| Stations in Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Orlando, Seattle and St. Paul - and the Association of Independents in Radio - Will Help Produce
the “Weekend Journey Throughout America”
Los Angeles, April 30 - Public Radio Weekend, the new national weekend radio magazine, today announced that seven partners have signed on to help produce the new service. The so-called “Content Partners” are:
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WBUR, Boston
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WCPN, Cleveland
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KPCC, Los Angeles
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WMFE, Orlando
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KUOW, Seattle
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KNOW, St. Paul
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AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio
Public Radio Weekend - which is in development by Minnesota Public Radio - is a service that offers public radio stations news and analysis, interviews, features, music and commentaries with a fun and engaging weekend style and attitude. PRW, now presenting one-hour pilots from its base in Los Angeles, is designed to be a collaboration of stations representing different regions and different audiences. The Content Partners act as “listening posts,” sharing news, ideas, commentaries and stories occurring where they work.
“We’re very pleased to be working with so strong and diverse a group of public radio stations,” said Public Radio Weekend Executive Producer Jim Russell. “All of these stations are strong producers. Working with them, PRW will truly be able to deliver a program ‘from the country, to the country.’”
The collaboration with the independent producers of AIR has allowed the organization to secure the services of multi-award winning producer Joe Bevilacqua, to help work with independents and insure that their work is significantly represented on PRW. Russell said other content relationships are being developed too, notably one with PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, a nonprofit service for distribution, peer review and licensing of radio pieces.
"We at 89.3 KPCC are pleased to join other public radio stations across the nation in providing content to such a creative and vital program as PRW," said Bill Davis, president and CEO of Southern California Public Radio, which oversees KPCC. "Local news gathering and innovative programming are KPCC's strengths, enabling us to make many positive contributions to Public Radio Weekend."
Public Radio Weekend, made possible by major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Minnesota Public Radio, is hosted by Barbara Bogaev, a broadcast veteran and former substitute host on WHYY and NPR’s Fresh Air. She will be paired with a co-host who has not yet been named.
The pilots began airing on the Content Partner stations on May 1 to test them with real audiences. Minnesota Public Radio expects other stations to join in broadcasting the pilots in July, with a full system launch in the fall.
More information about PRW can be found on www.publicradioweekend.org. Listeners are invited to send their comments about the pilots to mail@publicradioweekend.org.
Public Radio Weekend is produced by Minnesota Public Radio in association with WBUR, Boston; WCPN, Cleveland; KPCC, Los Angeles; WMFE, Orlando; KUOW, Seattle; KNOW, St. Paul and AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio.
Media Contacts
David Barber
KPCC Radio
261 S. Figueroa St. #200
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-3480
dbarber@kpcc.org
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