KPCC announced Tuesday that it is dropping Patt Morrison's award-winning afternoon show after six years and expand the morning news magazine "Brand & Martinez" to two hours.
Russ Stanton, the vice president for content at the Pasadena-based public radio station, said Morrison, a Los Angeles Times columnist, would move to a "new role" at the station after Sept. 10.
Stanton told TheWrap that Morrison would be contributing to Larry Mantle's popular "AirTalk" program and local segments on "All Things Considered."
"Patt's stuff tends to be higher level, more enterprising," Stanton said. "She has some signature things she does and she is now working on some new segments."
He said this decision was not an issue of ratings and that Morrison's show, which airs from 1-3 p.m., did "very well for that time of day."
Morrison declined to comment to TheWrap.
Morrison's current affairs show won three Golden Mike awards for Best Public Affairs show, among other awards. This year, she ranked number 47 on Talkers Magazine’s ‘’heavy hundred’’ nationwide list of best talk show hosts, and was on the Talkers cover last year in her debut on the magazine’s list.
Morrison, who writes the weekly "Patt Morrison Asks" column on the Times' op-ed page, has been a frequent contributor to NPR since 1994 and appears on BBC radio and television and writes a Huffington Post blog.
She also helped found the now-defunct KCET daily local news show "Life & Times."
With her trademark hats and outgoing personality, Morrison has been a popular and respected figure in L.A. media circles for decades after graduating from Occidental College.
She even earned herself a tribute hot dog at Pink's Hot Dogs, a Hollywood staple known for naming menu items after local celebrities. A self-proclaimed vegetarian, they named the "Patt Morrison Baja Veggie hot dog" in her honor.
KPCC launched the new show, "Brand & Martinez" more than a week ago as part of an expansion of the "Madeleine Brand Show," adding A. Martinez, a presence in local sports radio, as co-host.
In a public memo to the station's staff, Stanton called "Brand & Martinez" "the centerpiece of our efforts" to reach Southern California's "diverse communities, including the region's multigenerational Latino population."
In other shifts at the station, "AirTalk" will move from 10-noon to 11-1 p.m., also in September.
The station will also begin airing BBC's "Newshour," an hour-long program featuring international news and analysis from 1-2 p.m. It will also shift the PRI program "The World" from noon to 2-3 p.m. on weekdays.
Sharon Waxman contributed to this report.
