NorthEast Radio Watch 12/16/2024: No More “Radio Boston”

In this week’s issue… WBUR backs off local talk – EMF’s expansion in NY, nationally – Rochester broadcasters honored – Russell finds new PA radio home – Remembering Bruce Stevens – The new calendar’s here!

By SCOTT FYBUSH

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*When Boston’s WBUR (90.9) moved its local talk host, Tiziana Dearing, from the midday “Radio Boston” show to host Morning Edition back in September, we noted that no replacement was being named right away – and in retrospect, that should have been a sign that the future of the hour-long local talk show might not have been especially stable.

On Friday, WBUR announced it’s cancelling “Radio Boston” effective at the end of this week, keeping the show’s production staff as part of a new team that will contribute during the day both on air and on digital platforms.

“This shift is a more contemporary approach to daily journalism — and will fuel our public news service throughout the day and across platforms,” said Dan Mauzy, WBUR’s executive editor for news.

It’s not yet clear exactly what that will look like, though it’s at least somewhat reassuring that there won’t be another round of job cuts on top of the 14% staff cut the station endured earlier this year, with 24 employees taking buyouts and seven more being laid off.

Here’s what we do know: starting January 6, WBUR’s on-air schedule will shift, adding an extra hour of Morning Edition at 9 AM, moving BBC Newshour from 9 to 10 and On Point from 10 to 11 to fill the Radio Boston slot. The 3 PM repeat of Radio Boston will be replaced by a repeat of one hour of Here and Now, the WBUR/NPR co-production that airs from noon to 2.

While it’s always sad to see a local hour of talk disappear when it’s so urgently needed, Boston public radio listeners were already voting with their radio dials in that 11 AM hour, when rival WGBH (89.7) starts its three-hour “Boston Public Radio,” which has long dominated in the ratings battle with “Radio Boston,” the one daypart where WGBH consistently beats WBUR.