Tanzina Vega to Expand to Hosting “The Takeaway” Five Days Per Week
Dear colleagues,
We have some exciting news to fill you in on. Beginning Friday, March 5, award-winning journalist Tanzina Vega will expand to hosting the daily national news program The Takeaway five days per week, Monday through Friday.
You might know The Takeaway for its daily news-driven conversations with a distinct ‘bottom up’ approach––centering the lives of listeners and fundamental topic areas such as empathy, truth, race, wealth, and justice––and for convening conversation across social divides. Equipping audiences to participate in the American conversation, in the past year, the show has featured:
Reporting from the frontlines: The Takeaway featured perspectives from our public radio colleagues at Texas Public Radio, WHYY in Philadelphia, WLRN in Miami, WUNC in North Carolina, and Wisconsin Public Radio in the run-up to the 2020 election. The Takeaway has also presented clear, nuanced perspective on major news events, including after the breach of the U.S. capitol in January, directly from Minnesota following the killing of George Floyd, and illuminating the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fabric of society, from small business owners bracing for impact to the strain of remote learning;
Compelling discussions on news, business, and culture with key leaders and journalists: Dr. Anthony Fauci on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic amid the holiday season, former RNC chair Michael Steele on the future of the Republican party, Senator Cory Booker regarding the Supreme Court, and reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The Atlantic; and,
Conversation about what affects us personally: from persevering through loneliness to mental health during this difficult time, The Takeaway holds a space for listeners to join an active dialogue.
Tanzina is also a sought after thought leader across the industry. She led a conversation about inclusivity in public media at PRPD, was invited to Nieman Lab to discuss diversity in journalism, moderated a discussion at the Public Media Women in Leadership conference, and for The New York Times authored a moving first-person essay about becoming a first-time mother during the pandemic.
This coming year, there’s so much ground to cover. We believe The Takeaway is an exceptional companion. The show will continue to cover the critical intersection of politics, power, class, and the threads connecting the movers and shakers to the moved and the shaken. Composed of a stellar, diverse production team based out of WNYC in New York, the broadcast will also continue to showcase essential voices and empower listeners on a daily basis. To close each week, on Fridays, Tanzina will be joined by political and cultural observers to focus on the latest national news through the lens of power––who has it, who is fighting for it, who abuses it, and who uses it for good––to explore how governance under a new administration in the White House is impacting everyday life.
The Takeaway also anticipates collaborating even more directly with stations in order to capture the full scope of news stories as they unfold nationwide.
If you’re considering picking up The Takeaway, or if you would like to learn more, please contact us.
With this update, we also note that the Friday program Politics with Amy Walter––produced by The Takeaway team since 2018––will conclude at the end of the month, with a final broadcast on February 26. Amy brought her highly trusted and discerning analysis to the airwaves during an unprecedented era in politics. Among other important topics, Politics with Amy Walter covered the surge in women running for Congress in 2018, including interviews with the first two Naval Academy graduates to be elected to Congress. The team did outstanding work during the unpredictable race for the 2020 Democratic nomination and the unprecedented challenge of holding an election during a pandemic. We send all of our gratitude to Amy. We will continue to follow her influential work at The Cook Political Report, on PBS NewsHour, and as a periodic guest with us on The Takeaway.
For stations currently airing Politics with Amy Walter, there will be no disruption. The Takeaway's Friday broadcast hosted by Tanzina Vega will continue to be available in the same time slot, and will continue to have a focus on politics, people, and power. Please reach out with any questions.
On behalf of the team, we wish you the best as we enter this new year together.
Until soon,
–Sean Nesbitt, Director of Station Services at PRX and Lee Hill, Executive Producer of The Takeaway