KWUR best in city
Station recognized for
Stacie Driebusch
Issue date: 9/29/03 Section: News
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"KWUR is the best radio station in St. Louis precisely because of its contrary nature," wrote the RFT editors. "A 10,000-milliwatt powerhouse, KWUR broadcasts exactly what you'd expect from a college radio station...a little bit of anything and everything."
Sophomore Michael Bortinger has been a DJ for KWUR since last year, and currently serves as the station's treasurer. He said the recognition is a testament to KWUR's commitment to top-notch programming.
"Although we might not have as much wattage as other stations, our programming is on par," said Bortinger.
The RFT also went on to compliment KWUR on its "stand against the consolidation of the airwaves."
Last spring, senior Spencer Kathol, KWUR's general manager, and Jim Hayes, media advisor for the Office of Student Activities, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand its broadcasting power from 10 to 100 watts. Kathol said that they took advantage of a loophole in the FCC application process, enabling KWUR to use the new station application, which would have allowed the station a six month grace period to set up and experiment.
KWMU 90.7, St. Louis's National Public Radio station, however, feared the encroachment of KWUR's signal on their own. The FCC sympathized with KWMU and rejected KWUR's application.
Kathol and Hayes responded by creating a petition signed by roughly 2,500 University students. They are also working on applying again.
Kathol said he hopes the recent newspaper recognition will give KWUR momentum in its fight against the FCC and KWMU.
"I think that this might be a turning point for the station with all of the difficulty that we've been having," he said.
