Announcement: A New Show

This is a special announcement about The Wildebeet. I'm Steve Sargent.

This isn't one of our regular programs. Instead, I'm making a special announcement this week.

The Wildebeet is changing our production schedule and format.

For over three years, we've produced and presented our 10-minute segments reliably

every week with very few interruptions. We've taken you to some of the best wilderness areas,

we've taken you on a range of exciting outings, we've introduced you to skills and gear to make

your wilderness adventures safer and richer. But now, we've decided to try doing this a bit

differently. Various economic realities are driving these changes to our show,

but the key issue is that we can't commit to a regular weekly schedule and provide the kind

of thoughtfully edited, professionally produced content we've become recognized for without

full-time staff and the funding to support that staff.

But we're certainly not going to give up. We're too committed to the goal of helping more people

appreciate America's wild public lands. It's important to us that people discover for

themselves how important it is to preserve these places as wild. I explored ideas for

several different possible formats when I first developed the show. These concepts range from

a 90-second daily format up to a six-minute daily format. I dreamed about weekly,

half-hour, or even hour-long multi-segment news magazine-style programs in addition to daily

segments. We settled on the 10-minute weekly format because that was the most we could do

in a regular schedule given our limited resources. So, I'm excited that, at this point in the

Wildebeet Project, I get to try something new. Many of you wrote and called to say that you

liked the crisp, short format. Our format and style over the past 150 years have been

well-received. But some of you also wrote that you wanted us to treat our stories in more depth

within a longer form. So, I'm making the announcement today that our new production

schedule will be, roughly, monthly. Our release schedule will be a little less regular. Our new

format will be more of a multi-segment news magazine format containing several different

stories and pieces, including one of our signature sound-rich documentary pieces.

The length of the program will no longer be fixed,

but will vary depending on the material we have to present. We expect these longer programs to

run at least 15 minutes, and our target will be closer to 30 minutes. We'll still feature

equipment reviews from BackpackGearTest.org, and we expect that at least one of those reviews will

be included in every one of our future shows. If you want to contribute gear reviews to our show,

Backpack Gear Test is looking for qualified volunteer testers. To get qualified,

you start out with a bag of gear, and then you start out with a bag of gear.

You start out by writing reviews of gear you already own. After that, you could be offered

free gear to review. Just go to BackpackGearTest.org and click on How to Become a Tester.

Part of our new focus will be in getting more people to talk about their wilderness experiences.

We'll fold the Vox Wildebeet listener feedback podcast into the main program. We hope this new

format will bring a wider range of ideas and experiences into each show. Do you have a trip

report about a particular place? Do you have a trip report about a particular place? Do you have a trip report about a particular place?

Why it's wonderful to visit it? And what fascinating things you found there?

What skills did you need on that trip? If an educational or non-profit group or club

organized the trip, tell us about them. Do you know a special and useful wilderness skill that

you could share with our listeners? Call in and tell us about it. Our toll-free comment line is

866-590-7373. If you're a journalism student or a recreation studies student,

we have an internship opening. Send us an email to get more details. Our interns get intensive

mentoring in audio production and radio journalism, as well as wilderness travel, stewardship, and

safety. Interns give us a fresh look at our story ideas and approach, and help with the work of

putting a show together. I owe big thanks to our first intern, Kate Taylor. You can look for the

first program in our new format sometime after the 1st of December. As I said, the schedule for

these will be slightly irregular for the foreseeable future. We will upload the new series of shows in

a higher audio quality. I'm excited by this chance to bring a wider range of news and present more

sound-rich, engaging stories, now that I'm free of the weekly schedule. Finally, but perhaps more

importantly, I want to thank the members and sponsors who've supported us this far.

That includes...

Our corporate sponsors, Alpenaire Foods and Wilderness Press Books. We couldn't have produced

160 shows without you, but if we're to grow into the weekly Wilderness Newsbeat program I envision,

and wish already existed, we'll continue to need your help. As a free, listener-supported service,

we depend on you to help support our work. You can help by making a tax-deductible membership

donation to our project. Membership levels start at $16 a year, and full membership,

is $48. For a limited time, become a Wildebeet member and get a weekend's worth of meals from

Alpenaire Foods, books from Wilderness Press, access to bonus audio content, and more as thank-you

gifts. As always, if you have suggestions or comments, you can call our toll-free comment

line at 866-590-7373 or send email to comments at wildebeet.net. Our official website is www.

wildebeet.net. If we helped you get into the wilderness, could you help us do the same for

others? Please click on our support link and become a member. The Wildebeet is produced by

Steve Sargent, with help from Gene Hyam, as a non-profit educational project of Earth Island

Institute. This has been a special announcement about The Wildebeet on November 6, 2008.

Thank you for continuing to listen.

The Wildebeet is produced by Steve Sargent, as a non-profit educational project of Earth

Island Institute.