West Virginia Public Radio Swapping Opera for News

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Bill Lynch of the West Virginia Gazette reports that WVPR is planning to replace half of its opera time with news/talk when the Met Opera finishes next week.  The change, apparently, is not about dropping classical music per se, but about opera in particular. James Muhammad, director of Radio Services at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, said it’s been a long time coming, but change was almost inevitable. “Looking at the audience over the past 10 years, I’ve noticed a 48 percent decline in the cume and a 57 percent decline in the … Continue Reading

NEA Shows Little Love for Classical Radio

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In what was a surprise to virtually all the major producers of classical radio, the National Endowment for the Arts has taken a hard left turn, and diverted long-standing television and radio funding to gaming, mobile, and web projects. A detailed and scathing article in the New York Times gives examples of organizations that have lost some or all of their funding after years of building partnerships with the NEA.  The MET Opera, PBS, and American Public Media (Performance Today and SymphonyCast) all had their funding decimated.  Some of these organizations regularly received large grants, but … Continue Reading

Mobile Classical Radio – Apple vs. Android

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The mobile phone radio app TuneIn has more than 30 million users in 230 countries.  A new app released today makes it even more user-accessible.  Connie Guglielmo writes about it in Forbes. They’ve added features that recommend new stations and music based on what listeners are tuned into (pun intended) and present a list of stations “Now Playing” the kind of music or talk radio you’re interested in. (In addition to letting you search by station or genre, or seeking out what station is playing a song by your favorite artist right now). … Continue Reading

3 Classical Stations Bankrupt in Maine

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Three of Maine’s classical stations are victims of the bankruptcy of Nassau Broadcasting.  The three are WBQW 104.7 in Southern Maine, WBQX 106.9 in midcoast, and WBQI 107.7 in Down East Maine. You can read more at the Bangor Daily News: The various radio broadcast licenses, radio tower leases, intellectual property and other businesses assets are being sold off to the highest bidders. The Delaware bankruptcy court is accepting bids until May 1, with the auction set to start on May 8… Mark Vogelzang, president and CEO of Maine Public Broadcasting Network, said his … Continue Reading

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