MADISON – Following two years of analysis, audience research and planning, Wisconsin Public Radio is reorganizing its statewide service to help listeners more easily find and enjoy news and music on the radio and on wpr.org.
Beginning May 20, WPR’s two current networks – NPR News & Music and The Ideas Network – will become WPR News and WPR Music. The Ideas Network name will be retired and its staff and many of its programs will be part of WPR News.
“With WPR reporters in eight local bureaus across the state, plus NPR and BBC national and global coverage, WPR News will offer an unparalleled mix of journalism from Wisconsin, the nation and the world,” WPR Director Sarah Ashworth said.
WPR News will feature news and information programs throughout the week, including “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “The Larry Meiller Show,” “Marketplace,” “1A,” “Science Friday,” and “Fresh Air.” And, popular programs like “BETA,” “The People’s Pharmacy,” “Zorba Paster On Your Health,” “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” and “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!,” among others, will be heard on the weekend.
“The Larry Meiller Show” will expand to two hours and WPR will launch a new morning news and culture program called “Wisconsin Today” airing weekdays at 9 a.m. WPR hosts Kate Archer Kent and Rob Ferrett will co-host the new program. “Wisconsin Today” will cover current and emerging issues with a decidedly Wisconsin point of view. In addition to the radio program, “Wisconsin Today” will offer the latest news and cultural conversations on wpr.org.
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” morning news podcast will continue to bring listeners top stories from around the state in less than 15 minutes each weekday morning.
WPR Music will offer an expanded, Wisconsin-hosted classical music schedule seven days a week, and will continue to offer jazz, world and folk music each weekend. “Music brings people together and opens hearts like nothing else,” Ashworth said. “WPR Music will be a welcoming place for Wisconsinites looking for local voices and beautiful, expertly curated and inspiring music to keep them company day and night.”
Beloved WPR classical hosts Stephanie Elkins, Norman Gilliland, Lori Skelton and Ruthanne Bessman are all part of the new service, as are Jonathan Øverby, host of the award-winning world music program “The Road to Higher Ground,” and Sile Shigely, host of “Simply Folk.” The station is in the process of hiring an additional classical music host who will broadcast from Milwaukee each weekday evening. WPR will continue to host its statewide broadcast of “Morning Edition” from Milwaukee with Alex Crowe each weekday.
As part of the changes, “The Morning Show” and “Central Time” – currently heard on WPR’s The Ideas Network stations – will end so that Kent and Ferrett can focus on “Wisconsin Today.” Syndicated programs “1A Plus,” “As It Happens,” “Q” and “Milk Street Radio” are among a handful of national programs that will no longer be heard on WPR stations after May 20.
Some regional programs, including WPR’s three regional news programs “Route 51,” “Simply Superior,” and “Newsmakers” will also end. Hosts of those three shows will produce and host weekly regional news segments that will air during “Morning Edition” beginning this summer.
“We are constantly evaluating our service to the people of Wisconsin and, like others in public media, WPR saw changes in broadcast and digital audience behavior during and after the pandemic,” Ashworth said. “No other medium is as accessible and affordable as radio and we want to make sure the news, music, information and entertainment Wisconsinites rely on is available to more people, in more places, for decades to come. WPR News and WPR Music will help make that possible.”
All of WPR’s 38 stations will shift format to either WPR News or WPR Music. “Most listeners will continue to hear both services, but they may need to reset their radio dials to get the programs they are used to hearing,” said Marta Bechtol, executive director of the Educational Communications Board, the partner with UW-Madison in operating WPR and PBS Wisconsin.
The ECB also manages the transmission and distribution of public media in the state. “Our joint team of engineers carefully vetted the plan, working to ensure that as many Wisconsinites as possible would be able to listen to both WPR News and WPR Music,” she said.
In Milwaukee, where WPR operates one station, WPR Music will replace The Ideas Network on 90.7 FM WHAD. Current listeners to The Ideas Network in southeast Wisconsin will be able to hear WPR News – including the new show, “Wisconsin Today,” and “The Larry Meiller Show” – on 91.1 WGTD from Kenosha, on wpr.org or with the WPR app.
“We have heard from Milwaukee listeners for years that they want us to bring classical music radio back to the city and this will do just that. We think they will love what they hear,” Bechtol said. WPR Music on 90.7 FM will be the first full-time classical music station in Milwaukee since the commercial station WFMR changed formats in 2007.
To help listeners explore the changes and prepare for the new service on May 20, WPR is rolling out an extensive communications campaign on air, online and in the media. A dedicated web portal, wpr.org/new, includes new station maps, schedules for the new networks and other details about the changes.
Audiences can email [email protected] or call 844-266-7724 to ask questions and share comments. WPR Director Sarah Ashworth will hold “learn more” sessions in eight locations around Wisconsin between April 23 and May 17.
While changes in the economy have affected WPR like other media outlets, no full or part-time staff are being laid off as part of these schedule changes.
All 38 WPR stations will change format to either WPR News or WPR Music on May 20. Updated station maps and schedules for the new service – along with more detailed information – are available at wpr.org/new. To request an interview, photos or graphics to support this story, contact Jeffrey Potter, WPR Director of Marketing and Communications, at 608-890-3908 or email [email protected].
Source: WPR
