2008 Woodie Awards
"Wait, Wait" radio visits campus
Lydia Hignite
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
The nationally-syndicated, hour-long humorous National Public Radio (NPR) quiz show “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” is coming to Samford.
Samford will host the Chicago-based show in the Wright Center Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for Birmingham’s local NPR affiliate, WBHM-FM 90.3, which plays NPR news and classical music.
“They open the show by saying, ‘Coming to you from’ wherever they are,” Executive Director of University Communications Philip Poole said. “The good thing for Samford is that we’re going to get national exposure at a very low cost to the university.”
Samford students agree that the attention will be good for the campus.
“It’ll give us more status with other schools,” freshman biology major Michael Gmitro said. “I’m from Florida, and I hadn’t heard of Samford except from my friends down there. So, hopefully we’ll get more national exposure.”
This is the first time that “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” will visit Birmingham. Although the show is normally recorded in Chicago, they travel and record in different cities a few times a year.
The hour-long show is the brain child of Executive Producer Doug Berman, who also created the well-known NPR program “Car Talk.”
Peter Sagal is the show’s host, while veteran broadcaster Carl Kasell serves as the official judge and scorekeeper.
Each show has three panelists. Altogether, there is a group of ten panelists who frequent the show, and of that ten, only three are featured, differing from one show to the next.
The weekly show is set up in a quiz format, where it is the job of a caller to differentiate the real news from the made-up news.
The callers are the listener contestants. The panelists themselves often have their knowledge put to the test as well.
NPR describes the panelists as being the “best and brightest in the news and entertainment world.” The panelists coming to Samford will be comedian Paula Poundstone, humorist and author Roy Blount, Jr. and “Boston Globe” columnist Charlie Pierce.
“After a while, you develop a sense of what a “Wait, Wait” story’s going to be,” Pierce said. “Stupid criminals, embarrassing places on your body to find small animals or politicians getting caught with people other than their wives or perhaps outside their species (are good stories).”
The subject material is considered wacky by all, funny to most and inappropriate to some.
The show is based on timely news that happened in the week leading up to the taping of the show.
“It’s definitely funny,” freshman undeclared major Katie Gassaway said. “I like how they present it lightheartedly, but they still give you information at the end.”
Tickets are available through the Alys Stephens Center Box Office by calling (205) 975-2787 or by visiting www.wbhm.org.
“Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” airs on WBHM 90.3-FM Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
Samford will host the Chicago-based show in the Wright Center Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for Birmingham’s local NPR affiliate, WBHM-FM 90.3, which plays NPR news and classical music.
“They open the show by saying, ‘Coming to you from’ wherever they are,” Executive Director of University Communications Philip Poole said. “The good thing for Samford is that we’re going to get national exposure at a very low cost to the university.”
Samford students agree that the attention will be good for the campus.
“It’ll give us more status with other schools,” freshman biology major Michael Gmitro said. “I’m from Florida, and I hadn’t heard of Samford except from my friends down there. So, hopefully we’ll get more national exposure.”
This is the first time that “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” will visit Birmingham. Although the show is normally recorded in Chicago, they travel and record in different cities a few times a year.
The hour-long show is the brain child of Executive Producer Doug Berman, who also created the well-known NPR program “Car Talk.”
Peter Sagal is the show’s host, while veteran broadcaster Carl Kasell serves as the official judge and scorekeeper.
Each show has three panelists. Altogether, there is a group of ten panelists who frequent the show, and of that ten, only three are featured, differing from one show to the next.
The weekly show is set up in a quiz format, where it is the job of a caller to differentiate the real news from the made-up news.
The callers are the listener contestants. The panelists themselves often have their knowledge put to the test as well.
NPR describes the panelists as being the “best and brightest in the news and entertainment world.” The panelists coming to Samford will be comedian Paula Poundstone, humorist and author Roy Blount, Jr. and “Boston Globe” columnist Charlie Pierce.
“After a while, you develop a sense of what a “Wait, Wait” story’s going to be,” Pierce said. “Stupid criminals, embarrassing places on your body to find small animals or politicians getting caught with people other than their wives or perhaps outside their species (are good stories).”
The subject material is considered wacky by all, funny to most and inappropriate to some.
The show is based on timely news that happened in the week leading up to the taping of the show.
“It’s definitely funny,” freshman undeclared major Katie Gassaway said. “I like how they present it lightheartedly, but they still give you information at the end.”
Tickets are available through the Alys Stephens Center Box Office by calling (205) 975-2787 or by visiting www.wbhm.org.
“Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” airs on WBHM 90.3-FM Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
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