Woah. Ira Glass was here last night for a panel promising a behind the scenes look at This American Life. They delivered on that count, offering some sobering news. No, not that. Andrea, take it away:
At tonight’s 92Y panel, the producers of This American Life revealed they’ve opted not to continue the show’s television counterpart. Glass’s point was that most radio journalism covers stories that have already happened, while television demands you shoot a story as it’s happening. That kind of unpredictability (and the absurd expenses that go along with it) was why TAL never translated well to the format and perhaps why the radio audience was so uninterested in the Showtime series. Why keep it a secret until now? They didn’t want it to hurt their chances for the 2009 Emmy nominations (they got four).
