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NPR's Day to Day Joins the KUAC FM Morning Line Up - FAQ |
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What is Day to Day, and how is it different from Morning Edition?
Day to Day is a radio news program produced by National Public Radio. Because it is produced on the West Coast, it tends to run more stories on issues about the western United States, including Alaska.
Because Day to Day airs live from the West Coast, we in Alaska will be able to hear the latest breaking news when KUAC airs it at 8 a.m. (9 a.m. Pacific time). Without Day to Day, KUAC listeners get a replay of the 6 a.m. Morning Edition segment, which means the "updated" news at is actually two hours old. On most days this may not matter much because the news hasn't changed in the last two hours, but on days when a major event is unfolding rapidly, the two-hour lag can be noticeable.
Will I still be able to listen to Morning Edition?
Yes. Morning Edition will continue to air at its regular time, beginning at 5 a.m. weekdays and Weekend Edition will still air at 7 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays. Day to Day will air weekdays only, from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m., instead of the hour of Morning Edition that was a repeat of the 6 a.m. broadcast.
What do you mean, "a repeated hour"?
KUAC picks up Morning Edition's live feed from the East Coast beginning weekdays at 5 a.m. Alaska time. (KUAC also picks up Weekend Edition's live feed on Saturdays and Sundays, but there is no repeated hour.)
Morning Edition is broken into two separate hours. Each hour's format consists of updated news at the top of the hour, followed by a mix of pre-recorded stories. If breaking news occurs during the live broadcast, NPR's Morning Edition staff can remove one of the pre-recorded stories and insert the latest news.
Can I still get Morning Edition at 8 a.m.?
Some listeners may actually like hearing the repeated hour at 8 a.m.; for some, it may be the first time they hear it. Past editions of Morning Edition can still be heard on the web at http://www.npr.org/morningedition.
On balance, KUAC felt strongly that it was important to give the KUAC audience the latest news possible in that important time slot, which can be done best with Day to Day.
What's the advantage to Day to Day over Morning Edition?
Day to Day is broadcast live from the West Coast at 9 a.m. Pacific time, so KUAC listeners get the latest news at 8 a.m. Under the previous Morning Edition schedule, KUAC picked up the live broadcast from the East Coast beginning at 5 a.m., a new one at 6 a.m., replayed the initial broadcast at 7 a.m., then repeated the 6 a.m. broadcast at 8 a.m. Alaska time. The 8 a.m. repeat broadcast was necessary because by that time the East Coast program had gone off the air.
On most days, listeners probably didn't notice that segments airing on Morning Edition were repeats, but occasionally, especially when national or world events were changing quickly, the "breaking" news was now old news. By switching to Day to Day, KUAC listeners will get the very latest news.
Remember, Morning Edition will still be broadcast from 5 a.m. - 8 a.m. weekdays and Weekend Edition will continue to air at 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Sunday.
How much does it cost the station?
There is no extra cost because Day to Day is included in the NPR membership package. KUAC currently pays NPR an annual flat fee $81,710 for access to a set of programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, and many other national programs. Day to Day is part of that set. Making Day to Day part of KUAC's lineup gives listeners more variety and timely news for the same amount of money.
How was the decision made to air Day to Day?
KUAC's radio staff initially recommended Day to Day to KUAC's programmer, KUAC administration and Community Advisory Council in fall 2007. In the past, KUAC would sometimes have to edit the last hour of Morning Edition to avoid broadcasting outdated information. Airing Day to Day tries to address these issues.
There's no shortage of quality programming in public radio. The operative questions were:
- What program will best serve the station's listeners?
- What is the most powerful and appropriate program available during a specific time period?
Every programming decision is a comparison between two options: the program now on the air and the program(s) that might be. Program decision-making begins by assessing the quality of a program and its adherence to the values that guide our public radio station. In the case of KUAC's 8:00 a.m. time period, the radio programming staff believes Day to Day is the program that provides the highest-quality, the most journalistic integrity and best service to our listeners.
Did you talk about this to the Community Advisory Council?
Yes. KUAC staff first approached the council in September regarding the issue of airing dated news and before their December meeting and asked the members to review Day to Day so they could discuss it at the meeting. After listening to Day to Day online, council members agreed that the show was a good fit for KUAC and supported its addition to the lineup. The council reiterated its support at its May meeting and worked with KUAC to develop a plan to get the word out about its addition to the programming.
When will we be able to listen to Day to Day on KUAC?
Day to Day will begin airing weekdays on KUAC at 8 a.m., Monday, June 23, 2008.
Will this impact other programming?
This will not affect any other programming, either during the week or on the weekends. The only change is that KUAC is replacing the 8 a.m. broadcast - a repeated hour of Morning Edition - with an up-to-date news program, which will be followed, as always, by Performance Today at 9 a.m. weekdays. Within the 8-9 a.m. news hour the APRN news brief will not be a separate program component. Instead, the top-of-the-hour will feature an extra 4 minutes of NPR news. Important or breaking stories from APRN after 8 a.m. will be covered by our KUAC reporters as part of the KUAC newscast at 8:30 a.m.
Does it affect weekend programming?
No. Weekend programming remains the same.
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