System/Policy
‘Car Talk’ donation program splits from CARS/V-Dac merger
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An announcement from “Car Talk” EP Doug Berman surprised competitor CARS and left some stations flummoxed.
Current (https://current.org/tag/car-talk/)
An announcement from “Car Talk” EP Doug Berman surprised competitor CARS and left some stations flummoxed.
A Current analysis of public radio station schedules found that new NPR programs, such as Sam Sanders’ “It’s Been a Minute,” were popular replacements for “Car Talk.”
Nearly three-quarters of public radio stations carrying the show will drop it in October.
The show will continue as a podcast with leaner production and may still air on some stations.
Plus: Dead mechanics write no columns, and Montana drops PRI.
Tom Magliozzi, co-host of public radio’s wildly popular Car Talk, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease Nov. 3. He was 77. Magliozzi was born in East Cambridge, Mass., in 1937 and co-hosted Car Talk with his brother, Ray, from the show’s inception as a local broadcast of WBUR in Boston through a 25-year run as one of the top draws for public radio listeners on weekends. The show ended original production in 2012 due to Magliozzi’s declining health, yet it continues to attract large audiences for local stations while airing in repeats.
Tom Magliozzi, half of Click and Clack on NPR’s Car Talk, the Tappet Brothers, died Monday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 77. Magliozzi and his brother Ray hosted Car Talk for 37 years before it ended production in 2012. The show continues airing in reruns. Doug Berman, the show’s producer, said in a blog post that Tom Magliozzi and his brother “changed public broadcasting forever.”
A new report from Walrus Research shows that NPR’s Car Talk continued its streak as NPR’s most popular weekend program in Spring 2012, with Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! coming in second and Weekend Edition Saturday a more distant third. The report says airing the three shows in sequence is the “ideal scheduling to benefit all three programs.” Car Talk goes into repeats starting next month.
Crossover appeal plays a vital role in public radio’s growth. Many of our best programs — including the top daily newsmagazines — have it….