Michigan Radio - Resurgence of Michigan Radio

Resurgence of Michigan Radio

Donovan Reynolds became the manager of Michigan Radio in 1995. He determined that the only way to save the stations was to execute a marked broadcasting departure from the past with a focus on programs that listeners most enjoyed. Reynolds changed the format to News/Talk on July 1, 1996. Although a few public radio stations had a news/talk format in 1996, most were on AM. Classical music was still offered, but only during evenings, overnight and on weekends. The classical music programs were phased out in July 2000, but continued to be streamed on the Internet from the station's website until 2004. Some classical music fans were initially unhappy with the changes, especially due to the recent closure of a Detroit commercial classical station, WQRS-FM, in 1997. However, the format has been extremely successful in terms of attracting new listeners and therefore listener donations.

Michigan Radio's transformation to a news/talk format coincided with NPR's offering of a new package of programs to span the gap between Morning Edition and All Things Considered. These new programs included the Diane Rehm Show, The Derek McGinty Show, and others, and Michigan Radio was the first station to sign up to offer this package to its listeners.

As a public radio pioneer in the news/talk format on FM, Michigan Radio may have helped influence similar transitions to that format by stations including WUNC in Chapel Hill, NC, WBUR-FM in Boston, WAMU in Washington, DC, KPCC in Pasadena, CA, WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and WBEZ in Chicago. For several years after 1996, Michigan Radio's rise was a case study in the public radio industry, and its success still fuels change elsewhere, including in Iowa, where the Bornstein and Associates Report on Iowa Public Radio consolidation devotes a chapter to studying Michigan Radio's format change.