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After 34 years in radio, now at Arkansas PBS

by | May 6, 2023 | About Me, Arkansas Week, News

I’m nearing six months into a new job at Arkansas PBS, greatly enjoying working in a new environment with a different set of challenges and the opportunity to try new things. This is my first time working exclusively in television and video-related digital media, but I’m still using the journalism basics that are instilled after decades of being a radio reporter, anchor, editor and manager. I started on Jan. 3 as Senior Producer/Director of Public Affairs.

After accepting the job and giving five weeks notice to longtime employer KUAR-FM 89.1, I posted on social media about my career change.

My last day at KUAR was Dec. 30, 2022, capping more than three decades in radio. I had been with the NPR station at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock since 2009, serving as news director for the last 10 years. While I have a deep love for the medium of radio and podcasts, this was an exciting chance to work in a new realm and help expand news coverage on Arkansas PBS. 

For much of my time at KUAR, I had also appeared regularly on the television network’s flagship public affairs program Arkansas Week, taking part in journalist roundtable discussions on the state’s top political stories. I also occasionally filled in hosting the show and was involved in special coverage, including asking questions of political candidates at debates hosted by Arkansas PBS and its predecessor AETN.

Already knowing several people working at the television network helped in the transition to the new job. I’m working mostly in a managerial, behind the scenes role. Our coverage is seen on 10 television channels throughout Arkansas, covering 96% of the state.  I’ve always enjoyed editing video, but never had an opportunity to do it in a professional setting other than a few videos I produced for KUAR’s website, like one of the 2014 dedication of Johnny Cash’s boyhood home or a 2022 interview with cartoonist Stephan Pastis.

Arkansas Business reporter Kyle Massey, who covers media-related issues and has written extensively about KUAR and Arkansas PBS over the years, had a column about my career change in the Dec. 12 issue.

One clarification from what Kyle wrote, I wasn’t planning on taking the reel-to-reel recorder with – that belonged to the station – but yes on moving the extensive collection of personal items from my office, including vintage microphones, hundreds of cassettes, and other items I’d kept there over the years. 

One of my new responsibilities is overseeing production of Arkansas Week, which marked its 40th anniversary in February. Having been involved in the program in the past, it was a joy helping to produce a segment looking at its history. I interviewed several former regulars on the program, as well as longtime host Steve Barnes. The six-minute segment, which was masterfully edited by producer Jennifer Gibson, aired on the Feb. 17 episode.

The full interviews ended up being so good that we also posted many of those online. You can watch Steve Barnes share not only details of his experiences on Arkansas Week, but his background on how he came to work in television. Also available are the interviews with Ernie Dumas of the Arkansas Gazette, Gwen Moritz of Arkansas Business, and Rex Nelson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

While my job duties are primarily behind the scenes, I’m comfortable appearing on camera as needed — whatever it takes to land an interview, facilitate live coverage or help on the air during pledge drives. Four days before Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ education reform legislation was filed in the Arkansas General Assembly, I interviewed state Education Secretary Jacob Oliva about the proposal in the rotunda of the state Capitol.

Interviewing Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva in the state Capitol about the governor’s education proposal on Feb. 16, 2023. Photo: Arkansas Department of Education

The first 10 minutes of my interview was featured in the opening segment of Arkansas Week. We posted an additional six minutes of the interview as an online-only feature with Oliva providing more details on how he was envisioning the proposal, which Sanders had said was her top priority when coming into office.

As part of our state political and government coverage, I also oversee the streaming of live events on the Arkansas Citizens Action Network (AR-CAN), which is included on the Arkansas PBS website. That can involve lining up a crew to shoot events like government meetings or using Zoom and similar services to stream meetings. Some events are of major political interest, while others are offered as a public service to allow viewers to see the inner workings of government.

Reporting live on Sanders’ education proposal for AR-CAN

After Sanders came into office advocating for an overhaul of the state’s education system, we covered several rallies and events on the topic. Some of the coverage included me reporting live, along with the full speeches and interviews with lawmakers.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced details of her education proposal on Feb. 8, 2023 with legislators behind her on the steps leading to the House of Representatives chamber. Photo: Michael Hibblen

In the weeks before the education bill was filed, Sanders provided a few details of what would be included during several rallies. The first was on Jan. 19, with Sanders speaking in the state Capitol rotunda at an event organized by the Arkansas chapter of Americans for Prosperity. She noted for the first time that the changes would be incorporated into one large omnibus bill, and as expected, would include a voucher program allowing parents to use state funds for private, parochial or home schooling.

