WABE shakes up its ‘World’
August 6, 2007 at 3:51 pm by David Lee Simmons in NewsIn what amounts to a serious shakeup in its programming, WABE-FM (90.1)’s insertion of the first-rate news show “The World†caused quite the ripple effect starting today. The one-hour news show from Public Radio International, a co-op effort by the BBC and Boston’s WGBH-FM, slid into the 3-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday slot— thereby bumping talk show “Fresh Air†with Terry Gross later to 7 p.m. weekdays.
That’s where the real ripples occurred, because WABE previously had a different show for each weekday’s 7 p.m. time slot. That forced the following changes:
• “Between the Lines,†the locally produced literary show hosted by Valerie Jackson, moved to 7 p.m. Friday.
• “The Infinite Mind,†the syndicated human-behavior program, moves to 7-8 a.m. Saturday as a lead-in to “Saturday Weekend Edition.â€
• “Speaking of Faith,†Krista Tippett’s syndicated program on faith, religion and spirituality, moves to 7-8 a.m. Sunday as a lead-in to “Sunday Weekend Edition.â€
• “City Arts and Lectures,†the syndicated arts program hosted by actress Linda Hunt, moves to WABE’s HD Radio News & Information Channel (90.1-3) at 3 p.m. Sunday. It will be the only show bumped entirely off the regular radio-dial WABE programming.
With all due respect to Hunt, “City Arts and Lectures†is no great loss. The big trade-off, obviously, is quantity for quality. What evening listeners lose in the variety of so many different quality shows is the more logical placement of the popular and critically acclaimed “Fresh Air†in such a powerful evening slot where it can gain better ratings momentum.
Plus, the addition of “The World†helps deliver high-quality international news programming for WABE at a time when everyone seems to be screaming about keeping everything local. It’s a nice addition.
Check out podcast interviews with Terry Gross and Krista Tippett previously in Creative Loafing, as well as a print interview I did with Gross awhile back.
August 6th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
What would be nice is if WABE would be willing to cut into their schedule of 6 hours of classical music during the day to start airing some of the other NPR news programs.
August 6th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
“Finally, A Good Use for HD Radio”
“HD radio is a virtual garbage dump for terrestrial programmers. There. I’ve said it.”
http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/07/finally-good-use-for-hd-radio.html
Too bad for Linda – might have been a different story, if consumers did not have ZERO interest in HD Radio:
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/
August 6th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
This is too little too late. WABE has committed suicide by classical music. Their last fund-raising campaign was a catastrophe — they didn’t meet their goal because people have abandoned the station in droves. You can find alternatives on the Internet. Screw Lois Reitzes. She ruined the station. Let all those dipshit classical music buffs spring for some CDs and quit ruining the ONLY NPR station in Atlanta. South Carolina and Alabama have MUCH BETTER NPR STATIONS THAN ATLANTA, for God’s sake. Lois: be ashamed. Be very ashamed.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Mr. Ogg reveals a degree of ignorance common to loudmouth philistines.
Clark Atlanta’s 91.9 WCLK also carries NPR programs: both nationally-produced jazz programs like Piano Jazz and Jazz Profiles and the public affairs shows News & Notes and Tell Me More. The trade-off, like for WABE, is less music. And that IS a loss.
While WABE is the main NPR outlet in town, it is also the main broadcast source for classical music. And it has been both these things for decades. Rather than appreciate the balancing act a truly public radio station must play it seem all too easy to be juvenile and anti-intellectual.
This city needs Haydn and Coltrane more than ever.
August 7th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I’ve got no problem with classical music, but I, too, crave more news programming on WABE.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Clarification: “Fresh Air” is on Sunday-Thursday at 7 p.m. I said “weekdays.” My bad.
As I mentioned in the post, “Between the Lines” is at 7 p.m. Friday.
August 7th, 2007 at 11:09 am
we need the Fairness Doctrine to balance WABE’s broadcasting to better serve the public hahahahahahahaha
August 7th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Still we are held hostage to SIX freakishly long hours of Lois Reitzes with her Sousa medleys and skippy stuff. How much longer must we suffer?
August 7th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
It’s a bit infuriating to see advocates of public radio—a bastion of thoughtfulness and reflection—be so unreflectively dismissive of art music.
By all means get rid of those dipshits Schubert, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. Then we’ll go trip little Irving on the way to his violin lesson. It’ll be hilarious.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
It’s a bit infuriating to see someone post a smarmy response without comprehending that the “dipshits” referred to were the handful of classical music fans who drive the programming (an can afford cd’s), rather than the genius composers the low-comprehension poster mentions.
August 9th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
NPR talk on on an AM station; music on the FM station.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:50 am
I finally bought an HD radio to listen to WABE’s other two line ups, and in the last few days, the digital broadcasts simply vanished. I am not familiar with the workings of HD radios, so ID do not know if WABE is working on its transmitters, or if HD radios are designed in such a way that some stations can be lost, while other stations still are linkable. But since the 24th of August, I have not been able to receive any HD broadcasts, while every other broadcaster in the area still are available on my tabletop radio.
I for one was very happy with the HD lineup, because I could hear more NPR broadcasts and avoid some of the classical broadcasts on the HD Radio. Not that I am not fond of the classical broadcasts. I just like a little more variety.
Is anyone aware of any recent problems with the HD broadcasts out of WABE?
I have called the station, but have not been able to speak to anyone in their engineering department.