All Things Considered
Encyclopedia
All Things Considered (ATC) is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets. All Things Considered, and Morning Edition
, were the highest rated public radio programs in the United States of America in 2002 and 2005.
and Morning Edition
. In September 2010, All Things Considered had an average quarter-hour audience
of 1.8 million. ATC is co-hosted by Robert Siegel
, Michele Norris
and Melissa Block
.
The first broadcast of ATC was fed to about 90 radio station
s on May 3, 1971, with host Robert Conley
. The first story was about Washington, D.C.
and the growing anti-Vietnam War protests taking place there. NPR chose to place its inaugural daily newscast at the afternoon commute timeslot instead of the morning, because many of its affiliates at that time did not sign on for the day until mid-morning or afterward. It was not until 1979, by which most affiliates had expanded their broadcast days to begin at 6 a.m. or earlier, that NPR premiered Morning Edition
.
Weekend All Things Considered (WATC) is a one-hour version of the show that premiered in 1977, with host and NPR Founder Robert Conley
, and is broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays. Guy Raz
is the current host.
ATC was excluded from the NPR deal with Sirius Satellite Radio
so as not to compete with local stations airing the show.
To coordinate the choice of interview partners in cultural coverage between ATC and other NPR shows (as of 2010: Morning Edition, the weekend editions, Talk of the Nation
, and Tell Me More
), NPR set up a "dibs list" system around 2005, whereby the first show to declare interest in a particular guest can "reserve" that person.
The program begins with the familiar Don Voegeli theme song under a one-minute billboard of the stories to be covered during the hour. Then the standard five-minute NPR newscast is delivered from one minute to six minutes past the hour. The newscast offers a cutaway after three minutes (at four minutes past the hour), allowing stations to cover the last 2.5 minutes with evening rush-hour news and traffic reports. For those stations that run the newscast untouched, a thirty-second music bed follows instead.
The first, or "A" segment, begins at 06:30 after the hour. It features important news stories, although not necessarily the most important news stories of the day. Often it is here that the most significant interviews or developing stories are placed. Segment A runs 12:28 in duration, and closes out at nineteen minutes after with a ninety-second station break.
At 20:30 past the hour, ATC picks back up with Segment B. This segment, which runs 7:48, features more news and analysis, and often contains lighter stories and commentary. Segment B breaks for the half-hour at 28:20 past. The program goes into a local break until half past.
At the bottom of the hour, ATC resumes with a "host return". In the thirty-second return, the host or hosts discuss what's coming up in the remaining half-hour and intro the news. 30:30 brings a four-minute newscast followed by a sixty-second local break.
Segment C kicks off at 35:30 past the hour, and runs 12:58. Long feature stories are heard here, or as many as four shorter stories or commentaries may be heard as well. The last four minutes of the second hour Segment C (beginning at 44:30) is a designated cutaway for stations to run local commentary or features. Segment C ends at 48:30 after the hour, and another ninety-second break ensues. Occasionally, the show will "break format" and place a long, 23-minute story in the "C" and "D" segments with no local break at all.
Segment D starts at 50:00 after, and concludes the hour. Unlike Morning Edition, there is no set format for this segment, although usually the second hour will contain an arts, culture, or lighter news story in this segment. Other times, hard news otherwise not fitting in the program may be placed here.
Stations receive a preliminary rundown before each broadcast (usually a few minutes before 4:00 p.m. Eastern) denoting the timing and placement of stories so they can schedule local content as appropriate. This rundown is updated as stories change until the feed ends at 10 p.m. ET. As with Morning Edition, two hours of content are scheduled for each program. After 6 p.m. Eastern, the feed repeats the earlier hours for the Midwest and West Coast, although information is updated through the evening as appropriate.
, the Overseas Press Club Award, the DuPont Award, the American Women in Radio and Television Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Award. In 1993, the show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, the first public radio program to be given that honor.
in Australia
broadcasts a continuous hour of selected segments from each days program between 12.00 and 13.00 Australian Eastern Standard Time
Monday to Friday. A to D segments are edited together omitting local NPR news inserts.
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, were the highest rated public radio programs in the United States of America in 2002 and 2005.
Background
ATC programming combines news, analysis, commentary, interviews, and special features broadcast live daily from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (20:00 to 23:00 UTC), and is re-fed with updates until 10 p.m. ET (02:00 UTC). Broadcasts run about 105 minutes with local content interspersed in between to complete two hours. In 2005, ATC aired on over 560 radio stations and reached an audience of approximately 12 million listeners each weekday, making it the third most listened to radio program in the United States after The Rush Limbaugh ShowThe Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
and Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
. In September 2010, All Things Considered had an average quarter-hour audience
AQH Share
-Definition:AQH is an abbreviation for Average Quarter-Hour Persons , defined by Arbitron as the average number of persons listening to a particular station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period....
of 1.8 million. ATC is co-hosted by Robert Siegel
Robert Siegel
Robert Siegel is an American radio journalist best known as host of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast All Things Considered.-Career:...
