August 19, 2003
RALEIGH — The John Locke Foundation’s influential monthly journal of news, analysis, and commentary on North Carolina issues is now available in a new format: a weekly radio newsmagazine. “Carolina Journal Radio” is the latest project of the Raleigh-based think tank, which also publishes Carolina Journal in print, distributes Carolina Journal Weekly Report by email, and hosts a daily news and commentary site at www.CarolinaJournal.com. A weekly, hour-long newsmagazine covering state and local public policy issues, “Carolina Journal Radio” is now broadcast on 14 radio stations — from the mountains to the coast of North Carolina.
“We’re providing listeners with what we hope is an intriguing, informative, and entertaining program on North Carolina issues,” said John Locke Foundation President John Hood, who hosts the program. “It’s a one-of-a-kind show — it has the quality of guests and conversation you’d expect from a nationally syndicated program but it is all by and about North Carolinians.”
Education, taxes, the legislature, affirmative action, air pollution, freedom of the press and the courts – these are just a few of the subjects that “Carolina Journal Radio” has tackled since the program began production in May 2003.
Guests on the program have included journalists such as Rob Christensen from The News & Observer of Raleigh and Paul O’Connor from the Winston-Salem Journal, political analysts from across the political spectrum (the Common Sense Foundation and the N.C. Justice and Community Development Center on the Left and the Institute for Justice and Locke Foundation on the Right), and experts from industry, government, universities, think tanks, and public-interest groups such as Common Cause and the N.C. Press Association.
Since 1991, the print version of Carolina Journal has supplied readers with news coverage, investigative reports, in-depth analysis, and informed commentary on a host of state issues such as taxes, government budgets, education, transportation, colleges and universities, local government, and health care. It also contains a popular feature, “The Learning Curve,” that mixes book reviews with pieces on the arts, movies, and popular culture. Editorials, debates, columns, and news-related parodies round out each issue of Carolina Journal, now read by some 20,000 North Carolinians each month.
Carolina Journal Weekly Report, by contrast, offers a more concise and timely look at the state legislature, politics, state government, and public policy events in North Carolina and beyond to thousands of readers by email. And www.CarolinaJournal.com has become one of the most popular web sites in North Carolina for political and public policy news, with its daily exclusives, its state news and editorial roundup, its “Daily Journal” column by John Hood, and its comprehensive set of links to the state’s newspapers, broadcast stations, radio and television talk shows, online columns, blogs, and political sites.
“Now, with the radio program, we can make better use of these diverse resources and bring some of our analytical and investigative stories on North Carolina government to a broader audience,” Hood said. “Our goal is to stimulate discussion and debate about the challenging issues that face our state, and to do so in a way that encourages people to speak up, to disagree without being disagreeable, and to work for positive change.”
“Carolina Journal Radio” is a co-production of the John Locke Foundation and Carolina Broadcasting Systems Inc., the same company that produces the statewide television discussion program “N.C. Spin.” Tom Campbell, host of “N.C. Spin,” is the executive producer of “Carolina Journal Radio,” which is produced by Rudy Partin. Hood and production assistant Summer Hood work with the Carolina Journal staff and others to develop the program’s content and line up guest interviews.
Its 14 affiliates consist of commercial news-talk stations in and around many North Carolina communities, including the rated radio markets of Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad, Asheville, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Greenville-Washington-New Bern, and Elizabeth City. Additional affiliates in Western North Carolina, the Piedmont, and on the coast to expected to join the “Carolina Journal Radio” network in the coming weeks.
Inquiries about guests and topics should be directed to the Carolina Journal staff at 919-828-3876. Inquiries about the show’s production, distribution, and advertising opportunities should be directed to Carolina Broadcasting at 919-781-3728. Technical questions should be directed to producer Rudy Partin at 919-274-4706. Listeners who would like to receive a weekly email containing advance notice of upcoming “Carolina Journal Radio” guests and topics should email Summer Hood at [email protected]. A complete list of affiliates and times can be found at www.CarolinaJournal.com/cjradio.
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