[Swprograms] Fwd: BBC?s Radio 4's "Americana" to tap AIR producers, stations

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Sue Schardt" <sue@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: April 19, 2009 10:09:47 AM EDT
To: <AIRDAILY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: BBC?s Radio 4's "Americana" to tap AIR producers, stations
Reply-To: <AIRDAILY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

I?m so pleased to share the press announcement below that was issued yesterday in the UK about a new BBC program focusing on the U.S. and distributed via Radio 4. You may have seen Erin?s Friday announcement here that the BBC has joined AIR's ranks, and we?ve been consulting Executive Producer Maria Balinska in recent months on commissioning freelance work as they craft an authentic representation of the U.S. for a British listening audience.

Maria previously produced the popular BBC international ?eavesdropping? program A World in Your Ear, which was cancelled in 2007 (to our dismay). She recently moved to DC, and is very excited to tap the AIR ranks, build a contributor list, and to try out new ideas.

Here?s a bit more from the Americana?s mission statement. <snip> Combining discussion and reportage, Americana will hear from the front line of change ? political, cultural, social ? across America, getting between the coasts to the towns and cities of the ?flyover states? to engage the listener with America in new and unexpected ways. The show?s guest list will be deliberately eclectic, ranging from emerging cultural stars (like comedian Tina Fey and Austin-based creator of the King of the Hill cartoon series Mike Judge) and provocative commentators (like conservative Michelle Malkin and ?progressive populist? Arianna Huffington) to leading thinkers (like Chicago based Garry Wills, Stanford African American conservative Shelby Steele and Steven Waldman, CEO of Beliefnet.com the country?s largest faith and spirituality website)?. <snip>

The journalistic and production standards are high for the program. The production team will be commissioning one 6 to 8 minute feature per program/week. They are, Maria says, ?looking for engaging stories which provide original insights into contemporary America and which use sound imaginatively to enhance the narrative and to provide the listener with a strong sense of 'bei ng there.'? Maria is familiar with AIR?s recommended fee structure and says that the rates they?ll pay fall within the range we?ve outlined. http://tiny.cc/E6TQ9

The Americana team is in the process of sorting out what particular issues and themes will be of immediate interest to the program - and will be posting them on the AIRdaily in the days/weeks ahead.

If you want more information, you can contact Maria directly at <maria.balinska@xxxxxxxxx>, or call AIR at 617 825 4400.

:: PRESS RELEASE ::

Americana brings voices from across America to BBC Radio 4

Americana, a new weekly programme presented from the world?s most powerful country by Matt Frei, launches on BBC Radio 4 this spring.

Matt will be joined in the Washington DC studio by an eclectic panel of guests. Emerging cultural stars, provocative writers and some current prominent thinkers aim to give the Radio 4 audience an insi der?s guide to the people and stories shaping the USA. Americana will also team up with radio stations around the country, bringing reports and features from places off the beaten track.

America?s first black president has made ?change? his mantra. The meltdown of Wall Street has dislocated the country?s status. President Obama is trying to change the way the country carries out its diplomacy. Americana will look at what these changes mean for America itself, and the rest of the world.

Mark Damazer, Controller BBC Radio 4 says on his blog today: ?Since Alistair Cooke?s death and the demise of his Letter From America, I have been thinking about a new programme that would ruminate about America - one that would give fresh insights? from the city streets of Chicago and LA, to the small towns of Tennessee and Montana. Americana will bring Radio 4 listeners a sense of the country?s vibrant and often complicated character.?

Presenter Matt Frei says: ? I?m very excited by the prospect of Americana. There is nothing like it on national radio. I feel sure the discussions with leading thinke