When All Things Considered debuted on May 3, 1971, radio was considered an aging, ailing avenue over which to deliver news. Television flickered as a kind of evening hearth for Americans. Radio news usually gave off nothing more than a small, hourly bleep.

Had anyone conducted a market analysis of the potential audience appeal of a high-quality, nightly radio news program that would range around the world with depth and sound, the results would have been discouraging. All Things Considered defied the demographics because it didn't know them.

All Things Considered was created by faith -- faith that people would find and stay with a show that was involving, insightful, informative, and more than occasionally fun.

Millions have become listeners. All Things Considered is snapped on each day in cars, kitchens, and on nightly jogs, from Presque Isle, Maine, to San Luis Obispo, Calif. It is one of the first sounds of the night, a reliable companion -- even a dependable friend.

All Things Considered has brought us the tumult of Watergate and the fall of Saigon, the captivity of Americans in Tehran and the fall of the Berlin Wall; bombs over Baghdad, the siege of Sarajevo, and the unrest over Rodney King in Los Angeles. All Things Considered has introduced us to Muddy Waters and Eli Wiesel, Aung San Suu Kyi, Phil Jackson, and Judy Chicago.

There's more to come. Stay tuned.

   -- Scott Simon, host of Weekend Edition Saturday

Contents Copyright 2001, National Public Radio