WXXI-AM 1370 PRESENTS HERE & NOW, A NEW DAILY NEWS MAGAZINE FROM NPR

WXXI Public Broadcasting

280 State Street. PO Box 30021

Rochester, New York 14603-3021

585/325-7500

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Kristin Tutino, Publicist: 585/258-0253

For Immediate Release

Launches July 1 in AM 1370’s 2-4p.m. Slot Monday through Thursday

(Rochester, New York) June 25, 2013 – Here & Now, a daily news magazine that brings listeners news that breaks after Morning Edition and before All Things Considered, will air Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., beginning July 1, 2013 on AM 1370/FM-HD 91.5-2. The new program replaces Talk of the Nation, which NPR announced would end production on June 27. NPR's decision to do so is in response to the growing audience demand for midday news and analysis. Science Friday with Ira Flatow, a weekly call-in show that connects listeners with scientists for informative discussion about science, technology, health, medicine, space, and the environment, will continue to air Fridays from 2-4 p.m.

Here & Now, a live production from NPR and WBUR, Boston, in collaboration with public radio stations across the country, reflects the fluid world of news as it’s happening, with timely, smart, and in-depth news and conversation. It presents listeners the opportunity to hear more NPR news from around the world and across the country every weekday. The program’s daily lineup will include interviews with NPR hosts, reporters, editors, and bloggers as well as news from stations across the nation.  In the midday timeslot, Here & Now will often function as public radio’s first source for breaking news coverage with NPR.

Here & Now has been hosted by Robin Young for more than a decade. A Peabody Award-winning journalist, she has reported for NBC, CBS and ABC television, and was substitute host and correspondent for The Today Show. Starting July 1, Young will be joined by co-host Jeremy Hobson, most recently host of Marketplace Morning Report. Hobson has broad producing, reporting and hosting experience at the station, program, and network level. Additionally, Meghna Chakrabarti, co-host of WBUR's Radio Boston, has been selected as the program's primary back-up host.

To ensure that Here & Now reflects what’s happening in a diverse geographic range of communities, NPR and WBUR have invited other public radio stations across the nation to contribute to the show. These contributions may be presented as feature packages, interviews, or straightforward collaboration when news is unfolding in a specific market.

Since the NPR collaboration with WBUR was announced, numerous NPR journalists have already been on Here & Now, including Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep, Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving, International Correspondent Peter Kenyon and White House Correspondent Scott Horsley. Digital-first productions, like NPRMusic and Monkey See, NPR’s pop culture blog, are being developed as regular weekly on-air segments for Here & Now.

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WXXI is the essential, life-long educational media resource for the Greater Rochester area. WXXI puts the community first with programming that stimulates and expands thought, inspires the spirit, opens cultural horizons and promotes understanding of diverse community issues. The formal affiliation between WXXI and the Little Theatre, established in December 2011, enables the two organizations to work more efficiently by pooling resources and strengths in a number of areas including back-office operation and improved fundraising capabilities.  Log on to wxxi.org for more information about our services and programs.