Tuesday, June 9, 2009
KERA acquires 91.7 FM for new public radio music station
North Texas Public Broadcasting, Inc. (KERA) announced today that it has purchased the non-commercial radio license 91.7 FM, a full-market station with broadcast coverage in greater Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton.
“This acquisition allows KERA to significantly advance its mission and strategic direction by increasing public media services for the people of North Texas,” says Mary Anne Alhadeff, KERA’s President & CEO. “The new station will be a public radio music format programmed with the North Texas audience in mind. It will be a terrific complement to KERA’s news and information station 90.1 FM and a substantial addition to KERA’s overall multimedia services for the public.” The new station will begin broadcasting its full schedule in the fall of 2009.
KERA has yet to select a name for the new station. The programming on 91.7 FM will be within the public radio “Triple A” (Adult Album Alternative) music format with diverse, adult-oriented playlists covering a broad spectrum of music such as folk, acoustic, world music, alternative and indie rock and country. Among the programs under consideration for the new station are World Café (distributed by NPR), Echoes (from Public Radio International), Undercurrents (from Native Voice One), American Routes (from American Public Media), plus music specials. NPR news headlines will be broadcast at the top of the hour. KERA’s own local programs will include interviews, studio performances and arts-related news and commentary.
For years, KERA’s public radio station 90.1 FM carried a mix of news and music. In 1996, the weekday format was changed to news and information in order to provide the strongest possible public-affairs programming. “I arrived at the station in late 2005,” recalls Alhadeff, “and right away I heard from long-time listeners who said that they appreciated the expanded public radio news schedule but missed the music programs.” During two radio audience focus groups in 2008, the loss of the music programs was still remembered. Nothing similar has taken its place on free, non-commercial radio in the North Texas broadcast area.
KERA spent 18 months working to address all purchase and programming considerations, complete a thorough business review and secure financing. Dan Routman, Chairman of KERA’s Board of Directors, said, “The decision to purchase 91.7 FM was made by KERA’s Board of Directors. KERA sought competitive financing and was able to negotiate favorable terms even in today’s economic environment.” Financing was secured from nonprofit-focused lenders. KERA purchased 91.7 FM from Covenant Educational Media, Inc.
The opportunity to purchase the station was presented to KERA in 2007 by PRC (Public Radio Capital), a national nonprofit organization that works to strengthen public radio. “Rarely do non-commercial radio licenses become available,” according to Erik Langner, Director of Acquisitions at PRC. “The greater Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton area has only three full-market FM non-commercial FCC licenses: KERA 90.1 FM, 91.7 FM, and one other. The availability of 91.7 FM was an extremely rare opportunity and we immediately thought of KERA. There exists a very strong relationship between KERA and the communities it serves over the air and online. Also of significant consideration were KERA’s strong financial position and experienced senior management.”
Source: KERA
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In-depth analysis from Robert Philpot: http://www.dfw.com/117/story/139394.html
Mike Orren Staff
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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sweet!! That is good news!
Robert Kelly Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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If it's the KERA of the late 80's, the only place to hear real local bands (Gimme Slavens, BL Lacerta, Brave Combo), Eno, Byrne, Kate Bush, Meredith Monk, and Joan la Barbara - awesome. I'm in.
If it's the last lineup of 24/7 womyn coffeehouse guitarists... "Check Please!"
Jason Rice Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Actually in the mid to late 80s you could hear tons of local and obscure stuff on KNON
Andrew Laska Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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True. And now that you remind me, that was "button #2" on the dashboard.
Jason Rice Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Finally at last 91.7 has been freed from the clutches of the Baptists. Im looking forward to the format flip, as we need a true "AAA" format in this market.
