Arizona Public Media’s "Arizona Spotlight" Celebrates 200 Mark July 3

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Arizona Public Media’s "Arizona Spotlight" Celebrates 200 Mark July 3

"Arizona Spotlight" continues its six-year run on KUAZ as Southern Arizona’s locally-produced radio show presenting news, interviews and more each Friday morning.

By University Communications
July 1, 2009

A local radio show that delivers a diverse range of stories about subjects that matter to the residents of Southern Arizona celebrates its 200th program July 3.

"Arizona Spotlight," from Arizona Public Media, has covered state and local news, provided in-depth interviews with artists and authors, and has talked to the people behind the headlines since its debut on KUAZ radio in March 2003.

Current "Arizona Spotlight" host Mark McLemore has been involved with the show since 2006 and says he enjoys hosting even after 100 shows because of the variety of topics covered to keep listeners informed on what's happening in the community.

"It involves working cross-departmentally with many colleagues at Arizona Public Media, and each show presents a different set of challenges," McLemore said. "Sometimes, I really don't know what the next week will bring, and I enjoy having that kind of excitement in my job."

Other producers currently reporting on the local community for "Arizona Spotlight" include Tony Paniagua, Pam White, Louis Carrion, Christopher Conover, Sooyeon Lee, Robert Rappaport, Kimberly Craft and Laura Markowitz.

"Arizona Spotlight" debuted on KUAZ in 2003 as a quarterly half-hour radio program of interviews and features, hosted and produced by then-general manager and director of AZ Public Media Jack Parris. The show shifted from a quarterly to a monthly broadcast in 2004, and in 2005 it expanded to a weekly series and added a repeat broadcast so listeners could catch the show once in the morning and again in the evening. The show was hosted by producer Julie Beirach before McLemore became host in 2007.

Past guests on the show include local musical luminaries like Howe Gelb, Al Perry, Joey Burns of Calexico, Vicki Brown and Naim Amor; political figures like former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe and former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano; and public media personalities like Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts and Ray Suarez.

The 200th show of "Arizona Spotlight" on July 3 will feature a look at the American Indian Language Development Institute, which works to protect native languages, and an interview with physician and author Dr. Larry Dossey, who studies how premonitions may have more of an impact on things than most of people think.

"Arizona Spotlight" is produced by Senior Production Engineer Jim Blackwood and Assistant Production Engineers Ginger Doran and Matt Felix. Original music heard on the show is by the critically-acclaimed Tucson band Calexico.

"Arizona Spotlight" airs Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. on KUAZ-FM 89.1 and KUAZ-AM 1550. Listeners who miss the shows during these broadcasts can listen to archival shows as well as new reports on the Arizona Spotlight Web Site.