Americana (radio series)

Americana was a British radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from spring 2009 to autumn 2011. It offered a "mix of discussion, interviews and features, with a focus on the voices of ordinary Americans" and was touted as the "successor to the late Alistair Cooke's Letter from America."[1]

Americana
Running time30 minutes
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4
Hosted byMatt Frei
Jonny Dymond
Recording studioBBC Washington bureau[1]
Original release31 May 2009 (2009-05-31) – 11 September 2011 (2011-09-11)
No. of episodes119[2]
WebsiteHome page at BBC
PodcastPodcast RSS feed

Americana was broadcast for the first time on 31 May 2009 with Matt Frei as presenter;[3] According to Frei, he expected listeners to Americana would hear "what America is talking, arguing, fretting, laughing and, yes, dreaming about. We hope to surprise, entertain and inform. And by letting America itself do most of the talking we promise never to be dull."[4] After Frei left the BBC in May 2011,[5] Jonny Dymond took over as presenter.[6]

In July 2011, BBC Radio 4 revealed that Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams, "interest[ed] in wider internationalism and less emphasis on the US", decided to cancel Americana, effective in autumn.[7] The show's final episode was broadcast on 11 September 2011; the topic was the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.[8]

References
  1. BBC finds replacement for Letter from America, an 18 April 2009 article from The Daily Telegraph
  2. Home page at BBC
  3. Presenter: Matt Frei (31 May 2009). "Dr. Jonathan Shay and Amy Dickinson". Americana. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  4. What is Americana? Matt Frei describes what America means to him, from BBC Radio 4
  5. UK: BBC’s Matt Frei switches to Channel 4 Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, a 20 May 2011 article from MediaSpy.org
  6. Presenter: Jonny Dymond (15 May 2011). "National Debate, Personal Debate ...". Americana. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 October 2011. Presenter Jonny Dymond talks to recently retired Commander, Mark Divine, about the American heroes of today.
  7. Radio head: Americana, a 12 July 2011 article from The Guardian
  8. Presenter: Jonny Dymond (11 September 2011). "Americana from Ground Zero". Americana. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
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