KOSU announces programming changes

Friday, March 28, 2008

The New KOSU to feature more news and weekend music programs
 
(March 28, 2008   Stillwater, OK) –  KOSU is launching a new program schedule to meet the changing needs of its listening audience.  Phase one of The New KOSU begins Monday, March 31 with the addition of several public radio news programs, as well the return of Friday and Saturday night jazz.  The second phase of The New KOSU, which will launch May 10, will feature several program additions to the station’s Saturday morning and afternoon lineup.      
 
“During the past six months, we have been engaging our listeners to find out what they like and what they would change about KOSU,” said KOSU Director Kelly Burley. “Through our Town Hall meeting, speaking engagements with community groups, our listener survey and KOSU’s new advisory board, the Champions Council, it has become quite clear that listeners want more diversity in the station’s programming, and we are prepared to deliver.”
 
The New KOSU will feature the addition of many of public radio’s most successful programs.  The new weekday lineup includes the following program additions:
 
Weekdays
7:50 am  Marketplace Morning Report  
Get a head start on the day with public radio’s premier financial news program.  From the producers of the award-winning Marketplace, this 9-minute morning business news report is especially relevant in today’s economic climate.  
 
9 a.m.  The Writer’s Almanac
This five minute radio gem is a listener favorite. Listeners across the country tune in each day as host Garrison Keillor recounts the highlights of that day in history and reads a short poem or two.
 
9:05 a.m. The Takeaway
This brand new newsmagazine program, co-hosted by veteran journalist John Hockenberry, is co-created by Public Radio International and WNYC and editorial partners the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Radio Boston.  The Takeaway, which was originally scheduled to launch March 31, has been pushed back until the end of April.  So in the interim, KOSU will air BBC World Service from 9am to 11am.
 
11 a.m. - The Story
This new program hosted by Dick Gordon fills in the picture of events in the news with compelling personal experiences.  This interview program is designed to bring great stories to public radio in a way that will help listeners understand what is going on in their world and why it matters to them.  
 
12 p.m. - Fresh Air
Lunch with KOSU will feature one of public radio’s most critically acclaimed weekday news programs.  Hosted by Terry Gross, Fresh Air opens the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.  
 
1 p.m. - Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation links the headlines with what is on people’s minds, providing a springboard for listeners and experts to exchange ideas and pose critical questions about major events in the news and the world around them.
 
2 p.m. - The World
This radio news magazine program features a mix of news, features, interviews and music from around the globe.  Hosted by Lisa Mullins, it is the first global radio news program developed specifically for an American audience.
 
6 p.m. - Marketplace
Award-winning Marketplace is public radio’s daily magazine on business and economic news “for the rest of us.”  The 30-minute program-with an irreverent reporting style all its own-boasts the largest audience for any business program in the United States on radio, cable or network television. Previously unavailable in central Oklahoma, Marketplace covers financial news from your wallet to Wall Street.
 
KOSU is also pleased to announce a new weekend music line-up, beginning Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.  Programs include:
 
Friday Night
9 p.m. - American Routes
American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, presenting a broad range of American music -- blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical.  American Routes explores the shared musical and cultural threads in these American styles and genres of music -- and how they are distinguished.
 
11 p.m. - The Song is You with Bonnie Grice
The Song is You with Bonnie Grice is a radio series unlike any other.  Each week veteran broadcaster and interviewer Bonnie Grice invites her guests to dip into their musical memories and their CD collections and through unscripted conversation let the rest of us know how music has inspired, comforted or just been a part of their lives.  What comes through for the listener, though, is a sense of person, a sense of place and time; a celebration of the power that music has over all of us.

12 p.m. - Jazz After Hours with Jim Wilke
Wind down with the mellow vibes of "Jazz After Hours." Host and producer Jim Wilke delivers just the right mix of contemporary and classical jazz music while welcoming guests such as Ray Brown, Max Roach, Joe Henderson, Milt Henderson and many more. You'll also hear about upcoming tours, festivals, clubs and the best places to hear live jazz.
 
