Kids America Explained

Kids America was a 90 minute syndicated public radio show for young children. It was broadcast from 1984 to 1987 on weeknights on public radio stations in the United States[1] by American Public Radio, the forerunner of Public Radio International.[2] First produced by WNYC in New York City as Small Things Considered,[3] it won a Peabody award in 1984.[4] In October 1985 the show's name was changed to Kids America. At the time of its 1987 cancellation, the program was carried by 26 stations.[2]

Characters/Segments

The show was hosted by Kathy O'Connell and Larry Orfaly. Each 30 minute segment on Kids America featured a character or guest. These included:

A wide variety of music was also played from rock music to classical music during each half-hour segment.[12] The show's engineer was David Nolan.[1]

Cancellation

The final show aired on Christmas Eve 1987 after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting decided not to renew a grant which provided funding for the program. WNYC, the station which produced Kids America, declined to pursue other underwriting possibilities and in the following January secured trademarks on certain characters so they could not be re-used.[13] After its cancellation, O’Connell continued her career in radio hosting Kids Corner on WXPN in Philadelphia.[14]

At its cancellation, the show was broadcast on 26 stations nationwide and drew over 6,000 letters and phone calls per week. One of the difficulties of the show, and children's radio in general in the US, is that radio ratings do not count listeners less than 12 years old. This created a lack of incentive for radio stations to carry Kids America or any other children's radio programming.[15]

The cancellation of Kids America left the United States with no nationally distributed radio programs aimed at children until Radio AAHS started to expand outside of Minneapolis in October 1992.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kids America. www.westerling.com.
  2. News: Children's Radio Show Is Canceled . The New York Times. Andrew L. Yarrow. 2 January 2008 . 2015-05-03. subscription.
  3. News: Public radio to offer new shows. Times Daily. Google News. Associated Press . 19 May 1985 . 10 February 2012.
  4. Web site: Small Things Considered . Peabody Awards . 2015-05-03.
  5. Web site: Closing the Book on 'Kids America' . The Los Angeles Times . 23 December 1987 . 10 February 2012 . 21 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120121060703/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-23/news/vw-20775_1_kids-america . live .
  6. News: Radio. Lakeland Ledger. Google News . 13 July 1986 . 10 February 2012.
  7. Web site: Sounds of Silence: Public Radio's Canceled Program Archive. AIRwiki. 10 February 2012. 20 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111020042746/http://www.airmedia.org/wiki//mediawiki/index.php/Sounds_of_Silence:_Public_Radio%27s_Canceled_Program_Archive. dead.
  8. News: "HELLO, AMERICA": Radio Broadcast in the Years Before Television. From Art to Zoo. Smithsonian Institution . Fall 1986 . 10 February 2012.
  9. News: Kidding Around Is On The Air . Chicago Tribune . 4 December 1986 . 10 February 2012 . 24 August 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100824061058/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-12-04/features/8603310813_1_kids-america-dr-rita-book-words . dead .
  10. Web site: WNYC FOUNDATION Trademarks :: Justia Trademarks . 2023-06-14 . trademarks.justia.com.
  11. Web site: Vadala . Nick . 2018-04-17 . WXPN's 'Kids Corner' celebrates 30 years of creating a radio oasis for Philly's children . 2023-06-14 . en.
  12. Web site: If children's TV turns you off, try 'Kids America' on radio. The Pittsburgh Press. Robert Bianco. Google News. 19 June 1987 . 13 December 2021.
  13. Web site: WNYC FOUNDATION Trademarks :: Justia Trademarks . 2023-06-14 . trademarks.justia.com.
  14. News: Barrientos . Tanya . Staff Q&A with Kathy O'Connell. Penn Current . 24 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150908083445/https://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/node/4334. 8 September 2015. 13 December 2021.
  15. News: Children's Radio Show Is Canceled - New York Times . The New York Times. Andrew L. Yarrow . 2 January 1988 . 13 December 2021. subscription.
  16. Web site: Hulse . Jane . 1993-03-04 . FOR THE KIDS : Easy Listening : It's all fun, all the time, as 24-hour Radio AAHS broadcasts music, news and stories for the grade-school audience. . 2023-06-14 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.

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