Steve Chrypinski

People around the world were stunned in early 2018 when more than 150 women testified at the sentencing of Larry Nassar, the Olympic gymnastics doctor who sexually abused patients for more than 20 years. How did he escape justice for so long? How was his appearance as the good guy, the ally, the protector maintained? Why did people keep trusting him? This October, Michigan Radio and NPR will premiere a new podcast called Believed that will answer those questions with greater depth and access than any previous coverage.

Michigan Radio has been recognized by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada with two Gabriel Awards. Created in 1965, the Gabriel Awards recognize outstanding artistic achievement which entertains and enriches with “a true vision of humanity.” The Michigan Radio news staff was honored in the following categories:

This Thursday, Michigan Radio will mark seventy years on the air. The WUOM-FM signal in Ann Arbor began broadcasting for the first time on July 5, 1948. At the time, FM radio was extremely new. It was estimated that there were only eight other educational FM stations, and only about fifty FM stations of any kind, in operation across the country.

The Irish word “craic” means good conversation and good times in the company of friends. When it came to the inaugural trip of Michigan Radio listeners, there was “great craic” as they travelled around the Republic of Ireland.

Led by Stateside host Cynthia Canty and her Irish-born husband Sean, forty-two Michigan Radio listeners landed June 5th at Dublin Airport.

Michigan Radio has been recognized with awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) for its 2017 news coverage.

I am writing this to inform you that political commentator Jack Lessenberry is ending his relationship with Michigan Radio. His on-air commentaries for the station will end immediately, with his resignation effective July 31.

Michigan Radio’s daily talk show, Stateside, hosted by Cynthia Canty, will travel to Grand Rapids on Thursday, May 3, for a special live show beginning at 7:00 PM. The Grand Rapids show will be taped live at Celebration Cinema North, 2121 Celebration Dr NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49525

The West Michigan-focused show will feature a variety of topics:

Michigan Radio has been recognized with six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in the Large Market Radio category. The station won awards in the Documentary, Investigative Reporting, Social Media, and Use of Sound categories. The Murrow Awards are presented by The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) to honor outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. These were Michigan Radio’s winning entries.

Michigan Radio was the winner of fourteen awards for news coverage this weekend from the Michigan Associated Press Media Editors. The station was recognized with seven First Place awards, including Outstanding News Operation. The station also received seven Second Place awards. Michigan Radio competes in the large market radio category, which includes both public and commercial radio stations that serve Michigan’s largest market of Detroit.  

Here is the complete list of Michigan Radio winners:

First Place

Recently released audience rating information shows that NPR and Michigan Radio have largely upheld the record audience ratings recorded during the 2016 election, and continue to see large growth on digital platforms.

"Michigan Radio locally and NPR nationally have done a great job of maintaining the growth that we saw a year ago." said Executive Director-General Manager Steve Schram. "More than ever, people are searching for credible journalism and in-depth discussion of the issues, and they are turning to Michigan Radio and other NPR stations across the country for that.”

For the third consecutive year, Michigan Radio has been recognized as Public Radio Station of the Year according to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. 

Michigan Radio and The Whiting will present a live performance of The Moth Mainstage at the Capitol Theatre in Flint on Thursday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. The Moth Mainstage features a line-up of writers, performers, and other unique national and Michigan storytellers, each with a ten-minute story to tell live without notes.

Michigan Radio is launching an innovative local project to give voice to residents of Detroit’s MorningSide neighborhood, as part of the station’s continued participation in the Detroit Journalism Cooperative. For the past year, Michigan Radio and the Detroit Journalism Cooperative have been concentrating on the Morningside neighborhood, looking at the challenges, successes, and hopes of people in that neighborhood.

Michigan Radio is launching an innovative local project to give voice to residents of Detroit’s MorningSide neighborhood, as part of the station’s continued participation in the Detroit Journalism Cooperative. MorningSide is a neighborhood on the east side of Detroit, bounded by Harper Avenue and I-94 on the north, Mack Avenue to the south, East Outer Drive and Whittier on the east and Alter Road and East Outer Drive to the west.

Michigan Radio and Wallace House will welcome NPR’s daily talk show, 1A, to Ann Arbor for a live broadcast and a special event featuring host Joshua Johnson this February.

