{"id":13270,"date":"2017-01-25T16:10:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T22:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=13270"},"modified":"2017-01-25T16:10:19","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T22:10:19","slug":"chicago-public-media-trims-barbershop-show-vocalo-wbez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/01\/25\/chicago-public-media-trims-barbershop-show-vocalo-wbez\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Public Media trims \u2018Barbershop Show\u2019 from Vocalo, WBEZ"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Richard<\/a>

<\/a> Richard Steele<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe Barbershop Show,\u201d a weekly community conversation unlike any other on Chicago radio, has gone out of business.<\/p>\n

Produced by Vocalo, <\/a>Chicago Public Media\u2019s alternative channel, the show originated from Carter\u2019s Barber Shop in North Lawndale and aired live at noon Fridays on Vocalo. It repeated Sundays on WBEZ FM 91.5<\/a> and in podcast form.<\/p>\n

The fate of the show has been in question since January 8 when it went on hiatus. Silvia Rivera, managing director of Vocalo, confirmed its cancellation Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2010 in partnership with The Chicago Reporter,<\/a> the show was billed as \u201ca weekly dose of real talk, straight from the shop floor.\u201d It\u2019s been hosted since 2012 by Chicago radio legend Richard Steele, who brought together journalists, activists, academics and community members in a smart, insightful dialogue.<\/p>\n

Rivera said the decision coincided with the reassignment of producer Ayana Contreras to \u201cSound Opinions,\u201d the rock and roll talk show hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot.<\/p>\n

\u201cReplicating the collaboration between Ayana and Richard seems impossible right now and as such we will end production on the 'Barbershop Show,\u2019\u201d Rivera said in a statement. \u201cBut our commitment to broadcasting from community spaces has not changed and we are exploring ways to create opportunities for the 'Morning Amp' to fill this space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele, 75, retired<\/a> in 2014 from his full-time position with Chicago Public Media but continued to host \u201cThe Barbershop Show\u201d and serve as a contributor to other programs. Rivera said he has \"decided to move on to explore other projects.\"<\/p>\n

Earlier this week Steele did not respond to a request for comment, but said in a statement released by the station: \u201cChicago Public Media has been my \u2018media home\u2019 for more than 25 years and I thank the organization for that. I will always be willing to participate in a special project if called upon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is the text of Rivera\u2019s memo to staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear CPM fam,<\/em><\/p>\n

As you all know Ayana has taken a great new role at Sound Opinions.\u00a0 We are super excited for Ayana, but it does leave the Barbershop Show without a producer\u00a0 -- and the very unique chemistry of Ayana and Richard that made the show so special.\u00a0 As a result, the show has been on hiatus since January 8.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

After much consideration, and many discussions with Richard about the Barbershop show, Richard has decided to move on to explore other projects.<\/em><\/p>\n

As he told me: \u00a0Chicago Public Media has been my \"media home\" for more than 25 years and I thank the organization for that. I will always be willing to participate in a special project if called upon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Replicating the collaboration between Ayana and Richard seems impossible right now and as such we will end production on the Barbershop Show.\u00a0 But our commitment to broadcasting from community spaces has not changed and we are exploring ways to create opportunities for the Morning Amp to fill this space.\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\nIn closing, I can\u2019t begin to express my appreciation for Richard and the magic he brought to the Barbershop show.\u00a0 He is a Chicago treasure, and I know that we will never fully let him let go.\u00a0 I look forward to working with him on special initiatives in service of our great city.<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\nSilvia<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Barbershop Show,\u201d a weekly community conversation unlike any other on Chicago radio, has gone out of business. Produced by Vocalo, Chicago Public Media\u2019s alternative channel, the show originated from Carter\u2019s Barber Shop in North Lawndale and aired live at noon Fridays on Vocalo. It repeated Sundays on WBEZ FM 91.5 and in podcast form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13270"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13277,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13270\/revisions\/13277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}