VIA TOM TAYLOR NOW
Michael Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know?” weekend quiz show is canceled after 31 years.
Feldman tells hometown Madison TV station WISC it wasn’t his choice and he’d prefer to keep on hosting the two-hour weekly show for public radio. But Wisconsin Public Radio cites the drop-off in the number of affiliates (which at one time numbered more than 300). And they’re giving Feldman plenty of time to say goodbye, with a final live show scheduled for June 25 in Madison. Feldman’s act has always been interactive, with audience participation, and it’s been Midwestern to its core, gently making fun of Midwestern foibles (and small towns everywhere). You could also see this cancellation as part of a larger trend where fewer Americans live in small towns, for various reasons. Michael would like to do something else with Wisconsin Public Radio, again something “with an audience involvement sort of thing.” Feldman’s current crew includes musical entertainers John Thulin and Jeff Hamann and announcer Stephanie Lee. She got the gig last year, after being an audience member who volunteered to read the usual “Four Disclaimers.” Here’s #1 – “All questions used on Whad'ya Know? have been painstakingly researched, although the answers have not. Ambiguous, misleading, or poorly worded questions are par for the course. Listeners who are sticklers for the truth should get their own shows.” Whad’Ya Know is distributed nationally by PRI
Michael Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know?” weekend quiz show is canceled after 31 years.
Feldman tells hometown Madison TV station WISC it wasn’t his choice and he’d prefer to keep on hosting the two-hour weekly show for public radio. But Wisconsin Public Radio cites the drop-off in the number of affiliates (which at one time numbered more than 300). And they’re giving Feldman plenty of time to say goodbye, with a final live show scheduled for June 25 in Madison. Feldman’s act has always been interactive, with audience participation, and it’s been Midwestern to its core, gently making fun of Midwestern foibles (and small towns everywhere). You could also see this cancellation as part of a larger trend where fewer Americans live in small towns, for various reasons. Michael would like to do something else with Wisconsin Public Radio, again something “with an audience involvement sort of thing.” Feldman’s current crew includes musical entertainers John Thulin and Jeff Hamann and announcer Stephanie Lee. She got the gig last year, after being an audience member who volunteered to read the usual “Four Disclaimers.” Here’s #1 – “All questions used on Whad'ya Know? have been painstakingly researched, although the answers have not. Ambiguous, misleading, or poorly worded questions are par for the course. Listeners who are sticklers for the truth should get their own shows.” Whad’Ya Know is distributed nationally by PRI
