WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY ANGER.

WCAL, one of the finest and most unique classical music stations anywhere, is to be turned into college radio.

COLLEGE RADIO.

They're playing bar band music, and trying to edge out "Drive 105, music for cool surfer dudes that live in the Twin Cities."

Here's the press release from the deepest, most foul tarpit of hell.

Noteable quotables:

"Welcome to the anti-format," said Steve Nelson, the new program director for 89.3 FM. "Music listeners don't categorize themselves into narrow niches and stay there. They listen to more kinds of music than ever before. And much of what they want is not currently available on radio in the Twin Cities."

Since when is "public radio" supposed to pander to the lowest common denominator?

We are excited that we can introduce new audiences to the breadth and depth of public radio," Nelson said. He said the station would underscore the cultural roots of the music it plays and spotlight the work of local and regional artists, both live and recorded. "This new service allows Minnesota Public Radio to continue its 37-year tradition of serving the public interest. Now we can bring this tradition of service to a new audience."

I doubt it. I highly doubt it. We'll see if InPulse appears on this station. Then, and ONLY THEN, will I believe it. ...will I even tune it in. And serve the public interest? By competing with commerical stations? Right. Public radio is supposed to fill niches that commercial radio won't touch with a ten-foot pole. COLLEGE RADIO ALREADY EXISTS.

The new station—89.3 FM—will present a diverse mix of music for listeners who have grown up in the digital generation. "Radio is both widely available and the perfect portable technology to support our lively music scene today," said Sarah Lutman, senior vice president for cultural programming and initiatives at Minnesota Public Radio. "Our staff will be hanging out in clubs, searching the Internet, reading the music magazines and streaming music from around the globe to find the best music for you. We're going to take the work out of finding music, and put the fun back in. Just turn on your radio."

Honestly. Why don't they just change the call letters to IPOD? "Wow. MPR is so hip and trendy. Where can I buy their CD?"

EDIT: it occurs to me that MPR is designing this station to fail, for reasons outlined in a previous post.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS.

So MPR did it--they got their big, corporate hands on teensy-weensy WCAL, silencing another independent voice, once that can never be brought back. They tried doing it by getting loans from the city of St. Paul in the amount of ~$10 million. Now, the funny thing about those loans is that they were exclusively for low-income development--basically anti-ghetto money. There was a hearing, and whomever was in charge of the money realized that this was somewhat blatent. Giving earmarked funds to a pair of big feet is somewhat obvious. So St. Paul took the loans back, and did this:

The council agreed, on a 6-0 vote, with Harris again abstaining, to approve about $10 million in conduit bonds to help expand MPR's corporate headquarters in downtown St. Paul.

--From the Star Tribune

I am outraged. I am beyond words. There is something bigger, something downright sinister in all of this.

My prediction: in the next 5 years. 89.3 will become MPR's primary classical station in the Twin Cities. 99.5 will be sold off for millions of dollars. Not 10. 70+.

Minnesota "Public" Radio, eh?

Not A Book Review

So how about that!

1. I haven't been reading much. As cool as the Hennepin County Library System is, physically walking through the doors of the Penn Ave. branch is a disappointment. The selection on hand is sub-par. I have two items on hold--I'm person 3 of 30 waiting for one book, and 126 of 401. Thank God Dad gave me a subscription to Time; otherwise I'd have nothing to read in the bathroom.

2. I bought my MN plates today. Jenny's gonna get a new nametag. The license will come later, mostly because an Iowa DL is considering secondary identification in the great state of Minnesota.

Hmmm...I seem to be tired, and I have to be up early tomorrow. More as it develops.