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All Things Considered (ATC) is a news radio program in the United States, broadcast on the National Public Radio
National Public Radio

National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
 network. It was the first news program on the network, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets. It 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....
 are the highest rated public radio programs
List of most-listened-to radio programs

In the United States radio listenership is gauged by Arbitron and others for both commercial radio and public radio. The total listenership for terrestrial radio in the year 2005 was 230 million....
.

programming combines news, analysis, commentary, interviews, and special features broadcast live daily from 4:00 p.m.






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Encyclopedia


All Things Considered (ATC) is a news radio program in the United States, broadcast on the National Public Radio
National Public Radio

National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
 network. It was the first news program on the network, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets. It 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....
 are the highest rated public radio programs
List of most-listened-to radio programs

In the United States radio listenership is gauged by Arbitron and others for both commercial radio and public radio. The total listenership for terrestrial radio in the year 2005 was 230 million....
.

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. ATC now airs on over 560 radio stations and reaches 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 Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show

The Rush Limbaugh Show is an Radio in the United States talk radio hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks. Since its inception on August 1, 1988, The Rush Limbaugh Show has become the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United States, reviving AM radio and popularizing the conservative political talk format....
 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....
. ATC is co-hosted by Robert Siegel
Robert Siegel

Robert Siegel is an United States radio journalist best known as :wikt:host of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast All Things Considered....
, Michele Norris
Michele Norris

Michele L. Norris is an United States radio journalist and current host of the National Public Radio evening news program All Things Considered since December 9, 2002....
 and Melissa Block
Melissa Block

Melissa Block is an United States radio host. She is one of the hosts of National Public Radio's All Things Considered news program....
.

The first broadcast of All Things Considered was fed to about 90 radio station
Radio station

This article is about radio broadcasting, for other uses see Radio .Radio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device....
s on May 3, 1971, with host Robert Conley. 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, founded on July 16, 1790....
 and the growing anti-Vietnam War
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
 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. Andrea Seabrook
Andrea Seabrook

Andrea Seabrook is an United States radio journalist for National Public Radio. 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....
 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 the United States and Canada, owned by Sirius XM Radio. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of sports, news and ente...
 so as not to compete with local stations airing the show.

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 15 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 at four after, 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 Award
Peabody Award

The George Foster Peabody Awards, better known as simply the Peabody Awards, are annual, international awards for excellence in radio and television 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 Radio Hall of Fame
Radio Hall of Fame

HistoryThe National Radio Hall of Fame and Museum, is a project of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois, and is a museum dedicated to recognizing those who have contributed to the development of the radio medium throughout its history in the United States....
, the first public radio program to be given that honor.

Hosts


Weekday hosts

  • Robert Conley (NPR founder and general manager) (May–July 1971)
  • Jim Russell (July 1971 – 1972)
  • Mike Waters (July 1971 – 1974)
  • Susan Stamberg
    Susan Stamberg

    Susan Stamberg is an United States radio journalist who is currently a Special Correspondent for National Public Radio and guest host for Weekend Edition....
     (1972–1986)
  • Bob Edwards
    Bob Edwards

    Robert Alan Edwards is an award-winning United States of America public radio Presenter. He was the first broadcaster with a large national following to join the field of satellite radio....
     (1974–1979)
  • Sandy Ungar
    Sanford J. Ungar

    Sanford J. "Sandy" Ungar is an American journalist, author, and current president of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.Ungar earned a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University and a master's degree from the London School of Economics....
     (1979–1982)
  • Noah Adams
    Noah Adams

    Noah Adams is an American Broadcasting journalist and author, known primarily for his more than thirty years of experience on National Public Radio....
     (September 1982 – 1987, 1989–2003)
  • Renιe Montagne
    Renιe Montagne

    Ren?e Montagne is an United States radio journalist and the current co-host of National Public Radio's syndicated newsmagazine, Morning Edition....
     (1987–1989)
  • Robert Siegel
    Robert Siegel

    Robert Siegel is an United States radio journalist best known as :wikt:host of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast All Things Considered....
     (1987 – present)
  • Linda Wertheimer
    Linda Wertheimer

