WFYI's Sound Medicine Radio comes to an end April 26

Sound Medicine Radio to end on April 26

WFYI will continue to offer health news in a different format

After 15 broadcast seasons, WFYI’s Sound Medicine weekly radio program will conclude its current format and schedule with a final program on Sunday, April 26. However, health news reporting will continue to be a focus of WFYI on-air and online.

“WFYI and our production partners for Sound Medicine Radio, Indiana University and the IU School of Medicine, are proud of the show’s long run and its public service mission,” said Richard Miles, WFYI’s vice president of Content Services.

“WFYI will still remain focused on health reporting. Although the radio program is ending, we are committed to increasing our focus on impactful health information through our news department.”
While Sound Medicine Radio, which focused on the latest in health science and medicine along with interviews of health care professionals about their work and insights, filled a niche during its tenure, the University and School of Medicine opted to use their resources differently. Additionally, as WFYI seeks to grow audience across platforms, a new model for health reporting is rising in place of the radio show.

Earlier this year, WFYI was awarded grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation to launch a new project. Now, WFYI health reporters, along with partner news rooms in Rochester, New York, and Columbia, Missouri, will be focused on covering health issues for local and national audiences through online and streamed content.

As an example, WFYI health reporter Jake Harper recently reported for NPR on Indiana’s needle exchange debate.

WFYI’s new model for health reporting is still evolving, Miles noted.

“While we are currently defining what this new model will look like, our audience can expect a new stream of radio stories from this project, as well as a newly redesigned and dedicated health news website,” Miles added.

During its 15-year run, Sound Medicine Radio was produced by a talented group of freelancers who contributed to the program’s success: Barbara Lewis, series host; Nora Hiatt, senior producer; and Pam Perry, show creator.

“This team has created a marvelous body of work over the years to educate NPR listeners about timely health and medicine topics. We thank them for their efforts. And we also thank our faithful audience for listening each week,” Miles said. “We look forward to continuing to provide meaningful health content to our audiences in the future.”