, Michele Norris
Michele Norris
Michele L. Norris is an American radio journalist and current host of the National Public Radio evening news program All Things Considered since December 9, 2002. She is the first African American female host for NPR.-Early years:...
and Melissa Block
Melissa Block
Melissa Block is an American radio host. She is one of the hosts of NPR's All Things Considered news program.-Biography:Block was recording an interview in Chengdu, China when the area was struck by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Her coverage of the earthquake earned NPR a George Foster Peabody...
.
The first broadcast of ATC was fed to about 90 radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s on May 3, 1971, with host Robert Conley
Robert Conley
Robert Conley is an American newspaper, television and radio reporter.- Overview :Foreign correspondent for The New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief for NBC News, Africa, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor for and...
. The first story was about Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and the growing anti-Vietnam War protests taking place there. NPR chose to place its inaugural daily newscast at the afternoon commute timeslot instead of the morning, because many of its affiliates at that time did not sign on for the day until mid-morning or afterward. It was not until 1979, by which most affiliates had expanded their broadcast days to begin at 6 a.m. or earlier, that NPR premiered Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
.
Weekend All Things Considered (WATC) is a one-hour version of the show that premiered in 1977, with host and NPR Founder Robert Conley
Robert Conley
Robert Conley is an American newspaper, television and radio reporter.- Overview :Foreign correspondent for The New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief for NBC News, Africa, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor for and...
, and is broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays. Guy Raz
Guy Raz
Guy Raz is the host of NPR's weekend afternoon news program Weekend All Things Considered, having assumed the job in 2009. Before hosting WATC, he was the youngest overseas-based bureau chief for NPR, first in Berlin, then London and the Pentagon. He also served as CNN's correspondent in...
is the current host.
ATC was excluded from the NPR deal with Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
so as not to compete with local stations airing the show.
To coordinate the choice of interview partners in cultural coverage between ATC and other NPR shows (as of 2010: Morning Edition, the weekend editions, Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
, and Tell Me More
Tell Me More
Tell Me More is a National Public Radio daytime interview show hosted by journalist Michel Martin. Tell Me More was first introduced in a novel way; it was made available online in December 2006 through an "open piloting" program called "Rough Cuts." Martin and the show's producers provided a...
), NPR set up a "dibs list" system around 2005, whereby the first show to declare interest in a particular guest can "reserve" that person.
Format
The format is less rigid than that of Morning Edition, with a wider array of type and length of stories. The length of stories tends to be greater than Morning Edition, with some stories lasting for almost 23 minutes. Certain types of personal interest stories are almost always covered within this limit; those relating to hard news or entertainment tend to last the standard three-and-a-half to four minutes.The program begins with the familiar Don Voegeli theme song under a one-minute billboard of the stories to be covered during the hour. Then the standard five-minute NPR newscast is delivered from one minute to six minutes past the hour. The newscast offers a cutaway after three minutes (at four minutes past the hour), allowing stations to cover the last 2.5 minutes with evening rush-hour news and traffic reports. For those stations that run the newscast untouched, a thirty-second music bed follows instead.
The first, or "A" segment, begins at 06:30 after the hour. It features important news stories, although not necessarily the most important news stories of the day. Often it is here that the most significant interviews or developing stories are placed. Segment A runs 12:28 in duration, and closes out at nineteen minutes after with a ninety-second station break.
At 20:30 past the hour, ATC picks back up with Segment B. This segment, which runs 7:48, features more news and analysis, and often contains lighter stories and commentary. Segment B breaks for the half-hour at 28:20 past. The program goes into a local break until half past.
At the bottom of the hour, ATC resumes with a "host return". In the thirty-second return, the host or hosts discuss what's coming up in the remaining half-hour and intro the news. 30:30 brings a four-minute newscast followed by a sixty-second local break.
Segment C kicks off at 35:30 past the hour, and runs 12:58. Long feature stories are heard here, or as many as four shorter stories or commentaries may be heard as well. The last four minutes of the second hour Segment C (beginning at 44:30) is a designated cutaway for stations to run local commentary or features. Segment C ends at 48:30 after the hour, and another ninety-second break ensues. Occasionally, the show will "break format" and place a long, 23-minute story in the "C" and "D" segments with no local break at all.
