Of Missives and Mission Statements.

A couple of weeks ago, we posted the Mission Statements; both old and new, of Colorado Public Radio. And today, I noticed that KDNK-FM, also referred to as Carbondale Community Access Radio, has its mission statement posted to their website. Seriously, how succinct or wordy should a mission statement be? What do you think it should include?

These details also caught my eye in Colorado Public Radio's proposed mission statement:

1. Highest Priority: Classical Music, and
2. Priority: Local Content.
   

As far as I know, classical music is what Colorado Public Radio broadcasts exclusively under its KVOD brand. If it is the highest priority, are they branching out into other music formats? If so, which ones? Triple-A, County Western, World Music, or Jazz? The word highest, also suggests that classical music is most important music format among a group of at least 3 like items; grammatically it does. High, higher, highest? Good, better, best? Remember grammar and usage?

Also, Colorado Public Radio produces exactly one, 30-minute local news show, called Colorado Matters, under its KCFR brand, which broadcasts 7 days per week for a total of 7 hours (including full-length repeats). There are 168 hours of news, information, and entertainment broadcast on KCFR every week. Colorado Matters accounts for 4.2% of the programming content, not counting the Colorado Matters redundancies during Morning Edition.

In terms of quantity, that seems that local content is a fairly low priority. Perhaps it's really the quality that matters; not the quantity? Or maybe I fail to understand the meaning of the word priority? By the way, Colorado Public Radio has some job openings, even one in the news department!

Aspen Public Radio Job Opening.

Aspen Public Radio is looking for a News Director. Anyone looking for a low-paying job in a high-cost area of Colorado? Trust-funders or millionaires with journalism degrees might have an edge here. Or maybe they'll let you telecommute from somewhere else? Denver perhaps?

Senator Ken Salazar on KRCC-FM.

Senator Ken Salazar came home during the August recess to meet with Colorado citizens regarding Pinon Canyon. Listen to this story on KRCC-FM, Colorado Springs.

Democracy Now!

Award-winning journalist Amy Goodman, host of the daily, grassroots, global, radio/TV news hour Democracy Now!, is on a national speaking tour to mark DN!'s 10th anniversary and launch her second book with journalist David Goodman, Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back. Read about her visit to Denver here.

KGNU and KBDI Channel 12 welcome Amy Goodman to Denver for a live lecture and book signing to benefit KBDI Channel 12 and KGNU Community Radio.

Whad'ya Know? Bill Husted Mentions KCFR.

Too bad Bill Husted forgot to mention that Colorado Public Radio is a statewide network which also covers Boulder and Pueblo on the front range, some areas of the mountains, and the western slope. Maybe someone at CPR should give him a call to wake him up a bit. And, perhaps they can remind him that The Denver Post is read throughout the State of Colorado too?

Read his entire entertainment roundup in The Denver Post here. Bill reports that National Public Radio's "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me" will be taped Thursday night at Chautauqua, with scorekeeper Carl Kasell and panelists, but [that] this week's crew has not yet been announced."

Anyway, this show airs on KUNC-FM, Saturday, August 11th at 11:00 a.m. Or, you can Wait, Wait, Wait to hear it on KCFR-AM, Saturday, August 11th at 1:00 p.m. Tom Bodett, Kyrie O'Connor, and Paula Poundstone, are the panelist along with Carl Kasell and host Peter Sagal.

KOTO-FM Transmitter Problems in Telluride.

Read the entire article about KOTO-FM from the Telluride Daily Planet here.

KDNK-FM Fundraiser on August 25th.

The 5th annual KDNK Blues and BBQ Fest on August 25, 2007 is a benefit for local, community radio station KDNK. This one-day event in downtown Carbondale, Colorado features great food and music and sees about 1,500-2,000 people each year. The event is free to the public. Also, check out the groovy new KDNK website.

Press release provided by Sonicbids.

KUNC-FM in the Boulder County Business Report.

GREELEY - Public radio listeners in the Boulder Valley can now pick up Greeley's KUNC loud and clear at 99.9 FM, thanks to a translator that went live on July 24. Read the entire article from the Boulder County Business Report here.

KYGT-FM "The Goat" on YourHub.

Here is a link to an article in The Denver Post about KYGT 102.7-FM The Goat; a community radio station broadcasting in the Clear Creak Valley.

CPRB Guest Commentary, by Anonymous.

Regarding KUNC, the signal improvements usher in a new era for public radio in metro Denver. It places the number of public and/or community radio listening choices closer to the number of choices enjoyed by people living in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and Philadelphia; even in the middle of Iowa. In those and other spots around the country, petty public radio turf battles have taken a back seat to the concept of maximum public service. Unfortunately in Denver, that has been far from the case, and [it] has severely limited the variety of music and expression that has been possible.

The same numbers of FCC-regulated frequencies for non-commercial FM stations exist in Colorado as elsewhere, but other places haven't had the nasty political battles that have taken place within the public radio family in Colorado. The battles of decades past to keep out a strong FM presence for KGNU and KUNC into Denver metro have been documented.

What does all of this mean, now? Some of us who have not been able to receive upwards of 7 public radio signals in the same market may wonder what in the world do that many public stations program in a [single] market for listeners.

To give you a hint at what's possible, I invite you to go on-line to listen to the fare produced for national audiences by KCRW, Santa Monica, California, and [other] Los Angeles basin public stations in Pasadena, Long Beach, and Los Angeles; KUSC, KPFK, [and KPCC]. Do the same for Boston, New York City, San Francisco, and other markets where 4 or more public stations exist. When you hear the variety that is possible, remember this: many of the programs you hear are produced for public stations around the country. In fact, there are hundreds of programs distributed via public radio satellite, which could fill several stations in each market. Sadly, politics within the public radio family can limit those choices. The problem is reinforced when many of us are just unaware of the possibilities.

With KUNC finally available Denver-metro wide, a lot of this will play itself out, as the increased variety of public radio signals will hopefully lead to less repetition in the programming offered between one public station and another. For now, KUNC brings Fresh Air with Terry Gross at 7:00 PM and World Café with David Dye from 8:00 to 10:00 PM weeknights [Colorado Public Radio broadcasts Fresh Air with Terry Gross at 10:00 AM and 8:00 PM]. Those two shows alone will shake things up, but there's a lot more to chose from, especially with KUNC's weekend schedule that you can check out.

What a concept! More democracy [and diversity] for public radio listeners. It has to be a good thing!

--Anonymous

For some more Denver radio conversations, please check out Denver Radio.