Which State Has The Best Public Radio?

A new public radio powerhouse: Boston, Miami, Washington, New York, Los Angeles ... Chapel Hill?

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In the world of public radio, the town best known for its national championship college-basketball program is also home to WUNC-FM, a fast-rising source for listeners who prefer their news and information from the left side of the dial.

"It's one of the most successful stations around," said Tom Taylor, editor-in-chief for Inside Radio, which publishes a daily newsletter on the U.S. radio industry. "It's already a star, and it's ready to rise."

Earlier this year, WUNC became home to a southeastern bureau for "Marketplace," the nationally distributed, business-focused show that airs during peak driving times in many markets and boasts 7.9 million weekly listeners. Other "Marketplace" bureaus are located in the aforementioned five major American cities.

The station is getting set to launch a nationally syndicated talk show hosted by Dick Gordon, former host of National Public Radio's "The Connection."

That show, which was based out of Boston's WBUR-FM, was heard on more than 60 National Public Radio stations nationwide but was canceled this summer amid cutbacks at WBUR.

Gordon said WUNC was a natural landing place for him after "The Connection" ended. The area's universities and Research Triangle Park, along with the large population of transplants from places such as Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area, give the Triangle "intellectual heft" and make WUNC an attractive station from which to develop a new national program, he said.

"I'm just interested in the whole idea of being a part of that," Gordon said.

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