We said goodbye, we say hello.

We said goodbye yesterday to our long-time staff member Kelly Trombley, who is embarking on a new career as a nursing aide at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital and as an EMT with the Potsdam Volunteer Rescue Squad. We will miss her at the front desk here at the station and wish her all the best.

Today we say hello and welcome back to Jonathan Brown! After working in radio in Colorado for a while, our former reporter and All Things Considered host Jonathan Brown just couldn’t stay away from the North Country. Jonathan is making a big career change…he’s in the process of becoming a wilderness canoe guide on some of our region’s beautiful rivers. While he’s settling in, Jonathan will also be helping out NCPR as a part-time announcer. You’ll hear him Saturday mornings from 8am to noon, beginning this weekend, and occasionally at other times also. Welcome back, Jonathan.

Speaking of goodbyes and hellos, we’re making some changes to our Sunday morning program lineup beginning this weekend:

6 to 8am — To the Best of Our Knowledge. A two-hour weekly interview and conversation program, produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. We currently air one hour each Tuesday at 1pm, but listeners have asked for more of this outstanding and thoughtful award-winning program. Each hour has a theme, which is explored over the course of the hour through interviews and commentaries. Topics vary and include issues, books, music, science and “big ideas.”

8 to 10am — Weekend Edition. NPR’s Sunday morning news program has a new host, Audie Cornish, who replaces Liane Hansen, who has retired. The two-hour program moves one hour earlier. The new 8am start has been a frequent listener request.

10 to 11am — On the Media. Hosted by veteran journalists Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield, this weekly show decodes what we hear, read, and see in the media every day. It’s one of NPR’s fastest growing programs, has won Edward R. Murrow Awards for feature reporting and investigative reporting, the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism and a Peabody Award for its body of work. We have had many requests from listeners to add this show to our schedule. 11am to noon — This American Life. One of the most popular programs in public radio, Ira Glass offers up unique stories every week. We move it one hour earlier. We think it will be perfect follow-up to On the Media.

Noon to 1pm — Studio 360 — Kurt Anderson hosts this award-winning weekly guide to pop culture and the arts. Learn about new film, new books, new music, and meet the people who are creating it all. The show, produced by WNYC in New York, moves one hour later.

As a result of these program additions and changes, we’ve eliminated the automated classical music hour from PRI that had aired Sundays from 6:00 to 7:00am, and Barb Heller’s mostly classical music program has come to an end also. After twenty years, Barb is welcoming this change and the chance to sleep in just a little longer on Sunday morning. But you’ll still hear Barb’s wonderful voice on Sunday mornings beginning at 8am, giving weather and other local information. Thanks for all the years of terrific music and early rising, Barb! By the way, Barb will continue to host Thursday afternoon’s String Fever, and several afternoons each week of All Things Considered.

Change is seldom easy and doesn’t often please everyone, but we think the new Sunday morning lineup better reflects listener input and our mission to provide a wider range of information programs. Send your comments, pro and con, to me anytime: [email protected]

And program news for night owls or very early riser: To our regret, Jim Wilke’s Jazz After Hours, heard Friday and Saturday nights across the U.S. and parts of Canada since 1984, is cutting back on the number of hours produced each week. We’ll continue to air it starting at midnight on Fridays and Saturday nights, but at 4am we’ll switch over to Echoes with John Diliberto, for a wide variety of musical styles including acoustic and electronic jazz and cross-cultural sounds. You’ll hear Echoes from 4am to 6am. Another hour of Echoes also airs Sunday evenings at 9pm.

Jackie Sauter Program Director