Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Station to station: News, classical music lovers benefit from KNPR/KCEV move on Oct. 31

Oct. 31 is more than Halloween and Nevada Day.

It's a new day for KNPR.

After six years of fund-raising and negotiating with the Federal Communications Commission, on Oct. 31 KNPR splits into two: the all-news KNPR 88.9-FM and the strictly classical music KCNV 89.7-FM.

"It's the culmination of a project that's rattled around in my head for 10 years," said Lamar Marchese, president and general manager of KNPR and KCNV.

"It became clear to focus our energy. Music listeners want more music. News listeners want more news."

Philip Koslow, executive director for Las Vegas Philharmonic, welcomed having a local 24-hour classical music station.

"I think it's a terrific move and great for the community. It gets (classical music) into people's homes and in cars and they'll think of us," he said. "I think it's a great catalyst for reaching out to people who feel classical music is something they should be afraid of when they shouldn't."

Koslow said the philharmonic has had a "close relationship" with KNPR, the only classical music station in Las Vegas, for years, including the recording and airing of local concerts, and looks forward to maintaining that partnership.

"We focus on the same market ... we're a community of 1.5 million people and growing," he said. "I think they'll be very successful with it."

While the station's programming will be divided between two broadcasts, KNPR and KCNV are not mutually exclusive. The two stations will air from separate studios in the same building, which has been home to KNPR since 1998.

They will also share most of the same personnel.

"We're two services out of the same building," said Florence Rogers, director of programming for KNPR and KCNV. "We're not two different radio stations. It's the yin and yang."

KNPR and KCNV are also part of the Nevada Public Radio Corp., created by Marchese in 1975 to raise funds for a National Public Radio affiliate in Las Vegas.

And all fund raising -- including the upcoming campaign which begins Tuesday and ends at midnight on Oct. 30 -- will continue to go toward Nevada Public Radio Corp.

"Members will be members of Nevada Public Radio in support of whatever program they want," said Valerie Freshwater, senior director of development for Nevada Public Radio.

It was campaign drives that made KNPR and KCNV possible.

As with all public broadcasting entities, survival is dependent on outside support.

KNPR relies on three types of donors/donations: membership, corporate (including government grants) and underwriters. The majority of the donations comes from listeners.

While nearly $2 million has been raised to cover the costs of running KNPR and KCNV for the next three years, only $100,000 was needed to get KCNV on the air.

The money was used to cover the cost of new hardware -- including a new transmitter to be atop Mount Potosi -- as well as new programs, personnel and legal expenses with the Federal Communications Commission.

It was the FCC that granted Nevada Public Radio the right to broadcast from another station. Before that could happen, though, a compromise had to be worked out with another party interested in broadcasting a religious station down the dial. All radio stations must have enough space between frequencies, at least two points from a competing signal, that they don't overlap.

KNPR's original frequency, 89.5-FM, would have interfered with its sister station. But by bumping KNPR to 88.9 and placing KCNV at 89.7, there was the necessary two-point buffer between broadcasts.

Dividing programming between stations isn't new. Marchese said other NPR affiliate stations have also doubled service -- one for news, one for music.

"It's a trend in public radio," he said. "Denver, San Antonio and Phoenix have done it, where one station is classical music and the other is news and information."

The switch has also been a "gigantic success" for those stations, Marchese said.

"In Denver in three years there was a 50 percent audience growth," he said. "It's just how people listen to radio. They're trained to be specific. You do one thing and that's what people know you for."

As for the programming changes, Rogers said KCNV will be all-classical music, including more concert broadcasts, while KNPR will offer more National Public Radio fare -- including "Talk of the Nation" and "Day to Day" -- along with "The World," a co-production of the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston.

Removing the music portion of KNPR's programming also freed up a spot for KNPR's first hourlong local public affairs program.

"KNPR's State of Nevada," an interview-discussion show, will air 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday beginning Oct. 31. Longtime Las Vegan Gwen Castaldi will serve as the show's senior producer and host.

While most Las Vegas residents will recognize the name and voice from Castaldi's on-air stints with the ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates in Las Vegas, she actually began her local media career in radio in 1974, working as a reporter and producer with various AM stations.

At first Castaldi was brought on as a consultant by Marchese as KNPR looked to acquire a government grant for a public affairs program.

After providing input on the show's format, Castaldi was offered the job as the program's host and senior producer. Two other producers were also hired.

"A discussion program is something I'd like to do," she said. "There isn't anything like it on FM. And the opportunity to go more in-depth was great. It has the right qualities to be a great show."

While "KNPR's State of Nevada" addresses both local and state issues, such as water conservation, Yucca Mountain and ethics issues in government, Castaldi is adamant that the show will remain neutral.

"I'm not going to be espousing a position. I'm going to be a facilitator for a good discussion," she said. "I don't want the show labeled left or right ... I'll ask tough questions of all sides."

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