Boston University Public News/Talk 90.9 WBUR-FM Boston has announced it will cancel its local midday show “Radio Boston” on Friday, December 20.
With the elimination of the hour-long program that currently airs at 11am and 3pm, the station will expand “Morning Edition” an additional hour to 5-10am. Radio Boston debuted as a weekly show in 2005 before moving to a daily timeslot. The station notes that no staffers will be cut, but be redeployed within the station. Executive Producer Yasmin Amer will lead a new agile production team commenting, “This team is made up of newsroom colleagues who know how to produce highly relevant and engaging local coverage. I see this as an opportunity to produce even more high-quality journalism and to meet audiences where they are.” The move follows Radio Boston host Tiziana Dearing moving to Morning Edition in September.
WBUR Executive Editor Dan Mauzy commented, “The exceptional work of the Radio Boston team will continue, but in a new way that goes beyond the confines of an hour-long daily radio show. This shift is a more contemporary approach to daily journalism — and will fuel our public news service throughout the day and across platforms.”
Other schedule changes will see the BBC NewsHour move from 9am to 10am, WBUR produced On Point from 10am to 11am, and the WBUR and NPR co-produced Here & Now adding a third updated hour from 3-4pm following its existing 12-2pm run. Those will take effect on Monday, January 6.
In a station produced news story, WBUR notes that while it is highly-rated during most of the day, its 11am-2pm timeslot heavily trails competitor 89.7 WGBH-FM’s “Boston Public Radio” hosted by Jim Braude and Margery Eagan.