    Linda Wertheimer is an American radio journalist for National Public Radio....
     (1989–2001)
  • Michele Norris
    Michele Norris

    Michele L. Norris is an United States radio journalist and current host of the National Public Radio evening news program All Things Considered since December 9, 2002....
     (2002 – present)
  • Melissa Block
    Melissa Block

    Melissa Block is an United States radio host. She is one of the hosts of National Public Radio's All Things Considered news program....
     (2003 – present)


Weekend hosts

  • Robert Conley (1977–1978)
  • Jackie Judd (1977–1978)
  • Joe Frank
    Joe Frank

    Joe Frank is an American radio personality, known best for his engaging, often philosophical, humorous and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas....
     (1978–1979)
  • Noah Adams
    Noah Adams

    Noah Adams is an American Broadcasting journalist and author, known primarily for his more than thirty years of experience on National Public Radio....
     (1978–1982)
  • Liane Hansen
    Liane Hansen

    Liane Hansen is an United States journalist, radio personality, and senior host of the National Public Radio newsmagazine Weekend Edition. Her experience in broadcast journalism includes working as a reporter, producer, and host for local and national programs....
     (1982–1984)
  • Lynn Neary
    Lynn Neary

    Lynn 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....
     (1984–1992)
  • Jacki Lyden
    Jacki Lyden

    Jacki 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 Simeone (2000–2002)
  • Steve Inskeep
    Steve Inskeep

    Steve Inskeep is one of the current hosts of Morning Edition on National Public Radio. He, along with co-host Ren?e Montagne, were assigned as interim hosts to succeed Bob Edwards after NPR reassigned Edwards to Senior Correspondent after April 30 2004....
     (2002–2004)
  • Jennifer Ludden (2004–2005)
  • Deborah Elliott
    Deborah Elliott

    Deborah Elliot, aka Debbie Elliott, is a broadcast journalist for NPR, who reports from the United States Congress.She attended graduate school at the University of Alabama, where she worked for WUAL-FM radio ....
     (2005–2007)
  • Andrea Seabrook
    Andrea Seabrook

    Andrea Seabrook is an United States radio journalist for National Public Radio. 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 – present)


(*Lyden occasionally stands in for Seabrook as an alternate host)


In 2004, Robert Siegel had a US$282,742 salary. Co-host Michele Norris received US$202,246.

Commentators

  • Andrei Codrescu
    Andrei Codrescu

    Andrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born United States poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio....
  • Vertamae Grosvenor
    Vertamae Grosvenor

    Vertamae Grosvenor is a food writer and broadcaster, raised in the South Carolina South Carolina Low Country.Grosvenor is the author of Vibration Cooking, also known as The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl. The cookbook, originally published in 1970, focuses on lowcountry cuisine and Geechee cooking....
  • Kevin Kling
    Kevin Kling

    Kevin Kling is a commentator for National Public Radio and acclaimed storyteller.Kevin Kling grew up in Osseo, Minnesota, Minnesota and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a B....
  • Bob Mondello
    Bob Mondello

    Bob Mondello is an American Film criticism. He has worked for National Public Radio since 1984 ? where he is the arts critic / film and theater commentator for All Things Considered....
  • Daniel Pinkwater
    Daniel Pinkwater

    Daniel Manus Pinkwater in Memphis, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, is an author of mostly Children's literature and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio....
  • Reynolds Price
    Reynolds Price

    Reynolds Price is an United States novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price has had a lifelong interest in ancient languages and Biblical scholarship....
  • Ralph Schoenstein
    Ralph Schoenstein

    'Ralph Schoenstein' was an United States 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 Schorr
    Daniel Schorr

    Daniel Louis Schorr is an American journalist who has covered the world for more than 60 years. He is now a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio ....
  • Bailey White
    Bailey White

    Bailey White is an American author and a regular radio commentator for the National Public Radio program All Things Considered.She is the daughter of James White, who was a fiction writer, and Rosalie White, a farmer....
  • 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:
  • "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 Believe
    This I Believe

    This I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network radio 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"


External links