KVNU's For The People

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KVNU's For the People
Genre	Talk show
Running time	2 hours
Country	United States
Air dates	2006 to present
Opening theme	Theme from Shaft
Website kvnuforthepeople.com

For the People is a news and political radio talk show that airs on KVNU in Logan, Utah from 4-6 pm Monday-Friday^[1]. The show, which debuted on April 28, 2006, is hosted by Tom Grover and Ryan Yonk, both natives of Cache Valley who attended Utah State University. The show touches on local, state, and national issues and takes calls from listeners. Interviews are frequently conducted with local and state newsmakers, politicians, and government officials. On Fridays, For the People runs the "Friday News Quiz," in which listeners answer questions about news stories and compete for a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant. Tickets to basketball games and local cultural events are frequently given out to listeners. At the end of each hour of broadcast, Grover asks The Simpson's character Comic Book Guy what he thought of the episode, to which Comic Book Guy responds "Worst episode ever!".

Contents 1 History 2 Notable Issues 3 Election Coverage 4 Podcast & Webcast 5 Blog 6 References

[edit] History

For the People began as a summer fill-in for KVNU's Full Court Press, a sports talk show. It originally aired from 5-6 pm, and stayed on the air when Full Court Press resumed in fall 2006. In the summer of 2007, the show expanded to 1.5 hours, with an earlier start time of 4:30 pm. That fall, the show expanded again, to its current 2-hour time slot.

[edit] Notable Issues

For the People has focused heavily on major local issues since it began. The first of these was the City of Logan's mandatory recycling program in summer 2006, in which residents were required to pay a monthly recycling fee^[2]. Both Grover and Yonk were opposed to mandatory recycling.

In August 2006, Utah State Senator Chris Buttars stated on KVNU that Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared public school segregation unconstitutional, was "wrong to begin with." ^[3]. This statement created much controversy, and Buttars later came back on the show to explain his remarks.

In 2007, For the People covered the debate over a private school voucher bill passed by the Utah Legislature, on which a referendum was held in November of that year ^[4]. For the People hosted two debates on the subject, which were broadcast live during the show ^{[5] [6]}. Both Grover and Yonk expressed their opposition to the voucher program.

In 2008, For the People devoted much coverage to Logan Mayor Randy Watts' plan to reclaim inner Logan, or as Grover and Yonk dubbed it, "The War on Rentals." This plan involved enforcing ordinances that banned parking on city-owned "park strips" between the sidewalk and the street in residential areas^[7].

[edit] Election Coverage

In November 6, 2007 and February 5, 2008, For the People provided what it termed "The Best Election Coverage in the Entire Free World." This coverage aired live for 6-8 hours on each election night, providing interviews, analysis, and election returns.

The presidential campaign of Mitt Romney was a major topic on the show, due to Romney's Utah ties and membership in the LDS Church. Grover was quoted in the New York Times in a story about reaction of LDS members to Romney's campaign^[8].

[edit] Podcast & Webcast

For the People has been available on iTunes since shortly after the show began ^[9]. The show began hosting a webcast on January 6, 2008^[10]. The webcast, which features a chat room in which Grover regularly participates while on air, is hosted by Stickam ^[11].

[edit] Blog

Tom Grover runs a blog in conjunction with the For the People radio show ^[12]. The blog is regularly ranked as the Most Influential Blog in Utah by BlogNetNews ^{[13] [14]}. The blog is used to post show audio, inform listeners about upcoming topics, and discuss political issues. Yonk writes occasionally on the blog, as do contributors including Craig Limesand and David James. Jess Cottle and Charles Batten used to contribute regularly to the blog, but they haven't posted in recent months. The blog received 14,281 unique visitors in March, 2008 ^[15].

[edit] References