It was awful. What listeners wanted was information. 5-7 a.m. weekdays, with those two hours updated and repeated through 9 a.m. There's talk now of doing three hours, 5-8 a.m. We found people were with us earlier, and staying longer, and complaining about the repetition.
People have a longer rush hour now, and they hear the whole show.
Morning Edition has evolved from the rigid 6-8 a.m. format of 1979. It originally was divided into 10-minute blocks for news, features, sports, the arts and business. In recent years, the show expanded to 5 a.m. to stave off competition from rival Public Radio International. In two decades, Morning Edition has drifted away from its heavy dose of the arts. The emphasis on breaking news and analysis requires that Mr. Edwards do 800 interviews a year covering politics, international affairs, education, economics, labor, sports and entertainment.