Boston NPR Station WBUR Cancels Its Only Entirely Local News Show

Boston NPR news station WBUR is canceling “Radio Boston,” its midday show focused on local affairs, as part of an overhaul of its schedule and coverage.

The staff behind “Radio Boston” will remain with the station, moving to a production team focused on “timely coverage of the most pressing and interesting local issues,” the station said in a statement. “Radio Boston” will cease production on Dec. 20.

“The exceptional work of the Radio Boston team will continue, but in a new way that goes beyond the confines of an hour-long daily radio show,” said Dan Mauzy, WBUR executive editor for news. “This shift is a more contemporary approach to daily journalism — and will fuel our public news service throughout the day and across platforms.”

While local reporting from the new production team will continue on other WBUR shows, the cancellation of “Radio Boston,” which spent 15 years on air, will leave WBUR with one less program focused on local news. “Radio Boston,” which aired weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon and repeated from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., had been without a permanent host since Tiziana Dearing left for the morning show in September.

The new production team will be led by “Radio Boston” executive producer Yasmin Amer, who said the staff is well-equipped to focus on timely and engaging local news coverage.

“I see this as an opportunity to produce even more high-quality journalism and to meet audiences where they are,” Amer said in a statement.

The SAG-AFTRA union, which represents many editorial staffers at WBUR, commended the station for retaining the staff of “Radio Boston” but lamented the end of the show.

“We are sad to see an important local program, which has been a springboard for so many careers, come to an end,” read the statement, which was provided by WBUR arts reporter and union steward Amelia Mason. “It is critical that WBUR continue to invest in the vital work of its local journalism.”

WBUR’s weekday schedule will also change, which includes an expansion of both “Morning Edition” and “Here and Now” by an hour. Starting Jan. 6, WBUR’s weekday schedule will be the following:

• “Morning Edition” from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• “BBC NewsHour” from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• “On Point” from 11 a.m. to noon
• “Here & Now” from noon to 2 p.m.
• “Fresh Air” from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
• “Here & Now” from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• “All Things Considered” from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• “Marketplace” from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

While WBUR generally beats GBH, Boston’s other NPR news station, in the ratings, “Boston Public Radio” has been GBH’s lone program that bested WBUR. Hosted by Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, “Boston Public Radio” airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays.

“It’s a sad day when a local show is canceled,” said Jamie Bologna, executive producer of GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” who previously worked at WBUR’s “Radio Boston,” in an interview.

While he said he is happy that “Boston Public Radio” no longer has to compete with another local radio show, he is upset that the show he spent six years working on will no longer be on the air and worries about the station’s future, particularly after layoffs when he worked there and earlier this year.

“How much closer to the bone can they go?” he said.

The programming changes come after WBUR cut 14 percent of its staff this year. Twenty-four employees took voluntary buyouts, while seven were laid off by the public radio station that faced a budget shortfall due in large part to declining advertising revenue.

That followed similar declines at media organizations across the country, who are grappling with audiences increasingly moving to other sources of information and entertainment, with advertising dollars moving with them.

GBH also laid off staff earlier this year, parting with 4 percent of its workforce citing rising expenses and revenue that remained flat. It also suspended three television programs, though is bringing back the program ‘Basic Black’ in a digital format in January.

Media layoffs in the Boston area haven’t been limited to public radio stations. The Boston Herald laid off three staffers in July, and health and medicine publication STAT, which is owned by Boston Globe Media, laid off 11 percent of its workforce this week.

Aidan Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@globe.com. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.