Notes From Programming

Amazingly, another year has come and gone. It seems that I scheduled last year’s Christmas specials only a month or two ago. But, ‘tis the season to be jolly (fa la la), and we have another full schedule of holiday specials for your enjoyment coming up this December. You will find a list of them elsewhere in this newsletter. Allow me to draw your particular attention to two that are homegrown: UT’s Jazz for Tots Concert on Friday, Dec. 19, at 8:00 p.m., and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Clayton Holiday Concert, heard on Tuesday, Dec. 23, also at 8:00 p.m. Both are prepared for broadcast by Allan Ellstrom.

There is a non-holiday change about which I would like to write a few words. It actually began in late November, and concerns the starting time for the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. When the Met went on the air with live broadcasts Christmas Day, 1931, the usual starting time for matinee performances in the New York theatre was 2:00 p.m. Aside from the occasional early start for long operas (principally the works of Wagner), the Met stayed with that schedule until about 20 years ago, when it moved its usual matinee curtain time to 1:30 p.m.

This season, the Met has revised its curtain time again, and the usual Saturday matinee now begins at 1:00 p.m. That is both good and bad for radio network affiliates. The good news is that these live broadcasts will rarely run into the “All Things Considered” timeslot. The bad news concerns those performances that must begin early. Operas that begin at 12:00 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. infringe on one of our most popular programs, “This American Life.” Between now and the end of April, this will happen seven times: four now and three when Wagner’s “Ring” is heard in April.

Over the past few years, we have shifted TAL to Saturday evenings at 10:00 p.m., and that is what we will usually do in December. The one exception will be on Dec. 20, when the opera ends so early that we will have time to broadcast TAL at 4:00 p.m. In April, we may experiment with a different day and time. Whenever TAL is scheduled, we will do our best to keep you advised of the time. It is one of the jewels of public radio and a program to which we all look forward each week.

There is one other problematic Saturday: Dec. 6. The Met’s performance of Wagner’s masterwork “Tristan und Isolde” will start at the unprecedented time of 11:00 a.m.! I spoke with Ellen Godfrey at the Met, and she explained that it takes more than four hours to break down the set for “Tristan” and set up for Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades,” which is scheduled for that evening! Judging from the reactions of fellow public radio stations nationwide, the Met will think long and hard about creating such a schedule again next year. But that is the reality of our situation this season. It means we will have to find another time for “Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me” that weekend. It will be heard at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, just after “Sound and Spirit.”

Every year when the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts interfere with our usual schedule, I can count on hearing from one or two listeners who believe that I pre-empt programming just to vex them. Please be aware of three stipulations in our contract with the Met. First, when we contract to air the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, we agree to air them ALL. Secondly, all Met broadcasts must be carried live; no delayed broadcasts are allowed. And lastly, the Met broadcasts must be aired in their entirety. As a well-run business and a part of the University of Tennessee, WUOT honors the letter and spirit of its contracts. The Metropolitan Opera Saturday broadcasts also attract about 1,500 listeners each weekend who love the music and look forward to showtime. These broadcasts are also among the jewels of public radio. Sometimes there are just too many jewels to go around. So, this holiday season, rejoice in the broadcast riches available to us.

Daniel T. Berry
Program Director, WUOT

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