[78-L] Too late to circle the wagons

[simmonssomer]

The New York Times has announced that they've sold WQXR-FM, their 69 year 
old classical music station with 6,000 watts of FM power, sitting in the 
middle of the dial at 96.3. It was peddled to a publicly funded independent 
station (WNYC 93.3) which will move what will be left of WQXR  way up the 
dial to 105.3FM
The powerful 96.3 frequency is being handed over to a latino music station.
At the new 105.3 location WQXR, or whatever it will be called, will boast 
all of 600 watts. Hundreds of thousands of metro area suburban  listeners 
will therefore lose the signal of this, the only classical station in our 
New York Metro Area.
Apparently The Times needed the money. The price was in the neighborhood of 
a pitiful 30 million...not as much as you'd get if you win the lottery.
The new owners implied that ESSENTIALLY the programming will be SIMILAR to 
what it has been for the last 65 years, i.e. classical music.
I don't believe that  WNYC, a Public Affairs talk radio station,  will 
maintain classical music programming on their new property.
They're not interested in it with their current programming on WNYC and the 
lack of classical programming there bodes ill for their new little puddle 
hopper.
If they stick to Classical it still won't matter.  They can't reach more 
than say, twenty miles
The Times they are a-changin'.

Nothing can be done.
Follow the money!
I am cancelling my subscription to The Times.
Big deal!

Al Simmons