Detroit’s dual
format Classical and Jazz station WRCJ [link] has a new owner but no changes
are expected in the day-to-day operations. WRCJ, formerly WDTR, has been
licensed to the Detroit Public Schools for many years.
The sale was
necessary because of July 2016 State of Michigan legislative order to dissolve the
Detroit Public School District. As part of the dissolution, the District was
required to liquidate its assets including the license for WRCJ. The new owner
of the FCC license is a new nonprofit organization, Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio LLC, created by
Chicago-based Stanley and Judith Frankel
Family Foundation. The sale price was $6 million.
In 2005, the Detroit
Public Schools crafted a local management agreement (LMA) with Detroit Public
Television, owners of PBS station WTVS,
to operate WDTR. The call letters were then changed to WRCJ. The Frankel
Foundation [link] will continue the LMA.
WCJR airs Classical
music from 5am until 7pm daily and Jazz music in the evening and overnight.
According to Fall 2016 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, WRCJ had 130,700 estimated
weekly cumulative listeners and a 1.2 AQH share.
Though no changes
are anticipated in the near future, the ownership change may allow future
partnerships and collaborations that were difficult to obtain with the School
District.
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTER JOB
OPEN AT THE HOTTEST SHOP IN PUBLIC MEDIA
Last Friday 1/8/17
we featured Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) and the terrific work done by
Torey Malatia and others to establish RIPR as a top-notch news and information
source [link]. Now RIPR has an opening for an Environmental Reporter.
RIPR seeks to
increase its environmental presence with investigative reports and multi-part
series. The newsroom now excels in coverage of health issues, governmental
affairs and business. Elisabeth Harrison, a veteran documentary producer and
former staffer at the CBS Evening News, is RIPR’s News Director.
The job is a
full-time salaried position with benefits including health, dental and vision,
401k, 3 weeks paid vacation, company-paid IPhone and more. For more information
go to [link].
NIELSEN AUDIO FALL 2016 RATINGS
In Richmond, two
out-of-town signals from Roanoke, both owned by WVTF, continue to build a
listener base in Richmond. Though dual format WCVE continues to lead the market
in weekly cumulative listeners, the time may be coming when they need to need
to choose a full-time format. WFFC, known as Radio IQ, airs 24/7 news and information.
Triple A WNRN,
based in Charlottesville, took a major hit in its number of estimated weekly listeners.
Could progressive music WRIR (which does not currently subscribe to the
ratings) be impacting listening to WNRN?
WNRN typically appears in at least four rated markets. We will look to
see whether this trend appears elsewhere.
It is a “WXXI World”
in Rochester. They own or operate via LMAs all of the stations listed. Look for
changes in 2017. As we reported last
July [link], WXXI-AM acquired an FM translator, so there may be frequency
shuffling coming soon.
All seems well with
NPR News WBFO and Classical WNED in Buffalo.
Here is a question for you: WBFO & WNED aggressively promote their
listening in Ontario Canada. How many Canadian listeners do they have?
They even
have an underwriting sales office in Toronto. But, I have never seen data
documenting American radio listening in Canada. I checked with Numeris [link],
the Canadian ratings company, and not a single US station is included in their
top-line data. Got any tips where I can find this info?
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