Why Marty Moss-Coane Is Cutting Back Her Hosting Duties at WHYY’s Radio Times

Marty Moss-Coane has hosted Radio Times for 29 years. | Photo via WHYY

Radio Times, they are a-changin’.

Marty Moss-Coane, the longtime host of WHYY’s call-in show Radio Times, announced on Thursday that she will be hosting only the first hour of the show, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., beginning next week.

The second hour of the show will be hosted by another familiar radio voice, Mary Cummings-Jordan, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And the program will include more frequent interviews with producers Elizabeth Fiedler, Jon Ehrens, and Debbie Bilder. (Full disclosure: I was a staff writer for WHYY/PlanPhilly from January 2015 to April 2016, and am a fanboy of Moss-Coane’s.)

Marty:"It’s still the RT you know (and love!)…bringing you the news from the Delaware Valley, across the country & around the world" (1/2)

— Radio Times Archive (@whyyradiotimes) August 11, 2016

Marty:"…introducing you to fascinating people & ideas and giving you a chance to participate before, during & after the broadcast." (2/2)

— Radio Times Archive (@whyyradiotimes) August 11, 2016

Moss-Coane is one of the most recognizable radio personalities in the region, and she’s been doing two hours of live radio daily for the last 25 years. The last 25 years! The show has been on the air for almost 30. So why the change, and why now?

“It’s been in my head for months at this point, in various stages of thought and feeling,” Moss-Coane said on Thursday.

“The show is 29 years old. I’m a lot older than 29 years, so there’s that.”

Radio Times has produced roughly 500 shows a year since it became a two-hour show. Moss-Coane said in the early days, she was able to just focus on doing the radio program — conducting the interviews — and now she feels like additional responsibilities don’t leave as much time for focusing on that. Why not just retire?

“Cause I don’t want to,” she said. “I have things I’d like to do.”

Moss-Coane said she and the producers are looking forward to experimenting with the show’s format, though it isn’t likely to change much in the short term. They’ll do more pre-recorded interviews on Thursdays and Fridays. Cummings-Jordan may take over both hours eventually, or she may not.

This isn’t the only recent change made by WHYY. In the last few months, the radio station picked up America’s Test Kitchen Radio, The New Yorker Radio Hour and Freakonomics, and dropped American Routes and Car Talk.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Radio Times has been airing two hour-long shows a day for 20 years. In fact, it has been 25 years. 

Follow @JaredBrey on Twitter.