By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Sep 24, 2003 at 5:16 AM

89.7 WUWM-Milwaukee Public Radio is reaching further into the community with a new program that debuts Sun., Sept. 28.

"City Talk" will air Sundays at 6 p.m. and Thursdays at 1 p.m. The weekly, half-hour magazine explores Milwaukee's sometimes underexposed cultural and ethnic diversity with veteran producer Robyn Cherry. Cherry will talk and provide critical insight, and the program will strive to help listeners better understand the influence of Milwaukee's diverse ethnic population.

Cherry has earned national recognition as a smart, cutting-edge interviewer and producer and like any good talker on radio, her passion and energy will fuel the show, which will feature interviews on everything from politics to the arts in Milwaukee's minority communities.

I think 'City Talk' will be a refreshing change in the Milwaukee talk show landscape. There are so many people doing positive things under the radar in Milwaukee's ethnic communities," says Cherry. "I want to expose that through one show that focuses on cultural diversity. Those of us who live and work here often talk about Milwaukee as a melting pot of cultures. Yet those cultures rarely turn up in the Milwaukee media. We believe that there are a lot of interesting stories that need to be told, and 'City Talk' will be able to do that."

WUWM Director and General Manager Dave Edwards says "'City Talk' is a long overdue addition to WUWM's programming."

As a producer of WUWM's "At Ten", Cherry has been honored with numerous prestigious awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, Milwaukee Press Club, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Associated Press and Northwest Broadcast News Association.

"It is my hope that 'City Talk' will help the various ethnic communities get to know each other better, and hopefully there will be more interaction," says Cherry, a life-long Milwaukeean.Cherry will continue to contribute interviews to "At Ten."