San Francisco Serves as Backdrop for Live National Radio Show.

News Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

Talk of the Nation(R), NPR's midday call-in program, will broadcast live from the Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue; 415-621-6600) on June 28, 2001, from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM PST. The live broadcast will explore the future of America's cities and the growth of minority populations. The program will air locally on KQED 88.5 FM.

During the first hour of the broadcast, host Juan Williams will be joined by Mayors Willie Brown of San Francisco and Ron Gonzales of San Jose, and Paul Grogan of Harvard University, co-author of Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival and the founder and president of CEOs for Cities. Guests will discuss whether American cities are drowning in their own success after years of a booming economy, creating problems such as rising real estate and housing prices that are making some cities unaffordable to large segments of the population.

The program's second hour will examine the changing ethnic demographics of America and the latest census data that indicates non-hispanic whites no longer comprise more than 50 percent of the population in California. Guests for this hour include Executive Director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee David Lee, President of the California Conference of the NAACP Alice Huffman and Senior Fellow and Survey Director of the Public Policy Institute of California Mark Baldassare.

A trio from the Asian American Orchestra, a well-known Bay Area jazz band led by Anthony Brown will provide the music during the show's breaks. The Orchestra's members and music reflect the diversity that will be a part of the program's discussion.

As part of "The Changing Face of America" series from NPR News, Talk of the Nation broadcasts live, once a month, from a city where important issues facing the community illuminate American life in the year 2001. "The Changing Face of America" series is supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

KQED operates KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station, and Digital Television 30, Northern California's only public television digital signal; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM, one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation; the KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources; and www.kqed.org, which harnesses the power of the Internet to bring KQED to communities across the Web.

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