Changes are coming to WXXI’s midday talk show, "Connections with Evan Dawson.”
Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, "Connections" will air live for one hour at noon each weekday, down from its current two-hour format.
For listeners on WXXI-FM 105.9, WEOS-FM 88.5/90.3 (Geneva), and streaming on WXXINews.org, the show will be followed at 1 p.m. by the Peabody Award-winning "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley.
According to the show's titular host, the change will give the show more time for original reporting, live events and new ways to reach audiences, including a weekly Sunday presentation on WXXI-TV.
Evan Dawson began hosting the show in early 2014, and since then he has seen changes to how the audience engages with the program. Dawson said the team has been working to meet new audiences where they are.
“We still have a very devoted daily audience who listens to the show and watches the show live, and that is wonderful,” Dawson said. “We’re going to be there for them at noon every single day. But the growing part of our audience is finding us on demand, on the podcast, on YouTube, and in the community.”
Dawson said these changes reflect an effort to focus even more on growing the show digitally, including expanding the YouTube audience and getting the show on social platforms like Instagram.
Investment in the digital distribution of the show has been a top priority for WXXI President and CEO Chris Hastings, who pushed to get the show on YouTube in his first few weeks with the organization.
“Local journalism and conversation are at the heart of WXXI’s public service,” Hastings said in a statement. “This new lineup gives audiences a stronger midday destination, pairing Evan Dawson’s distinctive local voice and the conversations that matter to Rochester and the Finger Lakes with one of public radio’s most respected national programs. And by bringing ‘Connections’ to television and continuing to grow it across digital platforms, we’re creating more ways for people to engage with the issues, ideas and voices shaping our community.”
The loss of federal funding in 2025 codified the urgency to reach more people with “Connections,” and all WXXI programming.
“I feel pretty confident that this is an opportunity for us to reinvent ourselves and serve in new ways that are more sustainable without federal funding for the moment,” Hastings told the Rochester Business Journal at the time.
Dawson said he did have some concern that the community would view the change as either a reduction in the work or an outgrowth of those cuts.
“This is the kind of change that allows us to grow, not shrink,” he said. “We understand that media consumption habits are changing, and we are willing to change too, while keeping our focus on the public square.”
The show is also adding more opportunities to connect with live audiences. “Connections: On the Road" is an initiative aimed at bringing the live talk show to different locations throughout Rochester and the Finger Lakes, according to the show’s executive producer Megan Mack.
“We love bringing the show to a live audience,” said Mack. “It’s a different kind of energy, and it’s a chance for us to take the show to every part of our community.”
There are other programming changes in the works for broadcast audiences.
The midday lineup change moves "The World" to 7 p.m. weeknights for WXXI-FM and streaming audio listeners, the time slot previously held by "Fresh Air." The show is co-produced by GBH in Boston and PRX, and co-hosted by Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler.
“Connections” will also be added to WXXI-TV’s Sunday lineup beginning Oct. 11. The Sunday presentation will feature a conversation from the previous week, giving audiences another way to experience "Connections" and bringing one of WXXI’s signature local radio programs to a broader television audience.
Dawson said these changes will help the team make the daily show stronger and more relevant to the community. He said he is looking forward to doing more original reporting for the show.
“The noon hour is where the public goes to discuss important issues, to sort out hard things, and have a chance to speak directly to elected leaders,” he said.
“For me, the most important thing to understand is that “Connections” is the public square for Rochester and the Finger Lakes, and I hope that will always be true.”