Segment D starts at 50:00 after, and concludes the hour. Unlike Morning Edition, there is no set format for this segment, although usually the second hour will contain an arts, culture, or lighter news story in this segment. Other times, hard news otherwise not fitting in the program may be placed here.
Stations receive a preliminary rundown before each broadcast (usually a few minutes before 4:00 p.m. Eastern) denoting the timing and placement of stories so they can schedule local content as appropriate. This rundown is updated as stories change until the feed ends at 10 p.m. ET. As with Morning Edition, two hours of content are scheduled for each program. After 6 p.m. Eastern, the feed repeats the earlier hours for the Midwest and West Coast, although information is updated through the evening as appropriate.
Awards
Major awards won by the show include the Ohio State Award, the Peabody AwardPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
, the Overseas Press Club Award, the DuPont Award, the American Women in Radio and Television Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Award. In 1993, the show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, the first public radio program to be given that honor.
International Broadcasts
ABC NewsRadioABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, some pay-TV platforms and online via the Internet.Originally...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
broadcasts a continuous hour of selected segments from each days program between 12.00 and 13.00 Australian Eastern Standard Time
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
Monday to Friday. A to D segments are edited together omitting local NPR news inserts.
Weekday hosts
- Robert ConleyRobert ConleyRobert Conley is an American newspaper, television and radio reporter.- Overview :Foreign correspondent for The New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief for NBC News, Africa, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor for and...
(May 1971 – July 1971) - Jim Russell (July 1971–1972)
- Mike Waters (July 1971–1974)
- Susan StambergSusan StambergSusan Stamberg is an American radio journalist who is currently a Special Correspondent for National Public Radio and guest host for Weekend Edition Saturday.Stamberg was born in Newark, New Jersey...
(1972–1987) - Bob EdwardsBob EdwardsRobert Alan Edwards is a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was the first broadcaster with a large national following to join the field of satellite radio...
(1974–1979) - Sandy UngarSanford J. UngarSanford J. "Sandy" Ungar is an American journalist, author, and current president of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.Sanford J. Ungar became the tenth President of Goucher College on July 1, 2001...
(1979–1982) - Noah AdamsNoah AdamsNoah Adams is an American broadcast journalist and author, known primarily for his more than thirty years of experience on National Public Radio. A former co-host of the daily All Things Considered program, he is currently the senior correspondent at the network's National Desk...
(1982–1987, 1989–2003) - Renée Montagne (1987–1989)
- Robert SiegelRobert SiegelRobert Siegel is an American radio journalist best known as host of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast All Things Considered.-Career:...
(1987 – present) - Linda WertheimerLinda Wertheimer-Background and education:Wertheimer was born on March 19, 1943 in Carlsbad, New Mexico. She graduated from Wellesley College with the class of 1965.-Career:...
(1989–2002) - Michele NorrisMichele NorrisMichele L. Norris is an American radio journalist and current host of the National Public Radio evening news program All Things Considered since December 9, 2002. She is the first African American female host for NPR.-Early years:...
(2002 – present) - Melissa BlockMelissa BlockMelissa Block is an American radio host. She is one of the hosts of NPR's All Things Considered news program.-Biography:Block was recording an interview in Chengdu, China when the area was struck by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Her coverage of the earthquake earned NPR a George Foster Peabody...
(2003 – present)
Weekend hosts
- Robert ConleyRobert ConleyRobert Conley is an American newspaper, television and radio reporter.- Overview :Foreign correspondent for The New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief for NBC News, Africa, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor for and...
(1977) - Jackie Judd (1977–1978)
- Joe FrankJoe FrankJoe Frank is an American radio personality, known best for his often philosophical, humorous, surrealist, and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas.-Early life:...
(1978–1979) - Noah AdamsNoah AdamsNoah Adams is an American broadcast journalist and author, known primarily for his more than thirty years of experience on National Public Radio. A former co-host of the daily All Things Considered program, he is currently the senior correspondent at the network's National Desk...
(1979–1982) - Liane HansenLiane HansenLiane Hansen is an American journalist and radio personality who was senior host of the National Public Radio newsmagazine Weekend Edition Sunday until her retirement in May 2011...
(1982–1984) - Lynn NearyLynn NearyLynn Neary is an American radio journalist. She is a correspondent on National Public Radio and on National Desk's Arts and Information Unit, covering books and publishing.-Early years and education:...
