2012 was a year of changes, as the station continues to work to provide a quality public radio service to the region.
In May, KRCU made a series of weekend programming changes that allowed the station to bring public radio’s favorite entertainment programs to more listeners.
Car Talk and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! are two of KRCU’s most popular weekend programs, and both moved to earlier timeslots each weekend. Car Talk and Wait Wait will continue to air twice each weekend. KRCU General Manager Dan Woods said, “Both programs have consistent track records of serving audiences at these earlier times across the country. Moving/repeating them is something we are confident about.”
Car Talk continues to air Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. and the Sunday broadcast is now heard at 10:00 a.m. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! airs Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and again Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m.
The brilliant storytelling of Ira Glass and This American Life moved to Noon on Saturdays. And fans of Garrison Keillor can now hear the repeat broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion and get their Lake Wobegon fix Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. on KRCU.
KRCU’s own Elliot Potter - today’s best contemporary rock, folk and more - is now heard each Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Elliot Potter moved from weeknights to the weekends. Kick back Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. to hear The Elliot Potter Show.
Then on September 3, KRCU made programming changes that brought more NPR News programming to the region and allowed the station to continue to offer great classical music during the midday and the evening.
KRCU General Manager Dan Woods said “We know that KRCU listeners value in-depth reporting and information provided by NPR. The Diane Rehm Show offers listeners thoughtful and lively conversations on an array of topics with many of the most distinguished people of our times. Many listeners over the years have asked for this program to be added to the schedule and the station is excited to bring it to Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.”
Each week, listeners across the country and around the world tune in for a lively mix of current events and public affairs programming that ranges from hard news analysis of politics and international affairs to in-depth examinations of religious issues, health and medical news, education and parenting. The Diane Rehm Show airs weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
With the addition of The Diane Rehm Show, the outstanding performances provided by Performance Today moved to the evenings and airs weeknights from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
KRCU is always looking to improve the service it provides to the region. Beyond the program changes, KRCU also launched a new website at krcu.org in mid-October to provide a better online experience for users. The site features a constant stream of local, regional and national news on the homepage. Plus, a section for community events, staff bios and photos and a detailed program schedule. In addition, the website now offers a “now playing” box that lists what’s currently on-air and what’s next and there are searchable playlists for the station’s local music programs.
