>> Eric: BRENDAN HENEHAN HAS PRODUCED ALMANAC FOR 38 YEARS.
IT'S A BEHIND THE SCENES JOB, CHOOSING TOPICS, TIMING SEGMENTS, WHISPERING QUESTIONS IN OUR EARS THAT WE OFTEN IGNORE.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH BRENDAN FOR 36 YEARS.
>> ME?
I'M THE ROOKIE...
BEING ONBOARD FOR "ONLY" 29 YEARS WITH BRENDAN.
TONIGHT IS BRENDAN'’S FINAL NIGHT IN THE CONTROL ROOM.
AND HE'S ALLOWED US TO CELEBRATE HIM A BIT.
JUST A LITTLE BIT.
RECENTLY WE SAT DOWN WITH BRENDAN AND KARI KENNEDY HIS LONGTIME PARTNER IN CRIME.
KARI WILL BE TAKING OVER AS THE PRODUCER OF ALMANAC.
HERE'S PART OF OUR CONVERSATION.
>> I ALWAYS THOUGHT "ALMANAC" WAS A STATEWIDE SHOW BUT IT WASN'T AT THE BEGINNING.
>> THERE REALLY WASN'T A STATEWIDE NETWORK, THERE WAS NO SATELLITE SYSTEM TO DO IT SO IN THE BEGINNING UNLESS YOU BICYCLED TO TAPE, WE DID THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS WE LITERALLY AFTER THE SHOW WOULD BRING A 3-QUARTER-INCH TAPE TO THE GREYHOUND STATION IN MINNEAPOLIS, PUT IT ON THE BUS, IT WOULD GET TO BEMIDJI AND EARLY SATURDAY SOMEONE WOULD GO DOWN AND AIR IT IN BEMIDJI.
IT WAS CALLED BICYCLING AND SOMEONE LITERALLY PUT IT ON A BUS.
>> HAVE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE SHOW REMAINED THE SAME?
>> THERE'S OBVIOUSLY BEEN SOME EVOLUTION, LIVE MUSIC, WE DIDN'T HAVE LIVE MUSIC FOR A LONG TIME ON THE SHOW.
AN HOUR-LONG, SOME SERIOUS, SOME FUN, AN ESSAY IN THE MIX, HISTORY QUESTION.
THOSE WERE IN THE FIRST SHOW SO PART OF THAT IS LARGER VISION, LARGELY THE VISION OF BILL HANLEY, MY COCREATOR.
>> Cathy: SO YOU WERE WHEN THE FIRST WAS ON STATEWIDE TV I THINK THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN, WHAT, 1987?
>> I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
>> Cathy: OKAY.
THIS IS A CLIP OF YOU BACK IN THE DAY TALKING ABOUT THE SHOW.
ON THE SHOW.
>> PUBLIC TELEVISION HAS THIS IMAGE OF BEING STAYED AND BORING AND SOMETIMES ALL TOO SERIOUS AND WE THOUGHT WE COULD DO SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
WE COULD KEEP THE SERIOUS AND HAVE SOME FUN TOO AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WITH "ALMANAC."
>> DID YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS SELLING THE CONCEPT IN-HOUSE?
>> I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN SAY THIS, BUT, YEAH, IT WAS A NEW THING.
AND IT WASN'T AN EASY SELL NECESSARILY.
I MEAN, WE WANTED AN HOUR, WE DIDN'T HAVE AN HOUR BEFORE, AND AN HOUR CAN BE A LONG TIME ON PUBLIC TELEVISION, THE IMAGE OF TALKING HEADS SCARED SOME PEOPLE HERE, BUT WE PROVED THAT YOU CAN HAVE SOME FUN AND STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO DO SERIOUS THINGS TOO AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT.
WE CAN'T DO THE SHOW AT HALF AN HOUR AND STILL HAVE FUN, WE HAD TO DO AN HOUR.
>> Cathy: WELL, WE'VE MADE A LITTLE SWITCH HERE.
WE'RE JOINED BY SOMEBODY ELSE, KARI KENNEDY.
SO IS THIS THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT?
THE BIG REVEAL?
OKAY.
SO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BRENDAN HENEHAN, AFTER 40-SOME YEARS IS RETIRING IN CASE YOU'RE JUST TUNING IN.
AND WE ARE SO THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT KARI KENNEDY WILL BE THE NEW PRODUCER OF "ALMANAC."
CONGRATULATIONS.
>> THANK YOU, I'M EXCITED TO KEEP WORKING ON THE SHOW.
>> Cathy: YOU GOT BIG SHOES TO FILL, THOUGH.
