Georgia Public Broadcasting has canceled “Political Rewind” and announced the departure of its host Bill Nigut after nearly a decade.
GPB said in a press release that the move was part of “multiple planned programming changes” as it refocuses on its core mission “to be a trusted public broadcaster sharing stories unique to Georgians and providing meaningful community engagement opportunities in cost-efficient ways.”
The daily “Political Rewind” show will air its final episode on GPB Radio on Friday, June 30.
Nigut said in a letter to friends and supporters – posted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein on his Twitter account – that he was told by GPB there was no longer a place for him at the station and the show was axed due to budget cuts.
“I’m sad beyond words about this development for a lot reasons,” Nigut wrote. “Selfishly I have to say that in 40 years as a reporter – much of that time devoted to covering politics – I’ve loved “Political Rewind” more than any other job I’ve had in journalism.”
During its nearly 10-year run, “Political Rewind” served as a forum for discussion with decision-makers and political analysts on the national, state and local levels. Nigut has hosted the political roundtable since he joined GPB in 2013. Previously, he spent 20 years as the national and state political correspondent for WSB-TV in Atlanta.
While the press release said Nigut would “retire” from GPB, the journalist said “I am not retiring from a professional life, and will continue working in some role moving forward.”
GPB will also “re-align production” of some of its other programming, including “reallocating resources” from its e-newsletter GA Today to “other offerings with greater following and engagement from viewers”; reducing the number of “Georgia Outdoors” episodes will be reduced from six to four; and “streamlining measures focused on providing more cost-effective local programming. “
You can read GPB’s full statement here.
