Middle Ground, the forthcoming radio show centered on Middle America, has taken to Kickstarter.com to raise $92,500 to cover operating costs for its first six months.
The show is the brainchild of Celeste Headlee, former co-host of The Takeaway from PRI. Headlee has enlisted other pubradio veterans including Jacob Conrad, who worked with her on Day to Day, and Sue Goodwin and Ken Rudin, her colleagues on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, which went off the air in June.
The show’s Kickstarter premiums range from $5 to $10,000 and offer everything from thank-you notes and computer mouse pads to executive producer credits and dinner with Headlee and Rudin. Other premiums include hourlong webinars from Headlee and others covering topics like interviewing, investigative journalism and sound editing.
The program is due to premiere in December.