Joe Frank: Work In Progress

Each year it seems, the Peabody Board is concerned by an apparent diminishment of creativity in radio. Except for a noted few proponents, radio drama in this country is in decline. The overwhelming majority of radio stations has turned to a musical format, reducing radio primarily to a “jukebox” medium. Happily, an innovative artist has emerged to remind us of the promise and power of the sound medium. Joe Frank: Work in Progress is radio drama for the nineties. Its subjects span contemporary concerns with humor, insight and irony and are matched by a mastery of modern production techniques. This series, now in its sixth year, its third on National Public Radio, represents the personal vision of monologist Joe Frank, assisted by co-writers Arthur Miller and David Rapkin. It is produced at KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, Calif.) and distributed by NPR. For creating radio of style, substance and imagination, a Peabody Award to Joe Frank: Work In Progress.