September 12, 2002

Dear Programmer,

With Halloween approaching, the Modern Language Association, producer of the literary documentary show, What's The Word? is offering a sophisticated way to express the fun and mystery of the October holidays, with a package of four themed half-hour shows called FRIGHTS AND FRIGHTENERS.

• The Gothic ...Castles, creatures, vampires, the supernatural, and fine lines between the living and the dead...in this exploration of British and American gothic novels from Horace Walpole's 1764 Castle of Otranto to Stephen King's Pet Semetary...
• Literary Villains ...Meet the villains in Samuel Richardson's novel, Clarissa; Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; and Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel, An American Tragedy.
• The Big Bad Wolf: Scary Characters in Children's Literature ...Wicked stepmothers, ogres, giants...From Hansel and Gretel to The Prisoner of Askaban, Little Red Riding Hood to Where the Wild Things Are...
• The Art of Alfred Hitchcock ...North by Northwest...Spellbound...Vertigo, and Rear Window... (Need we say more?)

You may remember that last February, What's The Word? offered a special package of shows for Black History Month. The result was that many new stations discovered how arresting and well produced What's The Word? is, and how well it fits into the public radio milieu.

Here's what programmers who carry the show say about What's the Word?

• "A smart radio show, just what public radio ought to be doing."
      William Helgeson, PD, KALW, San Francisco, CA
• "What's the Word? is ideally suited for public radio stations that serve discerning, verbal and intellectually curious people. The show should be heard by as many people as possible."
      Cephas Bowles, WBGO, Newark, NJ
• "It's a natural for underwriters. People who read are listening to and enjoying What's the Word? and the library gets a lot of comments about the show."
      Susan Fitzgerald, PD, KTOO, Juneau, AK

Whatever you do, don't let this special time of year go by without saying "Boo" about it. Send us an e-mail, give us a call, or return the enclosed coupon, and we'll send you four delightful FREE Halloween half-hours for grown-ups on a pair of CDs. You can also receive What's The Word? on the satellite if you wish. The show feeds Thursdays, 1500-1529 E.D.T., on channel A73.1S.

We'll hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards,

Mark Bramhall
Kathy Gronau