'All Things Considered' Host Jack Hopke To Retire

WWNO’s afternoon program host Jack Hopke plans to retire on August 31, after presenting news and music on WWNO 89.9 FM for the last fourteen years. Fortunately for his many listeners across southeast Louisiana, Jack’s voice will not leave the WWNO airwaves completely. Jack will continue in a part-time role, programming and hosting music programs, especially his popular “Saturday Night Jazz,” and serving as a substitute local host for NPR news programs.

“Jack Hopke has been a versatile and invaluable on-air talent for New Orleans Public Radio,” said general manager Paul Maassen. “His friendly demeanor at the microphone has made him a distinctive voice among New Orleans radio personalities, and even among public radio voices nationwide. He cannot be replaced, but we necessarily have begun a search for a new local host for “All Things Considered” and “Marketplace.”

Jack moved to New Orleans from Los Angeles in 1996 after a record industry career in which he handled marketing and promotion for numerous well-known recording artists, including Prince, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Zachary Richard, the Neville Brothers, and the Radiators. He began work at WWNO in 2003 as the part-time Sunday morning announcer, and then began filling in as classical music announcer as well. He continued with the station post-Katrina and became a full-time producer and program host in April 2006, best known as the local voice of “All Things Considered” on weekday afternoons and “Saturday Night Jazz.”

Jack looks forward to an active retirement with his wife, Barbara Siede. In addition to his part-time music programming and hosting work at WWNO, Jack plans to travel, improve his abilities in French, guitar, and golf, and do volunteer work for the Veterans Administration. Jack spent four years as an Airborne Ranger in the US Army and received the Bronze Star for valor while serving as a captain with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.

Jack’s radio career began as general manager of Dartmouth College’s WDCR,the country's only commercial, open-air, student-run AM station. After military service Jack returned to radio with WQBK-FM in Albany, NY, from which he left after seven years for work in the music recording industry with RCA, Warner Brothers, and Windham Hill Records.

WWNO 89.9FM, New Orleans Public Radio, is the listener-supported NPR radio station serving New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana on 89.9 FM and on KTLN 90.5 FM in the Houma-Thibodaux area, with 24-hour classical music and jazz on two HD channels. Listeners have made WWNO one of the region’s top news stations, attracted by in-depth reporting and discussions that stay respectful. The station’s website, wwno.org, streams news, music, and quality cultural entertainment across the region, and carries the stories of New Orleans around the world.

Listeners share their thoughts on Jack's goodbye: