Today marks the 75th anniversary of WABE, Atlanta’s choice for PBS and NPR and local news and stories. From the creation of WABE Studios and the expanded slate of original video and audio offerings to its continued investment in award-winning local journalism, the 90% community-funded public media creator highlighted the power of its portfolio at the WABE Preview ‘24 presentation held today at the Carter Center.

“The media landscape has changed drastically in the past 75 years, and as we look toward WABE’s next 75 years, we’ll be adding more original, Atlanta-focused content than ever before,” says WABE President and CEO Jennifer Dorian. “By investing in original programming and local award-winning journalism, we are well-positioned to continue to evolve with new capabilities, going from only a “station” to a streamer and studio. Our work is rooted locally, but its value and authenticity resonate throughout our region and nation.”

WABE Studios launched this year and has already announced an impressive slate of original content for video and audio, with multiple shows in development for WABE-TV and production ramping up to grow the podcasting slate to 25 shows in 2024. WABE underwriters, donors, partners, and supporters received a sneak peek of the upcoming programming slate, including: 

AUDIO

• WABE is the new broadcast home of radio legend Bill Nigut as he joins the AJC’s Politically Georgia cast of Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy, and Tia Mitchell in a new daily radio political show. Listen to Politically Georgia live on 90.1, weekday mornings at 10, starting October 30.

• The new series The Podcast Where They Read Stories will premiere this fall. The daily storytime show for our youngest listeners will feature notable Atlantans and local celebrities reading classic and contemporary children’s books. Each episode will also feature mini-explainers for vocabulary words, historical figures, or other big concepts that deserve a “story within the story.”

• In partnership with the Alliance Theatre, a podcast adapted from and inspired by the story and themes of an upcoming production.

• Podcast in development with local comedic duo Mark Kendall and Bill Worley of Cool Cool Cool Productions.

• Development of a local food show with top chef Max Hines of one of Atlanta’s hottest new restaurants, Breaker Breaker.

• WABE Studios recently announced new voices coming to the portfolio, including podcasts The Boom with Jewel Wicker, Wake Up & Create, Calls for Justice, and WABE 90.1 radio show Montgomery & Co. with Renee Montgomery, former WNBA champion and now part owner of the Atlanta Dream.

VIDEO

• (re)Defining History series is in development for 2024. The pilot episode, “Uncovering the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre,” premieres on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS/Channel 30, then it will stream nationwide on wabe.org on Oct. 1. CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER.

• The Emmy-winning talk show Love & Respect with Killer Mike, which airs on more than 50% of PBS member stations across the country, will return for season 2. CLICK HERE FOR THE TRAILER.

• Atlanta on Film returns in early 2024 with nine new 2-hour episodes featuring films from more than two dozen Atlanta filmmakers, curated by the Atlanta Film Festival and the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

• Music series Sounds Like ATL returns for a second season in January, featuring 20 Atlanta artists from a range of genres from hip hop and rock to country and R&B to classical. The show will be produced in a more intimate “unplugged” style in WABE’s Studio. CLICK HERE FOR THE TRAILER.

WABE’s signature voices—Lois Reitzes of WABE City Lights with Lois Reitzes  and Rose Scott of WABE Closer Look with Rose Scott —spoke to a crowd of more than 100 WABE supporters and partners at the Carter Center about WABE’s commitment to arts and culture programming as well as community engagement.

Alex Helmick, WABE Managing Editor, took the stage to tout WABE as one of the strongest newsrooms in the Southeast, bringing independent, fact-based journalism to Atlanta and beyond. The award-winning news team of 25 produces more than 2,000 local stories annually, and more than 200 of those are carried nationally by NPR. WABE’s local NPR Morning Edition  and NPR All Things Considered  hosts Lisa Rayam and Jim Burress were joined by NPR’s Juana Summers at the presentation to discuss the national impact of local news reporting.