Saturday, July 26, 2003

By Adrian McCoy, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

There's a new addition in the NPR newsmagazine family. On Monday, the public radio network will launch "Day to Day" -- a new midday news program that joins its successful siblings, "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

"Day to Day" will air at noon weekdays. WDUQ-FM (90.5) is among the first NPR stations -- one of 50 -- to pick up the one-hour news program.

The host is NPR correspondent Alex Chadwick, a Boston native who grew up in Washington, D.C. Chadwick joined NPR in 1977 and has worked there off and on since then as reporter, producer and host on the network's other newsmagazines. He also does "Radio Expeditions," a series focusing on the natural world, co-produced by NPR and National Geographic Society.

Although "Day to Day" is now the core of his NPR work, Chadwick will continue to do a few "Radio Expeditions" reports a year.

He describes "Day to Day" as "substance with a twist: smart, funny, thoughtful, quirky material." While it will sound like NPR, he says, there are some key differences. "I think it'll sound a little looser. It will be more spontaneous."

There will be more interviews and fewer straight news features than the other daily news shows. When important stories break, it will go to NPR news for full coverage.

The online magazine Slate is an editorial partner in the new show, and several of its staffers will contribute commentary and interviews.

Unlike NPR's other news programming, "Day to Day" will be produced on the West Coast at the network's new Los Angeles studios. Because it's based in the entertainment capital, there also will be an emphasis on the arts, culture and entertainment, with music and movie reviews and interviews with cultural figures. Being in Los Angeles will give the show and its staff a new and fresh perspective, Chadwick says.

"This program is not about the West Coast, it's not about Los Angeles. But this is the context in which we're producing the program. I think the program is going to sound a little different because I don't live in Washington anymore. I'll be reading different papers and listening to new radio stations. It's a different context. That makes a difference in what you're thinking about, who you're talking to, what you're walking around seeing."

In an era when people have almost instant access to breaking news, adding a midday news show gives NPR a somewhat more even playing field with the competitors such as TV and Internet news services.

"For people who are avid NPR listeners, it's a long time to go in news-heavy times with having a full NPR report on these things," Chadwick says. For example, he notes, NPR was able to confirm the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay around noon Tuesday and would have been able to run with more in-depth coverage several hours before afternoon drive time.

"The real challenge isn't just having it live as it's happening, but putting it into context," says WDUQ general manager Scott Hanley. "Newsmagazines are a good way to put things into context and give them substance. 'Day to Day' allows us to do that in a way that cutting into press conferences doesn't."

NPR news has a large audience -- 11.1 million a week for "All Things Considered" and 12.7 million a week for "Morning Edition." But the network experiences a "dip" at midday, Chadwick says, which "Day to Day" is being designed to fill. "That's why this is so important to NPR and to the local stations, to a station like WDUQ. You've got to bring up that middle-of-the-day [audience]."

WDUQ is trimming an hour of its midday jazz programming to add "Day to Day." While jazz has a strong following, Hanley says, the noon hour "has been kind of weak in terms of listener services." WDUQ has always carried expanded news at noon, but "Day to Day" will enhance the station's news coverage, says Hanley, who also will be a regular contributor to "Day to Day" with commentaries and interviews. Like "Morning Edition," it will be designed to allow stations to add local coverage into the mix.

Says Hanley, "I hope we can get a really broad view of this country in a non-drive-time kind of setting."

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