Case study · University of Mississippi · Jordan Center
America at 250: Due Diligence case study: one show for public and commercial radio
A major media project for the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Bill co-hosts and co-produces the weekly, nonpartisan series with Steve Herman, and Bernardoni Media runs production and distribution end to end, on public radio, commercial radio, and every major podcast platform.
Ole Miss
The client: the Jordan Center at the University of Mississippi
Major university
A flagship media project, produced end to end
80+
Public and commercial stations, up from about 50 at launch
Live
At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The client
A major university. A major media project.
For the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation at the University of Mississippi set out to build a national, weekly public affairs program: one that would put Ole Miss in front of radio listeners and podcast audiences across the country, on every side of the debate.
The Jordan Center chose Bernardoni Media to build it. America at 250: Due Diligence is a major university media project for the University of Mississippi, and we own everything behind the microphone: format, booking, production, the station plan, station relations, and weekly distribution.
Steve Herman, the Center’s executive director and former Voice of America White House bureau chief, co-hosts with Bill. Every episode carries the Jordan Center and Ole Miss name onto 80+ stations and every major podcast platform.
Project at a glance
- Client: Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation, University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
- Scope: a major university media project
- Format: one weekly, nonpartisan hour for radio, plus a longer podcast cut
- Hosts: Steve Herman and Bill Bernardoni
- Our role: production and distribution, end to end
- Reach: 80+ public and commercial stations, PRX, and every major podcast platform
- Run: June 2026 through December 2026
The challenge
One show for every side of the debate
The United States turned 250 in 2026, and Ole Miss’s Jordan Center wanted a limited weekly series through the end of the year, with each episode taking on one founding question with historians and experts from across the spectrum.
The hard part was the audience. Public radio and commercial talk stations rarely carry the same public affairs show. They run different clocks, serve different listeners, and many listeners expect a side. A show carrying a major university’s name had to sound fair to everyone, fit both kinds of stations, and still work as a podcast.
“There are few issues-oriented or public affairs radio programs independently produced that are free of intended political bias.”
Steve Herman, executive director of the Jordan Center at the University of Mississippi, to Radio World
What Bernardoni Media did
Everything behind the microphone, for Ole Miss
Steve and Bill share the mic. For the Jordan Center, production, the station plan, station relations, and distribution are all ours.
01
A format for both sides
One hour, weekly, with multiple perspectives in every episode and no shouting, built so the University of Mississippi’s name sits on a show every station can trust. A longer online cut runs on podcast platforms.
02
Guests from every side
Adam Kinzinger, Russ Feingold, Dennis Kucinich, Julian Zelizer, Randy Barnett, Robert Post, Jeffrey Rosen, and Ole Miss political scientist Marvin King.
03
Every episode produced
Booking, recording, editing, and on-time weekly delivery, every week since the June 2026 launch.
04
A plan for both kinds of radio
PRX for public radio and Talk Media Network for commercial stations, plus shortwave and other outlets. Bill manages the syndicator and station relationships.
05
Every podcast platform
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and the rest, so the Jordan Center’s series is easy to find long after it airs.
06
Taken on the road
Bill and Steve took the series live to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., recorded for broadcast and aired as an episode.
The conversations
A few episodes so far
Kicking the Can Down the Road
Julian Zelizer, Dennis Kucinich, and Romina Boccia on Social Security, Medicare, and the debt.
The Key to the Cage
Russ Feingold, David Super, and Mark Meckler on an Article V convention.
The State of Control
Randy Barnett, Ilya Shapiro, and Ole Miss political scientist Marvin King on federalism.
I Plead the Fifth
Jeffrey Rosen and Thomas Doherty on self-incrimination, from the Hollywood Ten to the smartphone.
“The Free Press on Trial,” live at the National Press Club. Video courtesy of the National Press Club.
Results
What the University of Mississippi got
- About 50 stations at launch in June 2026, now 80+ (Radio World)
- Public and commercial stations air the same weekly hour, under the Jordan Center and Ole Miss name
- On PRX and every major podcast platform, through December 2026
- Guests and listeners from across the political spectrum, often in the same hour
- Live at the National Press Club, aired as an episode
- Almost double the planned station count, with distribution costs kept down
One show can work on public radio, commercial radio, and podcasts at once, if it’s built for that from day one.
What it shows
Built for universities and institutions
America at 250 is the model for what we build for universities, centers, and foundations.
Your name on national radio
A major university’s experts and mission, heard weekly on public and commercial stations, not just on a campus feed.
Credible to every side
A nonpartisan format and a guest list from across the spectrum protect the institution’s reputation.
One team, end to end
Format, booking, production, station plan, and distribution under one roof, so your team isn’t managing five vendors.
Planning a major series for your university or institution?
Rather pick up the phone? Call (815) 830-5083.