I Feel Good!

Who's the hardest working "reporter" at Colorado Public Radio? It used to be Kirk Siegler of Aspen Public Radio; that is, until he moved to Denver to take a job with KUNC-FM.

Now the hardest working guy at CPR is . . . Eric Whitney of KRCC-FM in Colorado Springs! I can't wait for the the new Health Reporter to start at Colorado Public Radio in FY2009. Then they will have 1 whole reporter on staff.

In the meantime, you can catch Eric Whitney during Morning Edition on 1340-AM in Denver, and on 90.1 FM HD2 if you have an HD radio in your car, in hour pickup, in your house, in your boat, on your motorcycle, on your snowmobile, on your lawn mower, on your scooter, in your tractor--that is, if you haven't already donated all of your vehicles to "support the programming" at Colorado Public Radio.

Did I forget to mention that you can hear CPR are on the web at cpr.org, kcfr.org, kvod.org and podcasting all 30 minutes of Colorado Matters on the NPR website? It's called CPR Everywhere! They're HUGE! Colorado Matters is biggest 30 minutes of news in Colorado. Just ask them!

Here is a link to Eric Whitney's most recent feature on Colorado Public Radio. It is entitled, New Program for Wounded Soliders.

KAFM Gains CPB Qualification.

Guest Commentary, by Pete Simon

KAFM Gains CPB Qualification

For some of you reading this it may not sound like a big deal, until you delve into the history of grass roots, non-commercial radio in Grand Junction. The story of KAFM is one of battles lost and won through heightened expectations, lean times, perseverance, and amazing technical prowess.

KAFM, 88.1 FM, all 16 watts of it (the 88.1 signal blankets the Grand Valley), has just reached another milestone. It becomes the 16th (lucky number) non-commercial radio station in Colorado to gain certification from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This enables the station to receive annual grant monies from CPB for Programming and Operations.

For nearly a decade, community volunteers worked to make KAFM a reality. It rose from the ashes of an orchestrated take over (and the firing of several dozen volunteers) of KPRN by the management of KCFR, Denver when it took over KPRN in 1991 to mark the beginnings of the KCFR/Colorado Public Radio empire.

Left in the dust were people who listened and participated in KPRN--a station started in the mid 1980s--which they assumed was a solid community asset. The original KPRN blended local voices, news, and events with NPR news and musical variety not available anywhere else on the Grand Junction radio dial. KPRN connected people down the street with those around the world; and in an instant it was gone, replaced by nothing but classical music and NPR news shows without the localism. The only news material to emerge from the new KPRN was produced for a so called state-wide audience; local flavor and soul was gutted. Fortunately, the community volunteer spirit at the old KPRN was able to rekindle at KAFM, and its founders deserve some kind of award.

Since KAFM signed on several years ago, someone was kind (and dedicated) enough to locate and provide an entire house for the people-powered station (that's how much the people in town love their local access radio). The ground floor of the building includes a 75-seat performance theatre, enabling KAFM to broadcast live music.

The CPB certification brings expanding possibilities for an entire community once given up for the whims of larger market radio expectations, often convoluted research, and extreme insensitivity.

It's time to celebrate.

Visit the KAFM radio website by clicking here.

KAJX-FM hires PR Pro as News Director.

According to The Aspen Times, KAJX-FM hired Mitzi Rapkin. Rapkin most recently served as the Director of Community Relations for Aspen, Colorado. The Aspen Daily News reports that Rapkin formerly worked as a reporter at Aspen Public Radio, for National Geographic, and in Washington DC. She is filling the News Director position vacated by Kirk Siegler, who moved to KUNC-FM.

So for those news people who fear losing journalistic credibility after working in as advocates or activists in public relations and corporate communications, I guess there really is a second life--in public radio news and in radio station management.

KUNC-FM and The Colorado Statesman.

Jody Hope Strogoff, Editor & Publisher of The Colorado Statesman, is a regular political contributor to KUNC-FM, which can be heard throughout north central and northeast Colorado, including the Denver metropolitan area.

Listen here to her most recent conversation with KUNC's Jim Beers regarding the announced resignation of US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, an endorsement by US Senator Ken Salazar, and a political position held by Republican US Senate Candidate Bob Schaffer.

Community Service Grant Congratulations!

KAFM-FM, Grand Junction, Colorado.

Licensee: Grand Valley Public Radio Company, Inc.

KAFM-FM went on the air in 1999 to serve the residents of the Grand Valley in Western Colorado. The station broadcasts a variety of locally-produced music and public affairs programming. The station also houses a 75-seat auditorium where it offers live performances from local and national artists.

The station becomes the 16th radio grantee to receive CPB funding in Colorado. Read about KAFM and all the other grantees here, from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB made the announcement on August 23, 2007.

Endowments and Public Broadcasting.

KCME-FM in Manitou Springs has an endowment fund which "serves as both a savings account and an income stream" for "unexpected expenses and contingencies." You can contribute to it by following this link.

Does your public radio station have an endowment fund? If not, why not? And if so, do you know how, when, and why money is spent from the fund? Call or email them to find out.

Colorado Public Radio Funding from the CPB.

Here is a list of grant funding to Colorado public radio stations by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during 2005. How did your public radio station fare? Did they spend taxpayer funds wisely? Why don't you ring them up or drop them a line to ask? After all, these are public airwaves.

Selected Jobs in Colorado Public Radio.

In honor of Labor Day, here is a list of some current openings at Colorado public radio stations. As you can see, not of these positions is with public radio "management." So remember, if you interview for any of these positions, make sure you laborers find out about the managers for whom you will be working. Also, many public radio stations also offer unpaid, volunteer opportunities; some corporatized public radio stations; however, do not.

1. Corporate Support Associate at KUNC-FM in Greeley, Colorado. Job posting on the KUNC-FM site and job posting on the CPB website.
2. Disc Jockey at KLNX-LP in Minturn, Colorado. DJ Application on the Radio Free Minturn website.
3. Classical Music Host and Interns in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Music Host and Intern postings on the KCME-FM website.
   
4. Web Developer/Programmer in Denver, Colorado. Job posting on the Colorado Public Radio website.