Banning Eyre ’79 will share his work and speak on “Bringing Africa to American Radio.”

Wesleyan alumnus Banning Eyre (’79) has worked with the Peabody Award-winning public radio program Afropop Worldwide since its inception in 1988. He has traveled to African, Europe and the Caribbean some 25 times doing research for the program. In this lecture, he will sample the highlights and challenges of a remarkable journey. As music, media and politics have steadily changed, the program has had to adapt steadily, but the program’s producers have managed to keep African voices and music in the public radio mix through it all. Eyre will provide insight into how that was done.

 

 

 

Sunday, November 3, 6:30 pm, PAC 001
Free and Open to the Public

Established in 1939, WESU 88.1 FM is one of the oldest non-commercial radio stations in the United States. 2019 marks the 80th year anniversary for the station and a unique opportunity for the campus and broader community to revisit its history, impact, potential, and import to the socio-political landscape of the 21st century. Throughout WESU’s history, there have been two constants: first, without interruption, Wesleyan students have continuously operated the station; and second, broadcasts have been focused on new, under-represented, or non-commercial programming aimed at students and the larger community. This event is part of the WESU 80th Anniversary Events Series.