The special event, which is free and open to the public, is entitled “Speak Freely: Debating the First Amendment in a Changing America.” Host Joshua Johnson and a panel of guests will examine the first amendment, free speech and what it means in a divided America. The topic is particularly timely as the University of Michigan and other universities debate allowing white supremacist Richard Spencer to speak on their campuses. The “Speak Freely” discussion will be held on Thursday, Feb. 15 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm at the Rackham Auditorium on the University of Michigan campus.

Michigan Radio is welcoming the hit public radio storytelling show Snap Judgment to Kalamazoo for a live show on Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:00 PM.

Snap Judgment is a popular storytelling show that airs on Michigan Radio and over 365 public radio stations nationwide. Created by Detroit-native Glynn Washington, Snap delivers a raw, intimate, musical brand of narrative -- daring audiences to see the world through the eyes of another.

Michigan Radio will be introducing an updated weekend program schedule, effective Jan. 6, 2018. This includes the addition of three new shows, the departure of two others and revised times for half a dozen other current shows.

So why are you changing the lineup of some of your weekend shows?

This grid shows Michigan Radio's revised weekend schedule, which will be effective beginning Jan. 6, 2018.

Robert Siegel, longtime senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered, will be retiring effective Jan. 5, 2018.

"This is a decision long in the making and not an easy one. I've had the greatest job I can think of, working with the finest colleagues anyone could ask for, for as long a stretch as I could imagine,” said Siegel. “But, looking ahead to my seventies (which start all too soon) I feel that it is time for me to begin a new phase of life.”

Chris Thile announced to audiences on Saturday evening that the new name for his weekly variety show will be Live from Here. The host shared the news during the show's live opening at The Town Hall. Produced by American Public Media (APM), Live from Here is the new name for A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile.

"My hope is that this name captures the energy and enthusiasm that is really at the core of this show," Thile said. "Live from Here is about people making beautiful things and sharing them with our audience in real time. The fact that the show is live – where anything is possible – is part of what makes it so special.

"We want 'here' to be that sense of place that's created by a community of people that comes together for 120 minutes each week – no matter where or how they're listening," Thile said. 

Fifty years ago today, on Nov. 7, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act,  legislation that created America’s public broadcasting system. In signing the legislation, President Johnson expressed the hope that one day, public television and radio stations would satisfy “America’s appetite for excellence" and “enrich man’s spirit.”

The Public Broadcasting Act created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which today supports nearly 1,500 public media stations across the country, including Michigan Radio, by distributing federal funding amounting to roughly $1.35 per citizen, per year. The legislation helped usher in a new era of independent, non-commercial media dedicated to public service and education.

Michigan Radio’s daily talk show, Stateside, hosted by Cynthia Canty, will travel to East Lansing next Thursday, November 2  for a special live show from 7:00 - 8:30 PM. The show will be recorded in front of a live audience at the Kellogg Center auditorium on the Michigan State University campus.  Segments from the live show will be broadcast during future Stateside programs in the upcoming weeks. 

How does an elite group of nine people shape everything from marriage and money, to safety and sex for an entire nation?  During the week of Oct 9-13, Michigan Radio will air a special five part series called More Perfect. Produced and hosted by Radiolab ‘s Jad Abumrad, More Perfect dives into the rarefied world of the Supreme Court to explain how cases deliberated inside hallowed halls affect lives far away from the bench.

Michigan Radio wrapped up a successful fall membership drive on Wednesday evening. The station received contributions from more than 3600 donors over the seven day drive. Of those contributors, almost 1300 of them became on-going sustaining members.

Michigan Radio added to its list of awards received in 2017 this weekend with recognition from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

Michigan Radio’s listening audience has grown substantially across the state. According to this spring’s Nielsen Audio Report*, the station’s weekly listening audience grew by 3% in Detroit, 12% in Grand Rapids, 21% in Flint, 24% in Ann Arbor, and 26% in Kalamazoo.  Michigan Radio continues to be the top NPR station in each of these markets.

Michigan Radio is announcing two changes to its news staff today. Lindsey Smith has started work as the station’s new Investigative Reporter. In this position, she will focus on news reports that may require a longer and more involved examination of the topic.