Public Radio Station KUSP To Reduce Music Programming

Back in March I wrote about Santa Cruz public radio station KUSP, which was in merger talks with another local public radio station. In the aftermath of the failed merger, KUSP is now making programming changes at the station, namely decreasing their local music programming.

According to an article in yesterday's Register-Pajaronian,

"Airtimes for several volunteer-produced programs on public radio station KUSP 88.9 will soon be shifted to clear the way for additional news and information.

This change, set to take affect Sept. 1, means the station will now air National Public Radio programming during midday timeslots on weekdays, as opposed to the local music and news shows that make up 70 percent of KUSP’s current schedule."

This is another sad sign of the decreasing amount of locally-produced programming on public radio stations.

The article continues:

"Established in 1972, KUSP is an independent nonprofit community radio station that now reaches about 400,000 listeners in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, south Santa Clara and north San Luis Obispo counties...

On Monday, [General Manager Terry] Green said the station intends to establish partnerships with other public radio stations, such as KALW in San Francisco, to continue providing a local, regional focus to its news items...

In addition, KUSP is looking for ways to deepen its relationship with KZSC, the volunteer station licensed to the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is in the midst of evolving its Web site to include a multi-channel delivery."

To learn more about these programming changes, view the KUSP website, where there are links to a blog post by the General Manager, a letter from the President of the KUSP Board of Directors, and a podcast of a call-in show on this topic.

And, take a look at Dave Freedman's history of KUSP, where he recounts the very early days of this community radio station, which was founded in 1972. It seems to have changed a lot....