NHPR to End The Exchange After 25 Years

The Exchange on NH Public Radio will end production at the end of June, per a statement from NHPR's President and CEO Jim Schachter.

“When Laura Knoy informed us a few weeks ago of her decision to step away from hosting The Exchange after 25 years, our immediate response was to sustain the show through searches for both a new executive producer and a new host. With a little bit of time and reflection on our strategy, we’ve decided to take a different course,” the statement read.

Following a development process involving creative staff from across the organization, later this summer NHPR will reshape its weekday programming by shifting Morning Edition by an hour extending it to 10 a.m. Also, the live, local version of Morning Edition will be enriched in new ways, including adding more interviews and new segments incorporating the voices of the people of New Hampshire. As part of that process, NHPR will be evaluating whether to continue the Weekly News Roundup in either its current format or in a revised form.

In addition, NHPR will continue to host candidate debates and forums, and to offer platforms for elected officials, nonprofit leaders and advocates to connect with the public.

“Why are we doing this? Our strategy is to look to what the future holds while ensuring we remain a strong and sustainable organization. By aligning our staffing with a strategy centered on growing audiences across all of our media platforms, we put ourselves on solid ground for the long term,” said Schachter. “Let me end on a note of praise and admiration for Laura Knoy, today’s Exchange producers and the long line of NHPR journalists who’ve brought the people of New Hampshire thousands of interviews and conversations on issues big and small. The Exchange has introduced us to authors and changemakers, given us ideas on what to read and see, made us more informed voters and so much more. The Exchange is a lasting part of NHPR’s heritage, and its DNA of engagement and empathy is deeply embedded in all we’ll do in the years ahead.”