Monday, June 12, 2006 Greetings!

It’s been a week since we first notified everyone about KTOO’s plans to expand the public radio options in Juneau.  The overwhelming response has been extremely positive and we’ve had a number of very thoughtful listeners take the time to talk through some of their concerns.  I thought I’d use this first blog entry as a forum to address some of them. 

Our preliminary thinking is that we will have three distinct public radio streams - one for News/Talk, one for Contemporary Music, one for Classical and Jazz.  All three services will be a mix of syndicated and locally hosted shows.  All of our current programs will remain somewhere on the air, we just don’t have it sorted out yet exactly where their home will be. 

So what qualifies as Contemporary Music? We see it as a full range of music: blues, rock, pop, country, folk and world tunes from both the creators of each style all the way up to today’s newest emerging talents.  Our hope is to have a sound that is hip, fresh, and entertaining.  Certainly many of our current locally hosted shows like Crosscurrents, World Beat, and Stormy Weather fit well, but the range of music is really up to YOU!  Let us know what you want!  If there’s enough community interest, and local folks who want to be DJ’s, then we will work to find a place for that style of music on the airwaves! 

Pledge Drives:  Yup!  The new stations will have them!  As public radio stations, it’s just part of the deal.  I’ve talked to a number of stations around the country who are offering multiple streams and the industry wisdom is that you do all three simultaneously.  Our first “three ring circus” will be next April, at which point I plan to have my cloning technique perfected.  Actually, I’m looking forward to an intense but exciting week on the air with a whole lot of community involvement. 

Programming requests:  I’ve gotten lots so far and want even more!  Use the form below to send me your wish lists and suggestions.

In the coming days we’ll fill you in on the upcoming listener groups and the online programming survey. Until then, happy listening!

Cheryl