OPB to Buy Eugene AM

Submitted by LynnS on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 1:19pm.

This should make for interesting times. OPB is buying KOPT from Churchill:

"OPB's over 7,500 contributors in the Eugene/Springfield area have long asked for OPB radio to be available," said Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO. "So, when OPB heard that a station in Eugene was available for sale, we immediately jumped on the opportunity and contacted Churchill Media," he said. "OPB is the voice for thinking Oregonians everywhere, and we look forward to developing a stronger local connection with the people of Eugene, one of Oregon's most vibrant communities."

And how does KLCC take the news? Apparently, fine:

KLCC FM, a public radio station licensed to Lane Community College in Eugene, has endorsed OPB's purchase of KOPT. KLCC already partners with OPB to maintain a Salem news bureau. "I welcome OPB to the Eugene/Springfield radio market," said Steve Barton, general manager of KLCC. "OPB's acquisition of KOPT provides a great opportunity to increase the depth and breadth of local radio programming. I look forward to collaborating with OPB to make this an excellent partnership of both organizations' talent and resources."

The Eugene market is big enough to support two public stations now. I hope.

No word on when KOPT makes the switch.

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LynnS's blog | quote

Three, actually.

Submitted by JimL on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 1:49pm.

KWAX is the all-classical station in Eugene, owned by the U of O. Also listener-supported.

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Right you are

Submitted by LynnS on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 3:06pm.

A big ol' d'oh.

-----
Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother

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They begged for money

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 4:31pm.

They cry poor, beg for money and then buy another station.

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um... radio

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 8:07pm.

That's radio! What else should they use the money for? Seriously.

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Six or Seven, actually

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 4:27pm.

While we're talking listener-supported radio in Eugene, you might want to include:

KRVM-FM (Triple A format completely listener supported now)

KRVM-AM Jefferson Public Radio, NPR affiliate

KWVA-FM U of O Rock station

plus KLCC, KOAC, KWAX and now KOPT

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An opportunity to eliminate redundancy

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 6:59pm.

LynnS wrote:

And how does KLCC take the news? Apparently, fine:

You note the comments of the station manager. What about the employees? The contributors?

"Partnerships" in my experience mean cutting back what managers see as duplicate services. In practice, that has meant KLCC's Salem bureau is dead, replaced by OPB's reporter. Who will replace Don Hein? Rachael McDonald? Tripp Sommer? OPB has no one of that caliber, but whoever it is they come up with will someday have to do for Eugene listeners.

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Salem bureau

Submitted by pubradionews on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 3:11pm.

Just a note to say that KLCC and OPB split the salary of Chris Lehman at the state Capitol. Both stations are actively involved in the Northwest News Network, which provides editorial coordination of Chris's work with reporters in Olympia, Richland and Spokane/Coeur d'Alene. Chris is only an OPB employee for the purposes of getting him paid and providing benefits.
I'm sure Don, Rachael and Tripp will all continue to do what they do so well, and in a spiffy new facility in downtown Eugene, to boot. The experience in other markets indicates that public radio is not a zero-sum game, that is, a new station in the market does not necessarily take away listeners from existing stations. The overall audience for public radio seems to grow in part because more people turn on their radios. We'll have to see if that's how it works out in Eugene.

Morgan,
OPB, VP-News

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Don't let that chip on your shoulder hit your foot

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 7:37pm.

They don't cry poor when they beg for money. They talk about the need for funds to continue to do the great things they do and to expand their services.

Nobody's holding a gun to your head to contribute.

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They cut programs

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 9:24am.

OPB should concentrate on programs, not buying radio stations that will be a drain on resources, since they cannot sell ads.

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I was gonna say... what rock

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 12/09/2007 - 5:43am.

I was gonna say... what rock does that guy live under? They cry poor? When have they EVER said "we're poor." ?? Running any kind of service that large costs money, which, if it were all on the shoulders of one station or one group, would put them in the poorhouse.

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Public radio? Honestly, if

Submitted by unperfekt (not verified) on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 9:32pm.

Public radio? Honestly, if they were going to buy a station anywhere in the northwest, Eugene would probably be one of the most supportive markets.

<3 OPB and wish them best of luck. Student loans = no contributions though. Sorry!

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New Public Station

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 9:36pm.

KLCC is decidely slanted to the left with stuff like "earth and sky" "new dimensions" and news heavy on all things environmental, sensitivity stuff, stories about being "inclusive", etc. Can't blame them if they're catering to the dues paying members I guess.

Jefferson Public Radio (AM 1280) and KDRV are much more interesting to me and entirely different menu so I don't think KLCC will be cutting into their listener base. If the KLCC folks think it's going to happen I'm sure they'll be disappointed.

What IS interesting is that an AM license is suddenly worth $500,000 in Eugene! A decade ago they were almost being given away--and sometimes they actually were.

What happened? Well, I don't really like the guy but I think Rush Limbaugh happened. AM radio was dead in the water with nothing but oldies formats and hispanic. Talk made AM viable again and Limbaugh is they guy they all imitate...even the lefties.

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KLCC? Outstanding Talent? Seriously?

Submitted by Eric (not verified) on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 8:42pm.

You people can't seriously think KLCC's on-air talent is anything worth listening to. Starting with Tripp Sommer and working down the food chain, each one of them sounds like a socially awkward individual. They frequently mispronounce street names, they read copy like a third grader trying to sound out words in the Weekly Reader, and it's just completely uncomfortable. The only worthwhile, local programming on KLCC is Carl Woideck's jazz show on Wednesday nights.

OPB's on-air talent is outstanding. These people always sound like they know what they're doing, and understand what they're talking about. Living in the mid-Willamette Valley, I have the benefit of tuning in both stations as needed, but boy, let me tell you, I will always look first to OPB before resorting to KLCC.

I have never had an opportunity to share this opinion where it was relevant, and I've never posted here before, but this subject really drew me out of the inky shadows. I feel much better!

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