Colorado Public Redundancy

Here is another complaint from The Daily Camera regarding Colorado Public Radio's move of KVOD to 88.1-FM in Denver. Roger Cichorz, a KVOD listener, asks some important questions regarding the downgrade of KVOD. CPR celebrated -- and to some degree, warned about -- the move "back to FM." But if 1490-AM is still on the air (it is), carrying NPR news in northern Colorado including Boulder, and if 90.1-FM covers both Denver and Boulder, then there seems to be an overage of KCFR news coverage while there are enormous gaps KVOD classical music coverage. As a matter of fact, you can now get NPR news from Centennial-based, Colorado Public Radio on three different and over-lapping stations in the north metro area: 1340-AM, 1490-AM and on 90.1-FM. Sounds like Colorado Public Redundancy to me.

In the immortal words of CPR President Max Wycisk, more public radio IS better for everyone -- especially when part of CPR's mission is to blast KUNC listeners with KCFR's competing content from National Public Radio throughout northern Colorado. It sounds to me like CPR knows exactly what it is doing -- LITERALLY!

KGNU Opening - Denver Fundraising Coordinator

KGNU, FM in Boulder and AM in Denver, is seeking an experienced Fundrasing Coordinator for Denver. Just so you know, KGNU is primarily run by volunteers and takes it lead from the Pacifica and community radio end of the public radio spectrum. In short, NOT National Public Radio. My guess is that interested parties who don't know the difference need not apply.

KUNC's Grand Project

Sky-Hi Daily News reports on KUNC's antenna project in Grand County, CO. KUNC hopes to get some listeners back, after KUNC moved its front range antenna farther south and west to bring 91.5-FM into the Denver metro area.

Westword Weighs in with the Latest 'Word

Michael Roberts of Denver Westword gives us the latest about the Colorado Public Radio frequency changes (and, he give Colorado Public Radio Blog a plug in the process -- THANKS!). So, how come it feels like I have heard this one before -- the death of KVOD? Oh wait, I CAN'T actually hear this one, because 1200 watts of isn't powerful enough to reach my home? Well, never mind.

By the way, you can tune in to KUNC at 91.5-FM and listen online at KUNC.org for some classical music in Northern Colorado, or tune in to or KUSC-FM in Los Angeles, online at KUSC.org, if state or region is unimportant to your classical music listening. After all, so long as you are online, why should I be limited to just KVOD on 88.1-FM RADIO, right? Use the internets, like CPR says.

By the way, -VOD stands for Voice of Denver. So, too bad much of Denver cannot actually hear KVOD on 88.1-FM. Nice job, McWycisk! Gene Amole would be proud. Hey Wycisk, we have heard that you had only met Gene ONCE in your 35 years in public radio -- with much of that time spent broadcasting classical music. Is that true? If so, how is it that you and CPR are the heir to his legacy? Just because you own the call letters? C'mon Max, tell us a story! Isn't that what your classical music hosts on KVOD do? Tell stories? So, enlighten us -- please!

KVOD 88.1-FM Coverage Area on July 9th

Here is the coverage area for Colorado Public Radio's new-and-unimproved KVOD 88.1-FM (formerly K-Love's KFDN-FM Christian radio simulcast in Denver). Until CPR engineers get FCC approval to boost the signal, this map shows the BEST CASE SCENARIO for listening to KVOD in the Denver metro area. You may want to test the boundaries of the coverage area and try out an HD radio in your car and in your home BEFORE you commit to buying not one but two new HD radios at $100 apiece--minimum--because you may be more than a bit disappointed with the promise of HD radio coverage in and around Denver, despite the (wiggly) language used by CPR managers to cover their asses.

From the Colorado Public Radio website:

"HD Radio: Both KVOD and KCFR are also available on HD Radio, a new technology that allows Colorado Public Radio to offer two distinct channels on one frequency with consistently high sound quality. In addition to its new location at 88.1 FM, KVOD classical music will also be available on HD Radios at 90.1 FM HD-2. KCFR news and information will also be at 90.1 FM HD-1. If you receive 90.1 FM clearly, without interference, HD Radio may offer a good solution in your home or car. Learn more about HD Radio [emphasis added].

So, during these tough economic times, how much money do you have to spend on new radios for your home and auto? Also, with gas prices hovering at or above $4/gallon, how many of you who are spending less time commuting in your cars; opting instead for public transit, actually have portable HD radios? None of you? Well, you can buy one of those too. The Visteon-brand Jump Radio costs $170 on the Shop NPR website. And if HD radio just never pans out, you can always tell your kids (who have never heard of public radio) that you bought a 21st century version of the Betamax; something else they have never heard of!

Colorado Public Radio Blog is told that the reason that KVOD at 88.1-FM cannot raise power beyond 1200 watts from Mount Morrison is because K-LOVE has a station at KLHV 88.3-FM in Fort Collins that is powered at 150 watts. KGNU is at 88.5-FM in Boulder, and it presently powered at 4000 watts. If Colorado Public Radio raised power for its new KVOD at 88.1-FM, it might interfere with one, the other, or both.

