Facing the Mortgage Crisis

St. Louis Public Radio's St. Louis on the Air

An in-depth discussion about the effect of the mortgage crisis on the St. Louis region with representatives from Beyond Housing, the City of St. Louis, and NeighborWorks America.

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Financial Literacy: A discussion about efforts to educate people of all ages in financial literacy.

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Preventing Foreclosure: A discussion about options to avoid foreclosure for homeowners who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments. Today at 11:00 a.m. Audio will be archived around 2:00 p.m. CT.

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Community Events

St. Louis Public Radio, with assistance from community partners and KETC, held a Town Hall Meeting broadcast live from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at the Touhill Performing Art Center’s Lee Theater. KETC's Jim Kirchherr hosted a panel of guests for the broadcast—St. Louis on the Air: Facing the Mortgage Crisis.

>> Listen to the Town Hall Meeting

St. Louis Public Radio News Coverage

• Program aims to revitalize neighborhoods hit by foreclosures
  St. Louis city and county officials are using stabilization funds to rebuild neighborhoods that have been ravaged by the rash of foreclosures. KWMU newsroom intern Christina DeVoss looks at how the program is working in the region.
• Neighborhood watchdogs keep tabs on vacant, foreclosed homes
  In neighborhoods where foreclosures have left homes vacant and boarded-up, property values drop, the tax base erodes and crime may take root.
• Financial literacy key to avoiding mortgage trouble
  In the go-go years of the housing bubble, borrowers forgot the basic rules of how to manage their money and credit. And lenders took advantage of that situation.
• One family fights off foreclosure
  Families facing the prospect of losing their homes to foreclosure have to come up with various strategies to fight back.
• New breed of mortgage counselors helps homeowners facing foreclosure
  As part of KWMU's series "Facing the Mortgage Crisis," Repps Hudson looks at how lenders, borrowers and a new breed of financial counselors are coping with the stress of foreclosures.
• Mortgage "crisis" continues to grip St. Louis area
  The mortgage crisis that drove thousands of St. Louis area homeowners into foreclosure has not gone away; it simply doesn't receive as much media attention as it did a year ago. Repps Hudson reports in the first of the KWMU series "Facing the Mortgage Crisis."
• Renters have little protection from forclosure
  Maria Altman reports on a legislative proposal to help renters affected by foreclosures on landlords' properties
• Buying a foreclosed home
  Adam Allington reports
• Koster alleges deceptive advertising in mortgage company suits
  Matt Sepic reports

National Public Radio Programs

American Radioworks
St. Louis Public Radio aired four special documentaries from American RadioWorks® that provide a deeper understanding of the current economic crisis. 

The featured documentaries were hosted by American RadioWorks’ Executive Editor/Host Stephen Smith and Marketplace’s Host/Senior Editor Kai Ryssdal.  

“Foreclosure City”
(Host – Steven Smith)
American RadioWorks looks at the roots and the fall-out of the Las Vegas foreclosure crisis, and tells the stories of residents trying to build new lives, now that their old dreams have failed.

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“A Better Life: Creating the American Dream”
 (Host – Steven Smith)
As part of American Public Media's "Next American Dream" project, this program chronicles the evolution of the American Dream since the Great Depression.

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“Hard Times in Middletown”
(Host -  Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace)
In 1929 the Rockefeller Institute published an intimate look at church, school, family and work in Muncie, IN.  This documentary helps us understand how the economic crisis is affecting the people who defined the American middle class. 

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“Bridge to Somewhere”
(Host – Steven Smith)
With the country's economy in a tailspin, many Americans are calling for a new “New Deal.”  This hour looks at whether repairing roads and expanding broadband Internet can help Americans back toward prosperity.

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American RadioWorks ® is the national documentary unit of American Public Media and is public radio's largest documentary production unit; it creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports.

>> More about American Radioworks

Morning Edition

• Homeowners Should Examine Reverse Mortgages
  Wendy Kaufman reports

 

The Diane Rehm Show
St. Louis Public Radio recently aired a special episode of The Diane Rehm Show' dealing with the mortgage crisis. This live program featured financial advisors and housing experts, offering answers and advice to listener questions about the current housing crisis. 

>> Listen to the show (mp3)

The Tavis Smiley Show
Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers more than just hope but modes of help for those struggling in the wake of the mortgage crisis. 

>> More about the episode