Larry Mantle

KPCC marks 10 years of news/talk format

By Larry Mantle | March 14, 2010 | 1 comment

I find it almost impossible to believe that Saturday marked a decade of KPCC being a consistent format NPR news/talk broadcaster. It seems like nowhere near that long.

The lease agreement for newly-created Southern California Public Radio to operate KPCC went into effect the first day of 2000, but SCPR's new format didn't follow until just over three months later. On March 13th, 2000, all non-news and talk programming was dropped and the schedule was significantly realigned.

I was extremely excited about the changes, as it had been obvious for years that the only way to grow KPCC's audience and to serve more listeners was to give people consistency and depth in news, talk, and information programming. I personally loved some of our old music programs, but our eclectic schedule led to constant churning of the audience, with listeners coming and going depending on whether the particular progam of the moment interested them. That might help you find the unexpected gem from time to time, but it's not a good way to cultivate listener expectations for what they're going to get when they tune in to a station.

As part of this transformation, my life changed quite a bit. "AirTalk" moved from afternoon drive (4-7 p.m.) to weekday mornings.

I'm a night person -- ideally going to bed and waking up on the late side (this was before becoming a father). "Theater hours" are just perfect for me. I've adjusted, but my default is still for the earler body clock.

I also remember how big a risk I thought it was in SCPR putting so many resources into local news. I was confident that the signature NPR news/talk format that was successful in almost all the nation's other large markets would work in our region. What I wasn't so sure about was how big a listener appetite there would be for local news. Even local television stations don't seem to have much faith in viewer interest in local issues, aside from crime. I assume that's borne out from extensive audience testing. However, it's been just the opposite for us.

I'm continually impressed by how many listeners care deeply about the challenges we face in Southern California. Some of these stories aren't the sexiest, but they really matter in our day-to-day lives. My hope, as grandiose as it might sound, is that KPCC can make a substantive improvement in the quality of our lives. As we better know our communities, and the people who live in them, the better chance we can find commonality in solving the problems we have share.

Whether that substantive improvement happens or not, it's the hope for it that drives what we've done for the past ten years. Our duty is to provide you with comprehensive coverage that you can use in many different ways. Some of those will most affect your personal life, but others might lead to the kinds of common understanding that moves your community forward. Regardless, I hope to be sharing with you in ten more years my surprise about how much we've grown in the interim.