CPRB has also learned that 88.1-FM might be able to raise power slightly; from 1200 watts to a few hundred watts more, but to raise it further would require Rocky Mountain PBS, Channel 6 TV in Denver, to power down (or off) its analog signal, giving KVOD more room on the left side of the FM dial. However, that may still not help KVOD's analog signal reach farther north because the frequencies immediately adjacent to KVOD on the right side of the dial are both up north; located in much of the area that Colorado Public Radio loses by moving KVOD from 90.1-FM in the first place.

By the way, why doesn't Colorado Public Radio provide detailed frequency coverage information to its listeners -- the PUBLIC? My guess is that the average public radio listener is curious and intelligent enough to understand this stuff, right? So much for news and information!

Coverage Map courtesy of Radio-Locator.

Crazy Eights: Taking off in 2008 with 88.1-FM in Play

Crazy Eights: Commentary by First Responder

Taking off in 2008 with 88.1-FM in Play: An under-utilized Denver radio frequency is gaining much-needed traction, but at what cost?

This is an eye-opening event to start what is bound to be a wild and crazy year in politics and mass media. With declining audience numbers for radio, especially for commercial stations, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) has bought 88.1-FM from a religious broadcaster based on the left coast; which has done nothing with this rare commodity except rebroadcast what Front Range listeners can already hear over KWBI’s main signal at 91.1-FM.

The industry works in mysterious ways. Two years after 88.1-FM began broadcasting, we see what simply sitting on a frequency (repeating another signal’s content, and operating with low overhead) can bring in these times: $8.2 Million dollars, the amount CPR (the only public radio entity in Colorado able to afford such a steep price) is paying for the frequency.

Under the “guidance” of today’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that sum of money is acceptable because it is what the market will bear. Under a previous version of the FCC, such financial speculation involving a rare public asset would be disallowed. If we go back to the days of FCC commissioner Nicholas Johnson, the religious broadcaster in this case would have had its license rescinded for lack of providing public service. 88.1-FM would have been placed on the block so any number of non-commercial entities could apply for the license. During the Lyndon Johnson era, community groups had equal access to the process. Today CPR is the only player that could realistically compete for the 88.1 FM frequency. What does this mean in today’s world? This CPR purchase marks only the beginning of what could be a CPR spending spree for radio signals along Colorado’s Front Range. While the 88.1 buy-out has no downside for listeners, the same cannot be said for future acquisitions.

CPR is the only public radio entity in the state with an estimated dollar value in the seven figure range ($12 to 15 Million), and it continues to throw its financial weight around Colorado. With this clout, they carryout an empire-building mission to provide two streams of programming to all of the significant population centers in the state. One of the places where the two-stream approach hasn‘t been realized is in Larimer and Weld Counties, but that could change in the near future with several options for expansion in view.

During the week of January 28th, the Fort Collins Coloradoan ran a story which in essence reported that CPR’s classical music service will be ending when KVOD switches to the 88.1-FM signal expected by April (due to public television’s Channel 6 audio interference issues, 88.1-FM in Denver is authorized to operate with less than 3,000 watts). The switch by KVOD will mark the return of KCFR to 90.1-FM (licensed for 40,000 watts); its original home, with News and Information programming. In a stagnant world, classical music listeners in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley would be out of luck. But the Coloradoan piece did not delve into the possibilities for CPR expansion into Larimer and Weld Counties. Options include:

1. CPR buys a commercial FM station in the Fort Collins, Windsor, Loveland area. FM stations in this part of the state do not have clear signals throughout Denver metro, but they adequately reach listeners in Larimer and Weld counties. This condition is the primary reason why KTCL (93.3-FM) is now a Denver station, instead of having its broadcast antenna atop Horsetooth Mountain, west of Fort Collins. FM stations here suffer the same problem that lower powered FM stations have in metro Denver which cannot reach Larimer and Weld counties. Two stations with such coverage problems at 101.5-FM and 107.1-FM recently filed for bankruptcy. The same economic forces affect commercial FM stations up north. It’s only a matter of time before one or more of them are ready to sell out. Since 88.1-FM will cover metro Denver with classical music, the commercial FM CPR buys in Larimer-Weld will be a perfect fit. Aside from staff lay-offs, the downside for this option is minimal for audiences, because the programming on Northern Colorado commercial FMs offer nothing that other stations on the FM dial from Denver metro also provide.
   