Speaking of 89.3, I used to volunteer back at KNON in the mid-late 90s, all it was then (and now) is the broken record latin "ENERGY" format they run with the occasional blues/jazz/rock show throw in to make it a "community station". The reason andrew they rocked in the late 80's was that Ranger Rita ran the station with passion and great talent. Jeff K, currently at KDGE, got his start there. When Agape (branch of ACORN) got involved with the day to day of station operations, it killed the product, chased off alot of talent and turned it into a mouthpiece for their agenda.
Chris Kidd Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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It's about damn time!!
If you need a music fix I suggest that you also listen to KETR 88.9 in Commerce (if you can pick it up). There's a guy on there every night with a program called "Notably Texan". Good stuff from Texas artists!! Not to mention the bluegrass stuff and jazz stuff!
thefinsdallas Anonymous
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Oops - Forgot the program guide!
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/ket...
thefinsdallas Anonymous
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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TFD, ive been listening to them for years. They're were running BBC World Service before KERA got the hint some years ago...
Chris Kidd Verified
5 months, 2 weeks ago
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This is awful news. I enjoy the christian programming that comes out of 91.7 and the awesome music that praises the Lord and savior Jesus Christ, but i guess these are the signs of the times, You can call it what you like, but I see this as a takeover, where preaching the Word of God and anything and everything that glorifies his name will be nullified and will be thought of as hate speech that their shoving down our throats all in the name of tolerance, which is gonna come back to us and it aint gonna be good, when God Almighty takes his protective hand off of America. We have enough Secular dribble to contend with, but of course thats what people want to hear,there are other christian stations in the dallas area, but for how long?
juliemnm12 Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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"where preaching the Word of God and anything and everything that glorifies his name will be nullified and will be thought of as hate speech that their shoving down our throats all in the name of tolerance"
The Bible is full of hate speech and it is shoved down our throats all the time...and as one who spent a large majority of his life preaching door to door, I find your argument silly. Christians have opportunities 24 hours a day to provide a witness to what they believe and it is hardly necessary for that DRIVEL to be cluttering the airwaves.
The new radio station will most probably cater to a wider variety of listener than say, paranoid Christians with persecution complexes.
Travis Bush Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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Interesting news. I've been increasingly dissatisfied with the bastard child that's become satellite radio upon the merger of Sirius/XM (okay, maybe that's a bit harsh and confusing), but more often than not, I'm trying to think of reasons to get rid of it than to keep it. Looks like this might be another option for me if I go terrestrial again.
James Scott Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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Salivating over the thoughts of "Secular dribble."
Granny Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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Whoa...Travis was a preacher???
jtmbls Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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yup..
Travis Bush Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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Figures. Dress code probably got him.
Jason Rice Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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More like common sense...and as 1st Corinthians 13:11 says...When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Travis Bush Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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::I put childish ways behind me.
Quoth the finger-painting guy with plastic army men glued to cardboard.....
I got ten bucks says he has on Spiderman Underoos.
Jason Rice Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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There's nothing original or insightful on public radio or public television.
OEsophagus Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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Trolling are we?
Travis Bush Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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One hooked.
OEsophagus Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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::One hooked.
you count funny.
Jason Rice Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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I'm a man of the cloth myself - Universal Life Church of Modesto California since 1995. :)
Peter Stawicki Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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I was also ordained by ULC. 1998 for me.
warden62 Anonymous
3 months, 1 week ago
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Sounds to me that JulieMNM has a few screws loose, like most of the fundies who live in this country. Im a christian man myself, but I distance from the ultra-right nutjobs who seem to think a neo-con America without anyone save white straight republicans is a better place. Its chilling we let them run this countries affairs for over a decade and a half....
Chris Kidd Verified
3 months, 1 week ago
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The religious industry is only getting bigger and more powerful, shoving it's greasy fingers into more parts of the American pie every day. If it keeps progressing as it is, you won't be able to tell the difference between the U.S. and any of the middle-eastern countries run by religious zealots that we fear so much.
Can you say...Christian Jihad?
If this radio station is changing from 'god-speak' to anything else- it's a plus for the area.
And by the same token, I appreciate my buddy the Reverend Bush even more now.
