Posted by madcityradio.com on November 04, 2009 at 14:27:53:
Wisconsin Public Radio's Fleming to retire
By BARRY ADAMS | Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:50 am
Jim Fleming has soothed us with the classics, read to us and informed us. Now he is retiring.
Fleming, who started at Wisconsin Public Radio in 1968 while a student at UW-Madison, has announced that his last show as host of "Morning Classics" will be Dec. 3.
It was unclear from a press release issued by WPR if Fleming will continue to read for "Chapter a Day" or continue to host "To the Best of Our Knowledge." Fleming said he plans to spend time with a 2-year-old grandson, travel and catch up on his reading.
Fleming has anchored the classical music lineup with "Morning Classics" since the NPR News and Classical Music Network of WPR was formed in 1990. He had spent the previous 11 years hosting a variety of classical music programs on WPR.
"I have enjoyed every one of the years I have worked at Wisconsin Public Radio," Fleming said. "There isn't anywhere I would rather have worked, and I hope to remain involved with WPR in the years to come."
Fleming has received awards for his role in several Wisconsin Public Radio projects, including an Ohio State Award for the Memorial Day Radio Special "Guernica," awarded in 1976, and a 2004 Peabody Award for "To the Best of Our Knowledge" awarded in 2005. Fleming also received the UW-Extension Award for Excellence in 1994.
"We're really grateful for all that Jim has done for the organization, and he's been such a major part of our classical music programming that it's hard to imagine he's leaving," said Phil Corriveau, WPR's chief executive officer.
WPR has 29 stations in Wisconsin and northern Illinois programmed by seven regional studios and carrying programming from three WPR networks: the Ideas Network, the NPR News & Classical Music Network and the HD2 Classical network.