   
2. CPR President Max Wysick could pay another visit to the CSU President’s Office, as he did 15 years ago, when he had a closed-door meeting with CSU President Albert Yates. KCSU-FM Fort Collins and the other radio stations in the CSU system (KDUR-FM in Durango and KTSC-FM in Pueblo) could have been part of the discussion. Nothing came out of that meeting involving the sale of CSU system radio stations, but as with the situation then, the KCSU signal could be enhanced to cover the Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley triangle (with the proper investment and political savvy). CSU coffers could be filled with a few million dollars, and the CSU President could justify the sale by calling it a “community service” (especially after hundreds of classical music listeners in town become vocal over the loss of this unique music on the radio). If Wysick were to succeed with this option, he’d be following in the footsteps of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), which bought university radio stations across the state to help build their state-wide network. The downside for this option is high from a political standpoint. It involves a student-run radio station which started in 1964. The fallout from such a sale would produce very unsettling results, especially as the CSU President’s office deals with issues surrounding the possible sale of the student newspaper, The Collegian, to Gannett. *See this article by Michael Roberts of The Denver Westword.
   
   
3. Max Wysick puts together a package for financially-strapped KUVO, which includes the 88.1-FM frequency and a few million dollars for their 89.3-FM frequency which covers metro, as well as Larimer and Weld Counties. The downside here is immense because it involves a station with a rich history and legacy that was founded after a hard-fought effort spearheaded by key members of Denver’s Hispanic community, including U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. In this case, the sky is the limit on protests coming from all sorts of sectors along the Front Range, not the least of which is the fact that KUVO is one of only a handful of Jazz radio stations remaining in the country.
   
   
4. CPR carries its classical service over 88.1-FM and on an HD channel of 90.1-FM, which reaches Larimer and Weld. As part of this option, CPR agrees to pay a portion of costs for classical music listeners in Larimer and Weld counties to purchase an HD radio for their homes. This is the easiest and least invasive option for continuing classical music radio in Northern Colorado. The downside is the initial cost involved to CPR; a cost that over several years could be recovered in uninterrupted listener support from Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley. Those with the ear close to the ground say CPR has already panned the idea of placing classical music on one of their HD channels for 90.1-FM, in favor of adding more news and information programming instead. We’ll see.

Those are some of the possibilities, still to be determined. STAY TUNED!

"Mamma Kat" of KUVO-FM.

Recently Mamma Kat of KUVO-FM was mentioned by 9News in Denver, Colorado. You gotta love the diversity of this station. For Blues, R&B and Jazz, Mamma Kat is voice of many hip generations.

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.
   

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.

Want HD-Quality Rado? Then Widen the Stream!

At what bitrate does your local public radio station stream? In other words, is it at 128 kbps (kilobits per second), also referred to as CD-quality audio? Is it faster and better than CD-audio quality sound; like at 192 kbps? Or, is it substantially slower, at speeds around 20, 32 or 48 kbps? If that slow, how good does the audio sound--what is its quality? Does it sound muffled or compressed at low bitrate speeds? You bet it does!

Also, does your station stream its broadcast in MP3, Windows Media Audio, Real Audio or Ogg Vorbis content? If so, can you download you stations streams or podcasts to your portable music player? How do these podcasts sound to you? High quality? Low quality? How much high-quality downloadable content is available?

Is HD radio really the answer? Here is a link to an inexpensive JVC-brand HD-radio for your car, from Circuit City, and here is a link to the Cambridge Soundworks 820 HD Radio from Etronics.Com (remember, installation may cost extra). Before installation, shipping & handling, and tax charges, BOTH of these HD-radios would cost you $500 total!

Colorado Public Radio Blog advises that you withhold $500 IN TOTAL from your Colorado Public Radio subscriptions for this year, and the next, and the next, and the next . . . so that you finally can afford buy new HD equipment for your home and your automobile when CPR switches off and sells off all their legacy AM stations in Denver (1340-AM), Boulder (1490-AM), and Pueblo (1230-AM).

Expect HD-quality audio content delivered to you in the ways you already listen to public radio, and to the fully digital equipment you already own! Save your money for a new computer, MP3 player, I-Pod, or I-Phone--not for an HD radio. So, how much of your public radio subscription--how many years--are you willing to withhold?

KUVO Looking for New President/CEO.

President/CEO KUVO.
Denver, Colorado.

Denver Educational Broadcasting Inc. seeks a President and CEO to oversee the operations and activities of 89.3 KUVO, a not-for-profit public radio station broadcasting from Denver, Colorado, and one of the nation’s foremost jazz stations.

The President will report to the KUVO Board of Directors and be directly or indirectly responsible for all station operations. The President plans the yearly budget and manages it to ensure that the station’s financial goals are met. An important objective for the position will be to increase fundraising by the station. Together with the Board of Directors, the President will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for KUVO.

Candidates must have at least a bachelor’s degree (or experience equivalency), preferably in communications or a related discipline, and at least 5 years’ experience in public radio broadcasting. The position will require strong management experience and communication skills. A demonstrated understanding of the broadcasting needs of a multicultural listener base and community is essential. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Denver Educational Broadcasting Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please send a hard copy of your resume to: KUVO President Search, c/o Prime Plus LLC, 426 Pearl Street, Suite 207, Boulder, CO 80302.