BBC Radio replaces Alistair Cooke's show

LONDON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- BBC Radio has tapped eight journalists for a new program to replace the late Alistair Cooke's long-running "Letter From America."

"A View From ..., set to air in Cooke's 8:50 p.m. Friday BBC Radio 4 time slot, will provide eight international reporters' views on the latest trends and news in their respective parts of the world, BBC reported Tuesday.

Cooke died last March at age 95, a few weeks after retiring from his radio show.

"A View From ... " will feature reporters from Australia, China, Brazil, South Africa, India, the Caribbean and the United States.

Producer Jennie Walmsley favors replacing Cooke, whose broadcasting career spanned 58 years, with a team.

"If we had chosen a single successor, he or she would be forever compared to Alistair Cooke," she said.

No long-term decision has been made about the future of "Letter from America," said a BBC spokesman.