On Feb. 8, Sanders held a press conference in front of the steps leading to the Arkansas House of Representatives chamber to unveil details of her education proposal called the LEARNS Act. Exact language of the bill would not be released for another couple of weeks.

The 145-page bill was filed at the end of the day on Feb. 20. It was apparent just from the number of sponsors that there was more than enough support for the legislation to pass, with Republicans holding supermajorities in both chambers.

On the day after the bill was introduced, Sanders spoke during a Feb. 21 rally at the Capitol, this time as part of Home School Day.

In the span of just over two weeks, the bill sailed through the legislature. Many Democrats, educators and parents argued there wasn’t sufficient debate for such sweeping changes. The bill was the topic of several episodes of Arkansas Week, with lawmakers from both major parities debating for and against it. Sanders signed the bill into law on March. 8, which we also streamed live.

Surrounded by supporters and family, Gov. Sanders signs the LEARNS Act into law on March 8. Photo: Michael Hibblen

Another key issue during the legislative session, which was discussed heavily on Arkansas Week, was criminal justice reform. With it and education taking up so much time, it was reported that this year’s session saw the fewest number of bills passed since 1971. Lawmakers formally adjourned on May 1.

Beyond my Public Affairs department, it has been fascinating to learn about how Arkansas PBS operates and the many things it is involved in. The original productions, ranging from educational kids programming to more serious topics, have been especially interesting to see being produced. We have a podcast studio equipped with three cameras that was most recently used for a grant-funded series called The Growing Season. Even the annual Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl championship for high school students was fun. My role in the April 22 broadcast, which featured seven rounds each lasting about an hour, was controlling the buzzer as participants competed.

During two nights of our spring pledge drive I appeared on-camera pitching for viewer support. One evening was during PBS NewsHour and Nature. The other was while airing three documentaries produced in the 1990s by the late Arkansas television journalist Jack Hill. In between each one, Casey Sanders and I interviewed the authors of a book about Hill and his former wife.

Bob Cochran and Dale Carpenter discuss their book about Jack Hill alongside his former wife Anne Hill during an evening when we aired three of his documentaries. Photo: Kai Caddy/Arkansas PBS

Walking Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin through Arkansas PBS before taping an episode of Arkansas Week on Feb. 3, 2023 . Photo: Attorney General’s Office

Moving forward, I hope to continue expanding digital offerings by Arkansas PBS, especially for news-related events. It’s a pleasure working with an impressive team of professionals. It’s also an honor being part of a television network that I grew up watching with a deep history in the state.

Radio legend Jim Bohannon dies at 78

by | Nov 13, 2022 | Radio

I was saddened to learn of the death of national talk show host Jim Bohannon from cancer on Saturday, Nov. 12. It happened about a month after he ended his long-running late-night radio program citing health issues. Bohannon had been very influential to me when I was starting my career, and years later, I was proud to report regularly from Miami for his “America in the Morning” program. I also got the opportunity to join him once live in the studio during his late-night show.

Bohannon had a warmth that radiated through the radio, along with intelligence, wit and an amazing voice. He was very comfortable to listen to. While acknowledging that his personal political beliefs were slightly conservative, Bohannon maintained a middle-of-the-road style on the air, at least in the years I was a regular listener.

This quote from him in 2003, included in Wikipedia’s entry on Bohannon, says it all:

“Our political system gives the extremes too much of a say-so. We’re very often given the choice between an off-the-wall, right-wing whacko or some left-wing idiot. The result is that the sensible center – where things actually get done in this country – winds up having to choose from the ‘evil of two lesser,” Bohannon said in an interview with Inside Radio.

Nineteen years later, in today’s era of hyper-partisan commentary, I think his comments can also be reflective on one reason so many once-dominant commercial news and talk stations have low ratings.

I became familiar with Jim Bohannon around 1990 when I would hear him on Little Rock affiliate KARN-AM 920 while driving home from my evening shift as a DJ at KLRA-FM 96.5 in England, Ark. He often filled in for Larry King on the Mutual Broadcasting System and had his own Saturday night show on the network. After King left the late-night show for an afternoon radio program in January 1993, Bohannon got the coveted slot.

