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CX2SA > SWL 17.03.05 06:19l 124 Lines 5648 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23945-CX2SA
Read: DK5RAS GUEST
Subj: DX LISTENING DIG. 5-046 11/18
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CX2SA
Sent: 050317/0504Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:23945 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:23945-CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : SWL@WW
** U S A. WGUC TO 'SUPER SERVE' LISTENERS, JETTISONS TALK FOR ALL
CLASSICAL
By Janelle Gelfand. Enquirer staff writer, Saturday, March 12, 2005
WGUC-FM's plan to have continuous, 24-hour classical programming is
bucking a national trend that has most classical radio stations
struggling to survive.
Across the nation, classical stations, faced with declining
listenership and funding, are dropping Bach, Beethoven and Mozart
altogether. The most prominent demise of a classical station was WETA-
FM in Washington, D.C., which announced in February that it would drop
classical music programming in favor of an all-news and public affairs
format.
The same month, Pittsburgh's WQED-FM fell short of its fund-raising
goal, threatening its existence. Philadelphia, Miami and Detroit no
longer have classical music stations.
"There has been a constant erosion over the past years," says Robin
Gehl, WGUC's vice president for programming.
Only a couple of dozen National Public Radio stations are fully
classical, says Richard Eiswerth, WGUC president and general manager.
In the last decade, the number of stations devoted to classical music
has been cut in half, while the number of talk radio stations has
tripled.
"The audience for news and information has been growing dramatically,
so there's much more demand for that," says Marc Hand of Public Radio
Capital, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that advised WGUC
during negotiations.
"The more public radio stations you have, the more listeners you have.
Ultimately, that translates into more revenue. "I think it's very
exciting for Cincinnati to put the combination together and preserve
the service on both sides."
WGUC has a strong local presence, including broadcasts of the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, May Festival and Cincinnati Opera.
Last winter, WGUC's market share - percentage of people in this market
who listen to the station - was 18th nationally among public radio
stations in a Radio Research Consortium study.
In the last six years, WGUC has seen an 18 to 20 percent audience
growth to more than 163,000 weekly listeners, as well as a nearly 40
percent bump in memberships, grants and corporate gifts - totaling
$1.4 million last year.
While other stations are "dumbing down" their play lists, the move
will make WGUC a stronger player in the classical market. "It will
allow them to super-serve their classical listeners," says John Birge,
former morning host at WGUC, now at Minnesota Public Radio.
The acquisition could imitate Minnesota Public Radio, in which KNOW-FM
broadcasts syndicated news shows like NPR's "Morning Edition" and
locally produced talk shows, and KSJN-FM airs classical music.
In November, Minnesota Public Radio purchased St. Olaf College's
classical radio station for $10.5 million. That station has become a
contemporary rock and eclectic format, Birge says (via Artie Bigley,
DXLD)
WGUC uses Classical 24 in addition to its own programming (gh, DXLD)
** U S A. From Kit Sage in Columbus, OH. Read the comment about the
IBOC harmonic. The digital hash and trash of WOSU 820 can also be
heard in conjunction with their second harmonic on 1640. It can be
heard on 1630 and 1650. It appears that WOSU-FM is also now digital.
Their signal is on 89.7, but there is digital noise on 89.5 and 89.9
now. As far as I know, they are the first and only digital FM in the
area (via Kevin Redding, Gilbert AZ, ABDX via dXLD)
** U S A. AIR AMERICA IN AUSTIN --- By Aman Batheja Star-Telegram
Staff Writer Posted on Tue, Mar. 15, 2005
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/entertainment/11140152.htm
AUSTIN - About a decade ago, on his one trip to Fort Worth, Al Franken
took a piece of Cowtown home with him. "I got my boots in Fort Worth,"
Franken said yesterday in Austin. "They were custom-made boots."
Recently, Franken began wearing the boots more often. "My kids didn't
like them so I couldn't wear them," he said. "I'm an empty nester
[now] so I can wear them when I want.
"I was going to wear them down here," he added, "But I didn't want
anyone to think I'm making some sort of comment."
Franken spoke fondly about that trip to North Texas while encamped
Monday at the Austin State Theater. Outside, a long line of people
waited to watch him perform his radio show live, at 11 a.m. Earlier in
the day, Air America, the progressive talk-radio network of which
Franken is the star, made its debut in the Austin market -- one week
before it launches in the Metroplex.
Franken's broadcast guests included Austin-based political columnist
Molly Ivins, former Texas Congressman Chris Bell, and political
blogger Ana Marie Cox, better known as Wonkette.
When Franken -- better known as a former Saturday Night Live cast
member and writer of liberal tomes such as Lies and the Lying Liars
Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right -- signed with
the fledgling Air America last March, he promised to stay on only
through, and a little after, the presidential election.
At the time, he cited unseating President Bush as his only purpose for
doing the show. He's since committed to hosting The Al Franken Show --
once satirically titled The O'Franken Factor -- for two more years.
"I didn't know whether I'd like [doing radio]," Franken said. "Turns
out I love to do this."
Since Air America launched in selected parts of the country in March
2004, it has expanded to 49 markets, including Corpus Christi.
His show often deals directly with Texas politics. His latest target:
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R- Sugar Land, whom Franken
plans to feature prominently in his next book.
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