>> YEAH, WE'LL BE OKAY.
[ LAUGHTER ] >> Cathy: THERE YOU GO!
>> NOW, MY BIG QUESTION IS ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THE ALUMINUM TREE TRADITION IN DECEMBER?
>> Cathy: WELL, YOU BETTER.
>> AS LONG AS I CAN CONVINCE YOU TO LEAVE THEM BEHIND WHICH I'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON AND IF HE TAKES THEM WITH HIM I'M GOING TO GO TO HIS HOUSE BECAUSE I KNOW WHERE HE LIVES, I'M GOING TO SNEAK IN, CONSPIRE WITH HIS WIFE BECAUSE SHE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE FEWER BOXES OF TREES IN THE HOUSE AND I'LL BRING THEM BACK.
>> Cathy: I KNOW HOW TO PUT THEM TOGETHER.
>> IT WILL BE FINE, THE TREES WILL REMAIN ON THE SET.
>> I KNOW VIEWERS ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.
>> Eric: HOW FAR BACK DO YOU TWO GO?
>> WE WORKED 30 YEARS AGO ON A DOCUMENTARY PROJECT, "MINNEAPOLIS PAST."
KARI WAS IN THE DEPARTMENT, I BET WE KNEW OF EACH OTHER BUT HADN'T WORKED WITH EACH OTHER UNTIL THEN.
SUBSTANTIAL WHAT EXACTLY THE CHAIN OF EVENTS WERE AFTER THAT THAT YOU ENDED UP WORKING N "ALMANAC."
>> I DON'T EITHER REALLY.
WE HAD A MUCH LARGER DEPARTMENT, WE HAD LOTS OF PROJECTS GOING ON AND WE WOULD GO THROUGH THESE CYCLES, OUR BOSS BILL HANLEY WOULD GO THROUGH CYCLES WHERE HE WOULD SHUFFLE PEOPLE AROUND, BRENDAN DIDN'T ASK ME TO WORK ON ALMANAC, I DIDN'T ASK TO WORK ON ALMANAC, NEITHER OF US WERE UNHAPPY BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE NEITHER ONE OF US THOUGHT WE'D STILL BE SITTING HERE.
>> WE'LL SEE, I DON'T HAVE PLANS TO MAKE HUGE CHANGES.
I THINK THERE'S A REASON WE'VE BEEN ON THE AIR THIS LONG.
I THINK IT'S A PLACE PEOPLE COME FOR CIVIL DISCOURSE AND POLITICAL CONVERSATIONS WHERE YOU CAN HEAR DIFFERENCES AND PEOPLE AREN'T SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER, SO YOU CAN REALLY HEAR THOSE DIFFERENCES.
SO IT'S MY GOAL TO CONTINUE THAT.
I'M EXCITED TO HAVE US CONTINUE TO SHOW THE DIVERSITY OF OUR STATE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SINCE THIS NEW LEGISLATURE STARTED UP IS I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF OUR LEGISLATURE.
IT IS MORE DIVERSE THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.
IT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITIES OF OUR STATE MORE THAN IT EVER HAS AND THAT'S EXCITING TO E, IT MEANS THERE'S A NEW GENERATION OUT THERE WHO CARED ENOUGH TO RUN FOR OFFICE, THEIR CONSTITUENTS CARED ENOUGH TO SEND THEM THERE AND WE GET TO COVER THAT.
THAT FEELS LIKE A TREAT THAT WE GET TO DO THAT.
>> Cathy: SO BRENDAN, S YOU GO, WHAT DO YOU WANT VIEWERS TO REMEMBER?
>> YOU KNOW, ALMANAC HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE WHERE YOU AN HEAR MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES AND WE TREAT IMPORTANT STORIES SERIOUSLY AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE CLUTTER OF HYPER-PARTISANSHIP THERE'S STILL A PLACE FOR THAT AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE FOR THAT.
>> Cathy: WHAT WILL YOU MISS THE MOST?
>> WHAT AM I GONNA MISS THE MOST?
YOU KNOW, LIVE TV IS FUN, YOU KNOW THAT.
YOU GET A LITTLE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOUR GUT ROILS A LITTLE BIT AND YOU NEED TO HAVE THAT, BUT THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A LIVE INTERVIEW THAT GOES WELL AND A SHOW THAT HANGS TOGETHER TIGHT.
AND WHERE DO YOU GET THAT ELSEWHERE IN THIS WORLD, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT I'M GOING TO MISS THAT.
>> Cathy: WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE YOU ACK.
>> Eric: THANKS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE FOR THE STATE.
>> THANK YOU, YOU'VE BEEN GREAT