Saturday Night
8 p.m. - European Jazz Stage
The NEW European Jazz Stage with host Daniel Frankl. highlights international stars in vibrant settings -- Larry Coryell, Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, The Neville Brothers, McCoy Tyner, Joe Zawinul -- And we'll bring jazz names you may not have heard: Han Bennink, Fay Claassen, and more. Don't let the consonants and accents faze you -- these musicians swing.
 
9 p.m. - Piano Jazz
Since April 1979, legendary pianist Marian McPartland has welcomed a stellar line-up of jazz artists for one hour of conversation and improvisation on her Peabody Award-winning program. Each week, McPartland, with her engaging personality and improvisational savvy, hosts a variety of performers in her radio living room.

10 p.m. - Jazz Set
Since 1992, NPR's JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater has been the jazz lover's ears on the world of live music, taking listeners to hear top artists performing on stages around the world.
 
11 p.m. - Night Lights Jazz
Night Lights, hosted by David Brent Johnson, focuses on jazz from the 1945-1990 era—a timespan that, as Johnson notes, “weirdly parallels Miles Davis on record and the Cold War.” Covering artists such as Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone and themes ranging from jazz recordings of spirituals to avant-garde interpretations of the Great American Songbook, Night Lights also features many lesser-known talents of post-1945 jazz, such as saxophonist J.R. Monterose, trumpeter Freddie Webster and piano/singer duo Dick and Kiz Harp.

12 p.m. - Jazz After Hours with Jim Wilke
 
KOSU is also adding several Sunday programs to its lineup, beginning April 6, including:
 
Sunday
7 a.m. and 7 p.m. - Speaking of Faith
Public radio’s weekly conversation about religion, meaning, ethics and ideas is hosted by Shawnee native Krista Tippett.  Each week, Tippett probes the many ways in which religious impulses inform every aspect of life and culture, nationally and globally.  Speaking of Faith fills an important and neglected need in American media by addressing the intellectual and spiritual content of religion head-on, illuminating the ideas and practices that form the headlines from the inside.  
 
10 a.m. - To the Best of our Knowledge
This two-hour program features in-depth interviews with nationally and internationally-known guests whose passion for new ideas challenge and engage.  This Peabody-award winning interview magazine, hosted by Jim Fleming, is thoughtful and penetrating, and features fascinating topics and guests.
 
12 p.m. - This American Life
This multiple award-winning, critically acclaimed program describes and document contemporary American life.  Each week, host and producer Ira Glass chooses a theme through which he and a variety of writers and performers share stories in a range of styles: monologues, documentaries, short radio plays, found recordings and original works.  The result is appointment radio: captivating narratives that are unrivaled on-air or online.
 
Phase two of The New KOSU will launch Saturday, May 10 with the addition of Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, Weekend America and the first run of This American Life.
 
“The New KOSU is designed to create new reasons to listen to public radio at Oklahoma State University,” Burley said. “We are increasing our local service while bringing many of public radio’s most successful national programs to KOSU because we are committed to improving our service to listeners.”  Burley continued, “We won’t satisfy everyone - after all, we have 168 hours in a week to program and literally thousands of hours of program choices.  But after carefully considering the collective input of our listeners during the past six months, as well as input from our new advisory board, The KOSU Champions Council, and public radio’s premier consultants, we have done our best to create a schedule that is designed to improve our audience service.”  
 
For listeners who rely on KOSU for classical music, the station will continue to air nearly 50 hours of classical programming each week, including Performance Today, and we will offer classical music 24 hours a day, 7-days a week on KOSU HD-2, which will soon be known as KOSU HD Classical, available on HD radios and as a live stream at www.kosu.org.  There are also other options available – in central Oklahoma KCSC 90.1 fm is an all-classical music station, as is KWTU 88.7 fm in Tulsa.  
 
To view The New KOSU program schedule, visit www.kosu.org .