I just received word that National Public Radio (NPR) and ETV Radio will air a radio-only Republican presidential debate, to be broadcast and Web cast live from 2-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16. NPR News journalists and hosts Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris and Robert Siegel will act as moderators.

The debate will take place at the ETV studios, located at 1041 George Rogers Blvd. in Columbia less than three days before South Carolina Republicans head to the polls. The NPR-ETV debate will also come six days after the much-anticipated GOP presidential debate in Myrtle Beach.

A Washington Times editorial said the NPR debate was “a refreshing alternative to the usually snippy tenor that has characterized many previous forums. Rather than the usual attempts by moderators to trip up the candidates and provoke them to attack each other, the debate was a civil conversation centered on the issues.” The New York Times asked: “Why aren’t there more debates like this?”

I don’t know if it will be “refreshing” per se, but as someone who loves radio — I’ll admit I listen to A Prairie Home Companion as often as possible — I’m sure it will add a little nostalgia to the event. I may even gather friends and family around the fireplace, turn on an antique-looking radio and smoke a pipe of tobacco while reading the newspaper.

And since NPR member stations have a weekly audience of more than 30 million people and ETV Radio reaches 271,300 weekly listeners across the state, it’s likely that a good many voters will hear this.

So what is the setup going to be? According to NPR and ETV, it will be relaxed and the candidates will sit close together around a V-shaped table, with no studio audience or video cameras.

They said it will “break away from the rapid-fire question-and-answer structure traditionally presented by the television networks, the NPR-ETV Radio debate will feature three areas of discussion and the moderators will facilitate the candidates’ ability to talk to each other.”