Rick Yost Verified
3 months ago
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I've been watching an old Sci-Fi show called "Seven Days". It's amazing how frequently the bad guys are fundamentalist christian nutjobs, forces inside the gov't looking to overthrow from within, and ultra-conservatives thinking they know what's best for people.
Crazy stuff!
Pavel Lishin Verified
3 months ago
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::thinking they know what's best for people.
After all, those ARE the people that change the world. Those wacky Puritans on the Mayflower
--- look at the mess they caused.
(Ok, not Puritans, Separatists... but you get the drift)
Jason Rice Verified
3 months ago
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Yes, along with the obvious in-roads being made by religion into the corporate world, the congress and the senate, there's those mega-churches they are building on military bases around the world and here in the U.S..
Understandably, we don't want our young men and women going to war to be actually thinking about what they're doing. We would rather they kill and be killed for Jesus. Amen.
Rick Yost Verified
3 months ago
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BTW, the Walking With Dinosaurs Ad is kinda irritating. Just sayin'.
Rick Yost Verified
3 months ago
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Huh? --- Oh THAT ad. Just got hit with it.
Gotta say... won't take many of those to convince me to install an adblock.
I know the ads pay the rent... and frankly, there are several that tax my browser to the point of reboot. Those I can take (even the 30 second reload that freezes the browser about one time in ten)
About the third time I see the same dang ad and have to close it, I'll be digging through the Firefox addons. Hope Jeremy has a "Closed the damned thing already" cookie floatin' around.
...and there on "Preview Comment" comes #3 and #4 I know my next Google.
Sorry Mike.
Jason Rice Verified
3 months ago
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Jason, You were adversely affected because you're a "staff member" to our ad server-- probably because you've contributed writing to us.
Most users should see this sort of ad at most once per day, but I'd written the ad service to abuse staff members a bit more so that a) we'd <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_one%27s_own_dog_food">eat our own dog food</a> and b) so that ad service administrators could view any ad for testing purposes.
Unfortunately, you and some other sorta-normal users got caught in the "staff member" net.
I'm adding a feature to allow individual staff members to be shown ads as normal users and putting you in that bucket. You should then only have dinosaurs eating your eyes once per day, or thereabouts. (The actual limit is subject to annoying technical vagaries, alas.)
Sorry for the collateral damage. :-/
Jeremy Dunck Staff
3 months ago
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I love Jeremy
Jason Rice Verified
3 months ago
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Clarification - "eat your own dog food" was all the "sell" I needed.
"sorta-normal users" was a bonus compliment ;o)
Jason Rice Verified
3 months ago
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Jeremy- Am I considered a staffer too. I see the dinosaur ad once every 60 seconds or so. If this is just someone's way to make me go away, I'm not goin' for it! :-)
Rick Yost Verified
3 months ago
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Rick,
You were, but I rolled out the fix about the same time you posted this comment. We don't have any floating ads running now, so the point's not proven, but I think it should be better for you next time we have one.
Jeremy Dunck Staff
3 months ago
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You're a good man Jeremy.
Rick Yost Verified
3 months ago
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Quoting from ThefinsDallas post: "...KETR 88.9 in Commerce (if you can pick it up). There's a guy on there every night with a program called 'Notably Texan'." -- Yes, that would be Matt Meinke and he is just terrific. We (husband & I) are the audio/video vendor for KISD and as a hobby we give local talent (teens) a chance in the recording studio to record songs given to us with permission to record (and air) from some fairly well-known songwriters. The Dallas Morning News covered it a few years ago. Its a lot of fun. Matt has been kind enough to include our music on his playlist, for "Notably Texan". We only have about 8 songs, including two in Spanish! I need to get in touch with the new 91.7 music director or program director about getting it to the playlist. Any ideas on how to find him? ~ Cami
StretchProductions Anonymous
2 months, 2 weeks ago
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