IPM’s new ‘Illinois Soul’ includes news magazine show highlighting Black issues

By Jason Piscia, INBA Recording Secretary

Illinois Soul — a new radio station from Illinois Public Media that highlights Black music, culture, voices and issues – hit the airwaves Feb. 1.

The audio service, broadcast on WILL-FM 101.1 and 90.9 HD2 in the Champaign-Urbana area and streaming at illinoissoul.org, includes Black-hosted NPR news programs, such as “1A,” “Code Switch” and “It’s Been a Minute,” and shows featuring jazz and R&B music. Listeners also can catch NPR’s morning news staple, “Morning Edition,” there from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays. See the full Illinois Soul schedule.

Illinois Soul also is home to “Dialogue,” a new locally produced community affairs news magazine show discussing events shaping Black communities in central Illinois. It airs at 11 a.m. Saturdays and replays at 7 p.m. Tuesdays.

“This magazine belongs to the Black communities of Champaign-Urbana,” said Reginald Hardwick (pictured above), director of news and public affairs at Illinois Public Media and the host and producer of “Dialogue.” “We received hundreds of surveys and held many listening sessions. It was clear that Black communities wanted interviews and in-depth stories about local news, education, health, and arts and entertainment. We are also resharing stories by our Illinois Public Media news team and segments that have aired on ‘The 21st,’ our weekday talk show that airs on seven NPR stations in Illinois.”

Hardwick said the station is interviewing for a journalist to report on Black and immigrant communities. That person will become the news magazine’s permanent host and producer.

Listen to the inaugural episode of “Dialogue.”

Hardwick said “Dialogue” broadcasts this month will cover the push for reparations in Illinois and across America and NAACP Champaign County chair Minnie Pearson responding to a 1956 speech by Thurgood Marshall, the attorney behind the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case and later the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice.

The show also will invite listeners to share “good news” about their lives.

“Many of our survey respondents and focus groups noted there are few positive stories about African Americans or examples of Black Joy in mainstream media,” said Hardwick, and INBA member. “’Dialogue’ on Illinois Soul is dedicated to change that.”

Illinois Soul is hiring for a manager for the station.

The station’s broadcasting frequencies were previously filled with around-the-clock classical music. The 24/7 classical format remains available for streaming at will.illinois.edu or via a smart speaker. The weekly lineups for Illinois Public Media’s other radio stations, WILL-FM 90.9 (100+ hours of classical music plus some news/talk programs) and WILL-AM 580 and 90.9 HD3 (news/talk), are unchanged.