.

Stations are saying now they want a midday news magazine. What were they saying in 2009?
 
^^I agree whole-heartedly.

MS Public Broadcasting carries "Here and Now", having picked it up when NPR cancelled "Day to Day" a few years back. I found it to be a subpar replacement for that program.

Where I'm at now, Houston Public Radio doesn't carry "H and N." But just this week announced they have hired a host to launch a local public affairs talk/interview program. It hasn't been announced at what time it will air, yet.

But it makes me wonder how long stations have known NPR was killing "Talk of the Nation" before it was announced to the public.
 
NPR cites a glut of call-in shows and a lack of newsmagazines in mid-day.

So let's break it down by type:
News magazines:
Here and Now (PRI)
The Takeaway (PRI)
Tell Me More (NPR)
The World (PRI)
To The Point (PRI)

Call-In shows:
TOTN (NPR)
Diane Rehm Show (NPR)
On Point (NPR)

Other:
Fresh Air (NPR)

I must be missing something about this explanation. Sure, not all of the magazines are exactly in the mold of "Morning Edition," but isn't that variety a good thing? Maybe NPR is thinking only about its own productions and distributions with that explanation.
 
But it makes me wonder how long stations have known NPR was killing "Talk of the Nation" before it was announced to the public.
Click to expand...

We found out the same way everyone else did. And at least a few stations are pretty torqued about that, too.
 
aaronread said:
But it makes me wonder how long stations have known NPR was killing "Talk of the Nation" before it was announced to the public.
Click to expand...

We found out the same way everyone else did. And at least a few stations are pretty torqued about that, too.
Click to expand...

Hmm. NPR says they've been talking to stations for two years and stations wanted the midday show.

It seems NPR is unable to make major changes without making an announcement in such a way as to pysse off almost everybody.

Some non-commercial stations already carry Thom Hartmann. PRI or APM should sign him to jump to public radio and put him opposite H&N.
 
I can't imagine many NPR stations being interested in Hartmann. That might work for public stations that air Democracy Now, etc. but he seems too controversial for most NPR stations.

I do wonder if BBC's World Have Your Say might get some more clearance out of this. Its a smart daily call in show. If someone wants a midday call in show, it would be a good choice assuming the international content doesn't scare people away.
 
If not Thom Hartmann...

Then maybe they could bring Michael Jackson out of retirement, IMHO one of the best call in hosts of all time.
 
It seems NPR is unable to make major changes without making an announcement in such a way as to pysse off almost everybody.
Click to expand...

Well yes. That is a factual truth. And most of that is not NPR's fault, either. :)
 
FredLeonard said:
IMHO one of the best call in hosts of all time.
Click to expand...

I think they key thing NPR is saying is they don't want to be in the call-in talk show business, regardless of the host. Neal Conan was not the reason TOTN was canceled. The format is the reason.
 
TheBigA said:
FredLeonard said:
IMHO one of the best call in hosts of all time.
Click to expand...

I think they key thing NPR is saying is they don't want to be in the call-in talk show business, regardless of the host. Neal Conan was not the reason TOTN was canceled. The format is the reason.
Click to expand...

Probably so. But it appears "member stations," at least some of them, don't share that view. If there is still station interest in call-in shows, there's an opportunity for PRI (WGBH) or APM (MPR).
 
FredLeonard said:
Probably so. But it appears "member stations," at least some of them, don't share that view. If there is still station interest in call-in shows, there's an opportunity for PRI (WGBH) or APM (MPR).
Click to expand...

Maybe. Those companies operate under a different set of circumstances than NPR. Less public scrutiny. My sense is that NPR is in a situation now where it needs to spread responsibility beyond DC.
 
TheBigA said:
FredLeonard said:
Probably so. But it appears "member stations," at least some of them, don't share that view. If there is still station interest in call-in shows, there's an opportunity for PRI (WGBH) or APM (MPR).
Click to expand...

Maybe. Those companies operate under a different set of circumstances than NPR. Less public scrutiny. My sense is that NPR is in a situation now where it needs to spread responsibility beyond DC.
Click to expand...

That would explain more distribution of station-produced shows.

I always thought it was a mistake for NPR to locate itself (not just a news bureau) in DC. They seem to have a so inside-the-beltway outlook and culture.

I understand they a moving into a new building. Is it smaller than the current building? Would make sense if a greater share of the production comes from elsewhere.

Since Day to Day was cancelled, it seems the Culver City offices are not being fully utilized. They usually have a co-anchor for the drive time news magazines there but when they read credits on Fridays, it seems like the off-mic staff is still mostly in DC.
 
I've visited both NPR East and NPR West in the past year or so. NPR East, the old place anyways, was huge but even so, people were packed in like sardines. It was big enough that the elimination of TOTN won't impact that, especially since all the staff members are being offered roles elsewhere in NPR.

I haven't been to the new place in DC but the plans I saw were for a significant increase in space. Even so, only so many people work on TOTN...we're talking 6 to 12 people out of hundreds.

NPR West is waaa-aay underused...a ton of space with comparatively few people using it. It's almost a little creepy how empty things are out there. Now, all things being equal, I think NPR ought to move a lot more production of shows/news out there. Both to better make use of the NPR West space AND to help mitigate their definite inside-the-beltway mentality issues. Which are real and, to be fair, people are cognizant of them.
 
Keep in mind that for the years it was on the air, "Day To Day" was based there. So when WATC moves there this summer, that should fill the space a bit.
 
mwd711 said:
I do wonder if BBC's World Have Your Say might get some more clearance out of this. Its a smart daily call in show. If someone wants a midday call in show, it would be a good choice assuming the international content doesn't scare people away.
Click to expand...

Ugh. I hope not. KUHF-Houston carries this program at mid-day. I generally like BBC News programming (BBC Newshour, which airs at 3pm CT in Houston is a great listen, their overnight service - while good - used to be better before they revamped it a few months back), but WHYS is hard to listen to.

The host, callers and guests talk over each other too much - not in the "O'Reilly Factor" or other partisan talk show way of trying to shout each other down, mind you. Just in the technical sense of guests on phone lines and over satellite links not hearing questions and answers in "real time".

So to often there is this long pause after a question while the guest finishes listening to it...but since dead air is anathema to radio, the host (or the other guest) jumps in...then the guest the question was posed to starts to answer...but is drowned out by the host (or guest )...or both at once...so the guest goes quiet waiting for the other two to quit talking so he or she can answer...which leads to another long pause....which starts the cycle all over again.

I reach for the scan button every time I hear the top of the hour show open.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom