Radio Friends keeps it simple and to the point

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret: three or four days a week, every week, we produce and record four different shows from our very own Futures Lab studio. Most people don’t even know there’s a studio in the building, but believe it – I encourage you to check it out for yourself if your mind is still baffled at the thought. We’re on RJI’s ground floor, downstairs behind the big orange wall.

A view from above. The studio in action during a taping.

This past Sunday, the Columbia Daily Tribune did a story on one of those four shows, Radio Friends with Paul Pepper. For those of you who might have heard of Radio Friends, you may be wondering why a show that’s about as technologically advanced as a telephone booth is produced at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. I have two answers for you: The first - and most basic - is that it falls under the partnership umbrella that RJI has with the University of Missouri’s on-campus NPR affiliate KBIA 91.3FM; because of that agreement, we record Radio Friends just as we do Views of the News, Intersection and Global Journalist.

The second answer I'd give you is that if you stop to think about it, Radio Friends fills a very specific, hyper local niche not otherwise explored in any of the other shows we do, but one that I feel is very important. True, Intersection comes close; but anyone can come on Paul's show. Just like the television version before, all are welcome; whether you have an upcoming meeting that the public is invited to, an organization that needs some publicity or a talent you're willing to share in front of thousands of people, our door is always open. Where else are you going to get the latest happenings in your own backyard if not from within your own backyard?

The show doesn't try to be fancy. Producer/host Paul Pepper is a 40-year veteran of the business and his style is simple and to the point. We're not trying to pave the way with the latest in cyber-technology. There are no chat rooms. No call-ins; it's just a good ol' conversation each weekday morning for about 10 minutes, and I still think there's room for that style of show in this latest world of technological ooze; one in which face to face communication takes a back seat to telecommunication, or where your show is not considered a success if you’re not ahead of the latest high tech trends – or at least keeping pace. Forget all that and just tell me your story, in person.

Radio Friends is recorded every other Tuesday. In a three-hour block, we record 10, 8-minute segments (two weeks worth). A typical show will either have one or two different topics. Shows that need rehearsals are recorded at the end of the day so that we're not crunched for time. (Last December, Sutu Forte and The Beethovens became the first band to grace our stage.) In the control room, I direct each show and KBIA’s Pat Akers engineers the audio; there’s also one very-willing convergence student running all four cameras in the studio. Each show is carefully choreographed to make sure the shots are there when needed.

Assistant producer James Mouser, right, places a microphone on guest Jennifer Flink.

Coordinating that many people is an exercise in tight producing. While Paul never leaves the studio, assistant producer James Mouser bounces between the control room, the green room (aka 35 Walter Williams) and the studio ushering in one show's guests while making way for the previous show's guests to leave - all the while getting last-minute information, putting a microphone on those seated on one of the set’s high stools and even booking future dates. At times I'm amazed at how smoothly things go – there certainly isn't much room for error.

Thanks to the Tribune for the 'plug'. I'd love for more people to be aware of Radio Friends. The show airs weekdays at 8:50 a.m. on KBIA 91.3 FM. If you prefer on-demand, ‘like’ us on Facebook and the show will come to you. We also have a YouTube page and Paul’s on Twitter: @PaulPepperKBIA. Here's to many more years delivering a small dose of mid-Missouri every morning. We promise not to take up any more than 10 minutes of your day.