PHONE-INS ARE CONFIRMING REHNQUIST COVERAGE ON NPR
Two Los Angeles public radio stations have been preempting regular programming this week for gavel-to-gavel coverage of Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist’s Senate hearings for confirmation as the nation’s next Chief Justice.
Management at KPCC-FM (89.3) and KPFK-FM (90.7) decided when the hearings began Wednesday to broadcast them uninterrupted and in their entirety.
“We’ve been carrying them all week and, up until today, I hadn’t heard any response one way or the other from our listeners,” KPCC engineer Doug Johnson said on Friday.
But the hearings--zeroing in on Rehnquist’s views on race relations--caught on by week’s end, Johnson said. By Friday, the National Public Radio satellite “feeds” that the station has been carrying began drawing call-in praise from listeners.
The station airs them live, beginning as early as 5 a.m. here. NPR congressional correspondent Cokie Roberts interjects explanatory commentary from time to time during the broadcast, he said.
The hearings are expected to resume Monday.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
