Sunday, August 19, 2018

Whad'Ya Know in Jackson

Nothing like lounging around the house on a lazy rainy Sunday afternoon. Once upon a time on January 27, 1996, the popular weekly Saturday morning public radio show Whad'ya Know broadcast live from Thalia Mara Hall.  The packed house enjoyed host Michael Feldman tell tales of his visit to Mississippi while local notables such as Willie Morris and Jill Conner Browne entertained the crowd as well.  JJ discovered this gem from Jackson's forgotten past online and posted it below.  Enjoy.

The actual recording starts at :45.   There is a break at the end of the first hour.  The show returns at 1:05:45.



Highlights:

*Spoke about a visit to Fanin Mart on 471.
*Willie Morris spoke about his dog Skip and how much he literally hated Hitler.
* Guests from audience: Dr. Brendon Ross, Joanne Bellinger, Tim Magendy (Iron Horse Grill Bartender), Dick and Scott Mateer, Vernon Chadwick, Dwayne Hurt, Jim Goodman,
*Jill Conner Brown.  She gives a succinct breakdown of the Perry family division at 1:37:00 as she spoke about the Neshoba County Fair.  
*Blues Guitarist Jack Owens of Bentonia


The show was cancelled earlier this year.  It once reached an audience of 330 stations and 1.5 million listeners per week.  However, it fell to 100 stations and was expensive to produce. 


11 comments:

Former sportswriter said...

I was there for the show with my mom. I was a big fan back then of WYK and Prairie Home Companion. Didn't know WYK was cancelled, but I think the death knell first sounded when MS Public Radio moved the show from Saturday to Sunday. Haven't been able to listen because I was in church.

Kingfish said...

Yup. Saturday mornigs were fun. Click and Clack followed by WYD. One more thing screwed up at PRM.

Anonymous said...

public radio used to be great when they had a balance of music, news, and entertainment like this. it’s nice to remember that at once upon a time our “think radio” used to be worthwhile

Anonymous said...

And just why do our tax dollars fund this?

I spent many Saturday mornings listening to Felder, Car Talk and then Feldman. I enjoyed them then, now the shows are insipid and goofy (except for Felder). But even when the line up was good I knew that the taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay for it.

Anonymous said...

Our tax dollars fund this because it’s a public good. Thousands of people learn from it everyday, which benefits the whole state, even the people who don’t listen to it.

Macy Hanson said...

It saddened me when MPB stopped running What'd Y'Know. I particularly love the segment where he reads the memo of the week.

MPB is still excellent, in my view. I don't get the criticisms of how its quality has gone down the drain.

Anonymous said...

I know a lot of things that are much better than public broadcasting/radio.
Do we fund them? Who is the arbiter of what is for the public good? Don't force others to fund what you like. Pay for what you like.

Anonymous said...

A public good for only an extremely small fraction of the public. Just as I don't support the ad spending of government agencies with the Supertalkers the MPB money, however little it may be, would be better off used to fund PERS or something else more infinitely mission critical to the state.

Stog said...

Where can I find the budget for this. Curious to know why it was 'expensive' to produce.
I would venture if it was produced by public TV the cost was bloated and such a show produce and aired with financing from standard television TV 'spots' it could be revived and distributed throughout the state using a combination of local cable and IPTV.

Someone publish the costs, please.

Louis LeFleur said...

Loved WYK! Like others, Saturdays just weren't complete with two hours of Car Talk followed by WYK. Didn't get to see it live in Jackson (or Biloxi before that if I remember correctly), but so long ago now I don't remember why. I remember that MPB moved it to a rerun on Sunday, and at a time that I couldn't listen, but didn't realize till I looked it up that it has not been produced in 2-3 years. I forget when the live Car Talk went off the air, but continued to listen the reruns for years even though by then they were talking about "ancient" automobiles most of the time. MPB only quit playing the reruns about a year or so ago it seems, but maybe it was longer than that. I did at least happen to catch the live memorial show Ray did for Tom after his death almost four years ago now.

Anonymous said...

How about some Coffee with Judy segments? She did a lot of promo stuff for the Ali/kristoferson civil war made for TV movie filmed here.



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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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