A new approach to radio deserves a new blog

A new approach to radio deserves a new blog

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Here at WBEZ we’re in the midst of some major changes. If you listen to the radio broadcast you may have noticed a different style on Eight Forty-Eight for the past month. Not only is Tony Sarabia hosting, but most of the production is done live. It’s kind of like when you learn to ride a bike and finally remove the training wheels.

Monday marks the next phase in our transformation. Afternoon Shift with Steve Edwards will be taking over the 2-4 P.M. slot each weekday. (Don’t worry, we’ll still air Fresh Air, it’s just moving back to it’s old time slot of 11 A.M.) Steve is one of the most gifted interviewers in public media and he’s been on the bench for the past five years, save for The Best Game in Town podcast. With two hours to fill, expect to hear more of the in-depth interviews with interesting people you expect from public radio. And since the show will be produced live, you’ll have the chance to ask your own questions of the guests- call 312-923-WBEZ during any segment to join the conversation.

Anyhow, with all the great guests, live music and discussions we’ll be featuring on the midday shows we need a place to share it all with you. That’s where this blog comes in. While our individual shows (Eight Forty-Eight, Worldview and Afternoon Shift) will have their own landing pages, this blog will be where we share what we’re planning for the show, post videos and great segments after they air. We’ll also initiate conversations here then transition them to the airwaves.

I’ll be one of the more frequent bloggers here. I’ve been with the station for eight years and most of that time I’ve been involved with experiments. If you recall any of Justin Kaufmann’s crazy videos, I was most likely the person behind the camera (this is one of my faves). I’ll be shooting video of lots of the new things we try on our new, reimagined talk shows. I’ll consider myself lucky if at least a few of them come out like this: