Listeners to the third most downloaded radio program on campus will soon be able to tune in to the popular talk radio show more often.
“World Views,” a 30-minute show broadcasting from KGOU studios in Copeland Hall at the University of Oklahoma, will go from broadcasting bi-monthly to every Friday at 4 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. beginning this Friday, Oct. 5.
The program features three faculty members from the College of International Studies as well as special guests, and each show focuses on specific global topics or world regions in a roundtable discussion. The roundtable consists of host Suzette Grillot, interim dean of the College of International Studies, Joshua Landis , director of the Center for Middle East Studies at OU, and Rebecca Cruise, a securities studies and comparative politics expert, according to the radio station’s website.
With the new time slot for “World Views” being put in place, Cruise said the content of the show needed a little change as well to continue to bring in more listeners.
“Along with the roundtable conversation, we’re also going to be doing a live Twitter discussion, so as people are listening to the show they can get into a Twitter conversation with us as the show is airing if they have any questions or comments they want to share,” Cruise said.
The show also allows listeners to hear from experts on global affairs in a place where most people probably do not think much overseas insight exists.
“It’s really neat because I think so many people don’t think of Oklahoma as having connections to international communities, and the fact of the matter is, we have a lot of connections, and a lot of people doing international work visit OU. We’re able to interact with these visitors and talk with local leaders as well,” Cruise said.
“World Views” began airing nearly three years ago with Zach Messitte, former dean of the College of International Studies, as its host.
The program started as a segment within a locally produced public affairs program that is produced at KGOU called “Oklahoma Voices,” and Messitte did a series of interviews that the station aired as part of that program, according to Brian Hardzinski, a producer for KGOU.
“Dean Messitte approached us about turning the segment into a regular program that stood on its own, so what we ended up doing is we turned it into a twice a month, 30-minute show that aired right after ‘Oklahoma Voices’ every other Monday morning at 11:30,” Hardzinski said.
As Suzette Grillot stepped into the interim dean’s role once Messitte left OU last spring, KGOU continued the program with Grillot as the new host.
With “World Views” listener base growing, Grillot, Landis and Cruise approached the producers of KGOU with the idea to turn the show into a weekly broadcast.
“The show seems to be well received, so it was kind of a collaborative effort between us and the producers to switch from airing bi-monthly to every week,” Grillot said.
With this Friday being the first week of the new time slot for the show, there is a lot of excitement among the producers and hosts.
“Listeners now know that the show will air every week during prime time, so they won’t be confused which Monday to tune in or get confused by which week the program will air. It will be interesting to see if having the show every Friday will increase listenership like we‘re hoping,” Cruise said.
This week’s installment of “World Views” will feature discussions on the Iranian currency crisis and the Syrian-Turkey conflict, as well as other world news and current events, according to Cruise.
Tune in to “World Views” this and every Friday at 4 p.m. or the re-airing at 6:30 p.m. Listen in the Norman area on the radio at 106.3 FM, or listen anywhere online at kgou.org.
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