In Thursday’s (8/8) San Antonio Express-News (Texas), Jeanne Jakle reports, “In a dramatic move to cut costs, San Antonio’s classical public radio station KPAC-FM (88.3) has stopped programming its musical content locally and is using a syndicated service out of Minnesota. On Aug. 1, all five weekday and weekend hosts, most of whom have been part of KPAC for 10 to 20 years, were cut from the air. These personalities … gave the broadcasts a local flavor through their musical selections and commentary. Wayne Coble, vice president and interim general manager for Texas Public Radio (KPAC and KSTX-FM 89.1), said the station is now using Classical 24, a Minnesota Public Radio service that is picked up by many stations across the country and features Minnesota announcers. The changed format already has drawn complaints.… ‘For many years, we’ve been running in the red at KPAC,’ Coble said.… ‘It really was beginning to be an unsustainable model that looked as if it would end with no classical music station in San Antonio.… That was the primary goal of the founders of KPAC in the early ‘80s—to provide a classical music station in San Antonio—and we’re continuing to do that,’ he said. ”
Posted August 12, 2013
