Thursday, December 21, 2006

Bye-Bye NPR Talk!

According to this CA article, WKNO is selling WKNA-FM 88.9 in Senatobia to Donald Wildmon's American Family Radio and selling WKNQ-FM 90.7 in Dyersburg to another religious broadcaster, moving Talk of the Nation to 91.1 from 7-9 PM, beginning on January 22.

WKNO claims that, despite having upgraded the power on the stations to 100,000 watts, they still can't reach all of Shelby County, and so have given up for now. They say they are also looking at possibly obtaining another full-power station, which presumably would provide us with the NPR Talk format that we've grown accustomed to around here.

Mad? Yep. Want to do something about it? Call (901) 325-6544 and make sure they know you're pissed.

4 comments:

vibinc said...

They say they are also looking at possibly obtaining another full-power station, which presumably would provide us with the NPR Talk format that we've grown accustomed to around here.

Because, ya know, those radio stations that reach ALL of Shelby Co. and are in the price range of KNO are just a growin' on trees.

Then there's the whole selling out to AFR. That really blows. Just what I always wanted, more right wing religious blowhards on the radio, right smack dab between two stations I like. Fabulous.

Umm, isn't KNO PUBLIC radio. Can they just sell shit (like whole radio stations) without some kind of oversight? Last time I worked at some quasi-govvernmentish type state job they shook you down for pens and pencils at the door. Buying or selling anything took a commission, 2 oversight reviews, and one well choreographed dance number involving an animal. Just wondering.

It'd be nice if they would at least keep the web stream for the talk up...that's what I listen to most anyway.

This sucks.

Merry f-ing Christmas from your pals at WKNO.

-v

Michael Roy Hollihan said...

I suspect it's much more economic than anything else. Selling those two stations immediately stops a lot of cash outflow; the sales also have a one-time effect on the bottom line. They've always struggled for money. It wouldn't surprise me that this is just retrenchment.

Becky Kelly said...

LWC, Mike is correct. I work for WKNO-TV and the decision to sell the Dyersburg & Senatobia stations was a bottom line decision. The CA article focused on the frequency levels but the fact is, these stations were losing money. I too, along with you and many others including many WKNO employees, will miss BBC & Talk of the Nation.
vibinc, WKNO-FM is Public Radio but it is community owned & supported & depends on community financial support. LWC has suggested that if you disagree with this decision that you call WKNO to make your voice heard. I couldn't agree more but I do suggest that your "microphone will be louder" if you are a member (have sent financial support).
We are hopeful that the future will afford us opportunities to restore these services.

Steve Steffens said...

That is a great point that they are more like to listen to subscribers than non-subscribers.

The sad thing, of course, is that they are getting rid of that which is most likely to make me subscribe.

Would an AM station be cheaper to run, or is it directly due to the costs of the programming itself?