Co-author’s welcome: I don’t want to steal any of Jack’s thunder, so I’m just going to say a few words and then get out of the way. Jack is one of those people I turn to for wisdom and advice. He is on the ground doing the actual work of running a station which makes his perspective invaluable. Besides that, he’s an engaging raconteur, a deep thinker, and exactly the kind of leader who can rescue and reinvent classical music radio. With that, here’s Jack’s opening post, with my gratitude. ~ Marty Ronish
Stations
Boston — A Work in Progress
Thanks, Richard for your comment about Boston. The changes at WGBH/WCRB are not making Bostonians ecstatic yet, but the new station is a public station, so I hope members of the public will keep weighing in until they get what they want. To that end, there is a public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 5th, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Old South Church in Copley Square. You can read more about it here.
Here’s Hoping for a Better Decade in Classical Radio
Happy New Year! We start the year with good news in Oxford, Mississippi where the sale of a translator by San Diego’s Christian Broadcasting has brought classical music to the town’s airwaves. If you’re in Oxford you should be able to pick up Memphis-station WKNO, a mix of NPR shows and classical music, at 103.1.
KFUO sale challenged, and some views on music research
Four petitioners hope there’s still a chance that the sale of St. Louis’s KFUO isn’t a done deal. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported today that multiple challenges have been filed with the Federal Communications Commission to block the sale of the commercial classical station to Christian broadcaster Gateway Creative Broadcasting.
One group is made up of members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which is selling the station. Another is a fundraising group that has helped support KFUO. I was surprised to see Patty Wente speaking on behalf of this fundraising group — she used to be general manager of KWMU, the city’s main NPR station, until she was dismissed amid controversy last year.