NEWS

CHAPEL HILL -- WUNC Public Radio is adding the National Public Radio news magazine "Day to Day" at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and changing its weekend schedule beginning Monday (Sept. 1).

General manager Joan Siefert Rose said the new programs represent a further refinement of WUNC’s news and information format. "We continue to listen to our audience about programs they enjoy, and investigate new shows that they would like us to consider," she said. "This is part of our mission as a public station."

"Day to Day" is NPR’s first new news magazine in more than a decade. Hosted by veteran reporter Alex Chadwick, "Day to Day" is designed as a midday update for fans of the signature news programs "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." The program is produced in Los Angeles in cooperation with the online magazine Slate, whose reporters will contribute interviews and produced features for the show. Business updates will be supplied by correspondents from the public radio program "Marketplace."

"Marketplace" introduces new host David Brown Sept. 1, replacing anchor David Brancaccio, who is moving to public television. "Marketplace" is broadcast on WUNC at 6:30 p.m. weekdays.

WUNC’s weekend changes include new times for "Back Porch Music," WUNC’s long-running traditional music program. "Back Porch Music" will now be heard from 8 p.m. - midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and from 7-10 p.m. Sundays. Show hosts Keith Weston and Freddy Jenkins will produce occasional special features for WUNC, such as folk and bluegrass concert programs, as well as contribute expert commentary on traditional music for the station’s midday public affairs program "The State of Things."

"The State of Things," hosted by Melinda Penkava, heard Monday-Thursday at noon, will expand to include a weekend version, broadcast Sundays at 11 a.m. The program will contain highlights from the previous week’s shows, interviews from the archives, and some original material.

Dean Olsher, a former WUNC broadcaster now based in New York, hosts "The Next Big Thing," a program that will air Saturdays at 1 p.m. This highly imaginative program includes sound portraits, essays, commentary, reviews, and radio drama. "Fresh Air Weekend with Terry Gross," featuring highlights of the popular interview program, will follow "The Next Big Thing" Saturdays at 2 p.m.

WUNC is the public radio service licensed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is heard at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad regions, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 90.9 and 90.5 FM along the Outer Banks. In September 2003, WUNC also will be heard at 88.9 FM in northeastern North Carolina. WUNC serves more than 300,000 listeners each week with its news and information format.

A complete copy of the program schedule is available at www.wunc.org.

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WUNC contact: Joan Siefert Rose, (919) 966-5454, jsrose@wunc.org
News Services contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu