They Did It. KPLU is Saved

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They Did It. KPLU is Saved

Postby radiofan » Fri May 27, 2016 7:07 am

They Did It. KPLU Is Saved.

It only took the Friends of KPLU five months but they did it. They raised $7 Million enabling the 501(c)(3) to purchase the license of the Seattle station from Pacific Lutheran University and prevent the station from being sold to the University of Washington. The last $1 million was raised through a $500K community challenge from listeners and business supporters. The money was raised five months ahead of the June 30 deadline.

Following the announcement, Cohn did a Q&A with local media. He said this campaign has been an inspiring and humbling experience for all of us. “We felt good about our work but we had no idea that our community felt so passionate about what we do. Support of this magnitude has never happened before in such a short time in public radio. We are dedicated to making our community-owned station one that we can all be proud of. When you tune in or read our stories online, we hope you’ll take a moment to smile and say to yourself, ‘I helped make that happen—for me and for thousands of others who share a love of music and life-long learning.’ Thank you for making history with us.”

The next step is for Friends of 88-5 FM to negotiate with PLU to buy the station, which broadcasts to Seattle/Tacoma, Olympia, Port Angeles/Victoria and the Skagit Valley and six other Western Washington communities, giving KPLU the largest footprint of any station in Washington State. After that, Friends of 88-5 FM will file with the FCC to transfer the license, which could take up to 90 days.

From Radio Ink: http://radioink.com/2016/05/27/they-did ... U+is+Saved
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: They Did It. KPLU is Saved

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Fri May 27, 2016 11:42 am

So very, very pleased with this; not that there was ever a doubt.
KPLU is a local jewel in broadcasting and it's following, if not as large as KUOW, is fiercely loyal. The many anonymous and well-heeled corporate contributors who matched donations also played a large factor in getting to 7 million comfortably ahead of the dead-line.
The only disappointment is, for me at least, the call letters will be changed from KPLU to something else. It's understandable as Pacific Lutheran University will no longer be attached but the call signs will always be heritage.

Any suggestions or hopes for your new call letter wish-list? Not KJAZ, I hope. Too easy and been done. KSEA is unavailable as those old Seattle call signs have been picked up already by a station in California. Maybe a resurrection of KUUU ?

Whatever. I'm just very happy with the news and reminded again how viable, varied and entertaining the Seattle radio market remains in a time when radio in most cities in the US and Canada has become so lifeless, amateur and homogenized.
"You don't know man! I was in radio man! I've seen things you wouldn't believe!"
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