In May 1993, I was hired by KARN as a news anchor, reporter and producer. It was then that I started hearing “America in the Morning,” which Bohannon also hosted. After the three-hour late-night program ended, he would spend the next three hours preparing the hour-long morning program, which was more of a magazine-style format and seemed to be a great lead-in for morning drive at affiliates. It must have been a grueling all-night shift for him.

In 2000, when I began working as a Miami-based freelance reporter for CBS News Radio, I would also file two-minute reports for “America in the Morning.” At that time, CBS and Bohannon’s programs were distributed by Westwood One, and they shared news content. I was one of two people CBS had in Florida, and between the two of us, we would travel around the state to cover stories of national interest.

At a time when reports for commercial radio stations typically ran 40 seconds at the most, it was a treat to produce longer versions of my stories that I felt provided better context and perspective. I could use several soundbites, and if they were strong, longer cuts, like exchanges during interviews or courtroom trials. The reports for “America in the Morning” would typically be the last thing I would produce after a day of covering developing stories and feeding reports for CBS hourly newscasts. The longer reports provided a chance for me to reflect on what had happened during the span of the day and how best to sum everything up.

While my reports to CBS would be fed to a producer in New York over phone lines using an expensive piece of equipment called a Comrex Hotline, which the network had assigned to me, my reports for Bohannon’s show were simply emailed as an MP3. While I saved those reports, for my own archives, I wanted to have Bohannon’s introductions to my reports. So during one trip to New York to spend a few days at the CBS Broadcast Center, I stopped at the Arlington, Virginia Westwood One studios where Bohannon’s program was based and his producer gave me access to recordings of the full programs so that I could record.

Jim Bohannon came in to do his program and we met for the first time. While making polite conversation about a story I had filed a day or two earlier about a large number of passengers becoming sick on a cruise ship that returned to South Florida, he invited me to join him on the air during a segment when he had no guests scheduled and was taking calls from listeners.

AUDIO: Joining Jim Bohannon on his national radio program on Dec. 2, 2002.

Needless to say, it was an honor to sit in with Bohannon. We’ve lost another great broadcaster and a throw back to a more congenial era of broadcasting.

Moderating heated debate with candidates for mayor of Little Rock

by | Nov 1, 2022 | News

Leading up to Election Day, I moderated a contentious debate among the four candidates running for mayor of Little Rock. It was the first debate-style event the candidates had participated in and I questioned them about some controversial issues they had not previously discussed during a public event. It prompted some heated moments.

The debate was organized by the Central Arkansas Library System, KUAR and the League of Women Voters of Pulaski County. A crowd of a couple hundred people were in the Ron Robinson Theater on Monday, Oct. 10 to watch it in-person, while the debate was also streamed on CALS’ YouTube channel and aired live on KUAR.

The debate generated significant media attention, with my name and KUAR mentioned in stories by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Advocate and the Arkansas Times. In particular, the Arkansas Times said:

Though well-organized and fair, the Monday evening Little Rock mayoral forum got heated — particularly between incumbent Frank Scott Jr. and candidate Steve Landers when it came to crime, LITFest and the city’s parks.

KUAR 89.1-FM journalist Michael Hibblen moderated the forum at Ron Robinson theater, and it was the first that could be called a debate. The candidates — Scott, Landers, Greg Henderson and Glen Schwarz — were given two minutes to answer the same question, and if someone was called out, they were given a one-minute rebuttal period.

Later in the story, regarding LITFest:

The forum was also the first time Scott publicly answered questions about LITFest, the city-sponsored festival that was supposed to “unite” Little Rock, but was canceled days before its start.

Scott’s main claim about the festival was that the event brought “key learnings,” and there were some “mistakes made,” he said. “But when the time [came to make] a decision, as a leader, I made sure those decisions were correct. So, yes, it had to be canceled.”

Hibblen phrased the question to include several details of the LITFest saga, including the hiring of the mayor’s former chief of staff to Think Rubix — the company that was chosen to organize the festival, the move to skip the Board of Directors’ approval and the contract concerns that arose. Scott did not include explanations to any of these details in his response. He did not include LITFest in his response concerning city transparency. He did say that if he is reelected, he would fight again to bring the festival to Little Rock.

Landers again took a stab at Scott’s work and said that “LITFest was a bad idea from the start.” He said that it would hurt the State Fair, which was scheduled for the week following the festival’s Oct 7-9 dates, and it was something of a “political rally” for Scott. Landers also called the contract a “sham.”