Utah's KRCL Launches New Format while UtahFM Resurrects Old Format

I've written about the changes at Utah's community radio station KRCL before and this week they launched their new format. According to an article in The Salt Lake City Tribune:

"Throughout its 28-year history, KRCL (90.9 FM) has served up its weekday programming in diverse musical segments. Depending on the day and the hour, listeners have heard distinct programs of '70s funk, Delta blues, coffeehouse folk, indie rock or music by women. All that changed at 6 a.m. today, when the Salt Lake City community-radio station launched a revised format. Instead of separate shows for different musical genres, listeners from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. will hear one consistent stream of eclectic music - from rock, soul and blues to country, hip-hop and beyond. 'This programming is really about the idea of moving beyond genres,' says KRCL program director Ryan Tronier. 'The iPod has busted those walls down.'"

The article continues:

"KRCL management decided to revamp its weekday on-air lineup after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting threatened to withhold funding if the nonprofit station didn't improve its modest listenership, which has sagged in recent years. The change has been controversial. When KRCL announced in January that it would replace 18 volunteer on-air hosts with three paid disc jockeys, angry listeners vowed to stop giving money and Internet postings railed against KRCL's perceived 'corporate makeover.' That furor has since died down. And those paid deejays...start their new shifts this week. The three, hired from a pool of 39 applicants, all are former KRCL volunteers."

The piece goes on to profile the 3 paid DJs (and includes their desert island discs). DJs from the pre-format change station can be heard starting May 12th when new station UtahFM.org goes live (as profiled in my post a few weeks ago).

Have any of you listened to the new KRCL? What do you think?