Update: Neal Conan's conversation with Michel Martin on his 11 years of hosting the show and his 36 years at NPR will be posted online around 3 p.m. PT.
NPR announced on Friday morning that it will cancel "Talk of the Nation," the call-in talk show at the end of June. The show airs on KQED at 11 a.m. on weekdays.
In its place, NPR is offering "Here and Now" a "daily news magazine" program developed by WBUR in Boston, which mixes interviews and prepared stories.
"We're considering a variety of programming options" to replace "Talk of the Nation" in the KQED lineup, said Jo Anne Wallace, KQED Public Radio General Manager. "We will take time to consider all the news and information needs of our audience before making any decisions about what schedule changes to make in light of the 'Talk of the Nation' cancellation. We expect to make an announcement regarding a new schedule later in the sping."
More from Wallace about "Talk of the Nation":
It has been a significant part of the KQED broadcast schedule since its launch in 1992, and over time, the program has helped us build audience for the KQED news and public affairs program service. [NPR President] Gary [Knell] mentioned that KQED has Talk's largest audience in the nation. And we all will remember the hosts of Talk of the Nation -- John Hockenberry, Ray Suarez, Juan Williams and Neal Conan -- and appreciate their daily work in news and intelligent conversation with the public radio audience.
Why the change?