Listeners pause daily for a moment in time
Dan Roberts created A Moment in Time, heard daily by seven million radio listeners.BY JOAN TUPPONCE
Radio listeners might not be able to point out Dan Roberts in a crowd, but the moment he speaks, they instantly recognize his distinctive voice.
Roberts, chair of the department of liberal arts in the School of Continuing Studies, is the voice and the founder of A Moment in Time. The popular radio show reaches a daily audience of about seven million listeners in 38 countries via 147 public radio stations, XM and Sirius satellite radio and the Armed Forces Radio Network.
Roberts came up with the idea for A Moment in Time in 1993 while doing commentary for NPR’s Morning Edition.
“That reawakened my interest in radio from way back,” he says.
Roberts was involved with his school’s two radio stations when he was a student in Orangeburg, S.C. History was also a passion during that time.
“I saw history as a story,” he explains, “not as a bunch of lists. Shakespeare told historical stories. It was a terrific way to frame a dramatic narrative.”
After graduating from Presbyterian College with a degree in history, Roberts, an ROTC graduate, left for the Army and spent 10 months in Vietnam’s Central Highlands as a platoon leader and liaison officer for the First Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 4th U.S. Army Division.
“I asked to stay on so I could make captain, but they were doing a reduction in force and informed me that I had to leave,” says Roberts who was given a Bronze Star for meritorious service.
After returning home, Roberts entered Princeton Theological Seminary. He was a student minister in college. “Looking back, they were probably some really bad sermons,” he says, laughing. “For me, the ministry was a powerful commitment and a calling.”
Following graduation, Roberts completed his graduate study in church history at Vanderbilt University. “I still am an ordained Presbyterian minister,” he says. “I recently served as interim minister at River Road Presbyterian Church.”
Roberts realized he had to step away from the ministry for a few years while he was completing his Ph.D. studies. To make extra money, he turned to music—he started singing and playing the piano in high school. “That’s how I made a living, playing gigs for about eight years while I was getting my master’s degree at Richmond and going to graduate school at U.Va.” he says.
His first thoughts of creating something that would “enlighten” people about history came to him in 1992 when he was teaching the subject at Richmond. When he looked around his classroom, he noticed that his student’s eyes seemed to “glaze over” when he talked about significant events and prominent figures from the past. That observation along with his work at NPR started the creative process that resulted in A Moment in Time. Roberts partnered with Richmond public radio station WCVE, and the introductory program aired on the first Monday of January 1994.
The show was originally dubbed A Minute in Time, but the name changed when WCVE suggested making the spot longer than a minute in order to fit into a standard break.
“We wanted to give it to a station in a package they could use,” Roberts says, adding that the show is offered free to public radio stations.
In the beginning, Roberts and Steve Clark of WCVE conducted all the research for the program.
“We started off with a program on the conflict between Truman and McArthur in the early days,” Roberts recalls. “Ideas for the shows would flow out of what I was reading or interested in at the time, from suggestions by colleagues and from my students.”
Over the years Roberts has experimented with letting other people draft scripts. “But then the program doesn’t have my voice, so I have to write them,” he says.
In addition to his own research and that of his students, Roberts uses 11 paid interns along with three academic interns from Richmond to conduct research and work with the production of the show—his multi-media venture includes video and a podcast on www.amomentintime.com and A Moment in Time TV on YouTube.
The “a-roll” for the video segments that air on the Web site are filmed in Roberts’ office. Ryan Breen, ’10, is one of Roberts’ senior production interns.
“Dan is a supportive person,” he says. “He’s excited and passionate about what A Moment in Time is. Now, people are aware of history.”
Since going on air, the program has distributed 260 annual episodes that air five days a week. A Moment in Time Radio is the nonprofit educational component and also serves as the research and development arm for other projects. Through Broadcast Partners, Roberts and the University are producing commercial radio and television ventures as well as book projects.
Two years ago, Roberts was asked to create a special series for the Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission.
“We did 66 weeks of programs on the development of democracy,” he says. “It was one of the few national media discussions on Jamestown during the entire year.”