WXPN program receives Peabody

WXPN's Kid's Corner may be for kids, but the results of this year's Peabody Awards offer proof that the live daily call-in show is more than just child's play. The program last month received one of 26 prestigious Peabody Awards, given annually to shows across the country for excellence in radio and television programming. Kathy O'Connell, the show's host, said it was "really great" to win the award, which she said many consider "the Pulitzer Prize of broadcasting." ABC newsmen Peter Jennings and Ted Koppel, and the critically-acclaimed documentary Civil War also won Peabody Awards this year. WXPN Assistant Station Manager Vinnie Curran echoed O'Connell's enthusiasm. "We're all really thrilled about [the award], and Kathy is obviously thrilled," he said. "For us it is the most prestigious award WXPN has ever won." The three-year-old Kid's Corner was awarded the prize, according to O'Connell, because of its unique blend of entertainment and educational content. "We try really hard not to hit kids over the head with information, but we try to make them laugh and smile while they are getting information," she said. "It's a place just for kids." She praised program coordinator Robert Blake for helping to discover the right mix. O'Connell said Kid's Corner won the prize in part for its December 7 show, "A Line in the Sand," which let children discuss their fears and apprehensions about war in the Persian Gulf and also gain a more realistic understanding of what a war would be like. "Science Stump-o-Rama," a monthly feature in which listeners call in and attempt to "stump" a panel of science experts, also contributed to the award, O'Connell said. Curran, who said the show gets about 500 calls a night, emphasized that Kid's Corner is important to all of Philadelphia's children, but especially the underpriviliged because the Philadelphia school system does not have "the best reputation." Despite O'Connell's excitement, winning the award has not been a new experience for her. O'Connell also won the award in 1985 for the children's program, Small Things Considered -- a program similiar to the popular National Public Radio news show. She said the show, which aired on WNYC in New York, began airing nationally as Kids America but lost its funding late in 1987. Less than a week later, Kid's Corner premiered on WXPN, in a format similar to that of the other shows. O'Connell said she plans to remain on the show well into the future, but she added "a serious funding crisis" for the show will likely result when funding runs out at the end of the summer. Now that Kid's Corner has won a Peabody Award, both O'Connell and Curran said they hope the show's chances have been "enhanced." Curran said he feels "pretty confident" the show will get the necessary funding. The show's popularity may also be be due to the boost in the signal of WXPN last fall. That increase nearly tripled the possible listenership of the station.

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