(1984–1992) - Daniel ZwerdlingDaniel ZwerdlingDaniel Zwerdling is an American investigative journalist.In 2006 and 2007, he reported that officers at Fort Carson were punishing soldiers, returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder and other serious mental health problems.-Life:From 2002 to 2004, he was...
(1993–1999) http://www.npr.org/people/4173096/daniel-zwerdling - Jacki LydenJacki LydenJacki Lyden is a radio correspondent and host primarily working for National Public Radio. She contributes to a variety of programs at NPR, reporting extensively from the Middle East...
(1992–2000) - Lisa SimeoneLisa SimeoneLisa Simeone is a freelance radio host known for hosting "The World of Opera", a radio show produced the NPR affiliate radio station WDAV. She also worked on "Soundprint", a documentary show airing on NPR affiliate stations until she was fired on October 19, 2011...
(2000–2002) - Steve InskeepSteve InskeepSteve Inskeep born , is one of the current hosts of Morning Edition on National Public Radio. He, along with co-host Renée Montagne, were assigned as interim hosts to succeed Bob Edwards after NPR reassigned Edwards to Senior Correspondent after April 30, 2004. Inskeep and Montagne were...
(2002–2004) - Jennifer Ludden (2004–2005)
- Deborah ElliottDeborah ElliottDeborah Elliot, aka Debbie Elliott, is a broadcast journalist for NPR, who covers news events in the American South.She attended graduate school at the University of Alabama, where she worked for WUAL-FM radio . Afterwards, she established her reputation as a stringer for NPR on the U.S...
(2005–2007) - Andrea SeabrookAndrea SeabrookAndrea Seabrook is an American radio reporter for NPR. She began hosting weekend broadcasts of that organization's signature news magazine All Things Considered on September 29, 2007, after six years of primarily reporting on the United States Congress for the same outlet...
(2007–2009) - Guy RazGuy RazGuy Raz is the host of NPR's weekend afternoon news program Weekend All Things Considered, having assumed the job in 2009. Before hosting WATC, he was the youngest overseas-based bureau chief for NPR, first in Berlin, then London and the Pentagon. He also served as CNN's correspondent in...
(2009–present)
Commentators
- Alan CheuseAlan CheuseAlan Cheuse is an American writer and critic, the son of a Russian immigrant father and a mother of Romanian descent. He graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1957 and Rutgers University in 1961. After traveling abroad and working for several years at various writing and editing jobs, he...
- Andrei CodrescuAndrei CodrescuAndrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009....
- Omar Gallaga
- Vertamae GrosvenorVertamae GrosvenorVertamae Smart Grosvenor is a Culinary Anthopologist / Griot food writer and broadcaster, raised in the South Carolina lowcountry.-Broadcasting:...
- Kevin KlingKevin KlingKevin Kling is an American commentator for National Public Radio and acclaimed storyteller.Kevin Kling grew up in Osseo, Minnesota and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a B. A. in Theatre...
- John McIlwraithJohn McIlwraith (commentator)John McIlwraith was a Scottish-Canadian humorist, radio broadcaster, newspaper columnist, and commentator.-Early life & Career:McIlwraith was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, as a young adult...
(1990–2001) - Bob MondelloBob MondelloBob Mondello is an American film critic. He has worked for National Public Radio since 1984 — where he is the arts critic / film and theater commentator for All Things Considered. He has also been theater critic for Washington City Paper since 1987...
- Daniel PinkwaterDaniel PinkwaterDaniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange...
- Reynolds PriceReynolds PriceReynolds Price was an American novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and the James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in ancient languages and Biblical scholarship...
- Ralph SchoensteinRalph SchoensteinRalph Schoenstein was an American writer and humorist. He was a frequent commentator to NPR's All Things Considered.Schoenstein grew up in Manhattan, and graduated from Columbia University....
- Daniel SchorrDaniel SchorrDaniel Louis Schorr was an American journalist who covered world news for more than 60 years. He was most recently a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio...
(1985-2010) - Bailey WhiteBailey WhiteJune Bailey White is an American author and a regular radio commentator for the National Public Radio program All Things Considered....
- Marion Winik
Featured series
From time to time, NPR produces and distributes short series of radio pieces. Series that have aired during the show include:- "All Tech Considered"
- "The Changing Face of America"
- "Lost & Found Sound"
- "The NPR 100" (stories behind 100 important 20th century American musical works)
- "Prison Diaries"
- "Teenage Diaries"
- "The Yiddish Radio Project"
- "This I BelieveThis I BelieveThis I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955. A half-hour European version of This I Believe ran from 1956 to 1958 over Radio Luxembourg....
" - "In Character"
- "Three Books"
- "You Must Read This"
- "Three Minute Fiction"