PUBLIC RADIO WEEKEND CHANGES NAME TO WEEKEND AMERICA
Contact: Suzanne Perry
(651) 290-1276
sperry@americanpublicmedia.us
www.americanpublicmedia.us
PUBLIC RADIO WEEKEND CHANGES NAME TO WEEKEND AMERICA
The new weekend news magazine prepares for nationwide launch
(St. Paul, Minn.) Sept. 1, 2004 — Public Radio Weekend, the new weekend news magazine that is now in pilot production, will launch nationwide in October with the name Weekend America®. The new name will make its debut on the program that is broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Weekend America, hosted by Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke, is a two-hour weekly program that presents news and analysis, interviews, features, music and commentaries with a fun and engaging style that appeals to the weekend listener. Produced and distributed by a public radio collaboration led by American Public Media, the program's magazine format makes it a weekend companion that busy listeners can tune in and out without getting lost. Its stories are designed to provide new perspective on the week's events, in a style appropriate for the weekend. Incorporating the best of public radio from content partner stations, independent producers and national producers, Weekend America reflects the way people use radio on the weekends.
Weekend America pilots are now being broadcast and audience-tested on more than 40 public radio stations nationally. The program will add 14 additional stations in September. For more information, see www.weekendamerica.org.
The Weekend America team includes Executive Producer Jim Russell, Senior Producer Jeremy Skeet and Managing Producer Laurie Selik. Partners include WBUR Boston, WCPN Cleveland, KPCC Los Angeles, WMFE Orlando, KUOW Seattle, KNOW St. Paul and AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Minnesota Public Radio.
AmericanPublic Mediaô is the national production and distribution unit of MinnesotaPublic Radio. It is the nation's second-biggest producer of nationalpublic radio programs, reaching 11.9 million listeners nationwide eachweek. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®, Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being® and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.
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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2003