Kent State U. Trustees Approve Deal For Cleveland's Ideastream To Manage WKSU/Kent-Akron, Merge Operations

Agreement

The Board of Trustees of KENT STATE UNIVERSITY approved a deal TODAY to hand over operation of Classical-News-Talk WKSU/KENT-AKRON, OH and its four repeaters and two translators to CLEVELAND public broadcaster IDEASTREAM. Under the agreement, IDEASTREAM, operator of Classical WCLV, News-Talk WCPN, and PBS affiliate WVIZ-TV/CLEVELAND, will take over the WKSU stations on OCTOBER 1st, with KENT STATE retaining the licenses. By APRIL 1st, 2022, WKSU will take over as the region's primary NPR News-Talk affiliate, with WCPN and WCLV swapping frequencies, WCLV moving to 90.3 FM and WCPN's calls going to 104.9 FM as a repeater for WKSU. All WKSU staffers are being offered positions with IDEASTREAM.

“We are excited to be bringing together a group of talented, experienced professionals whose mission every day is to provide accurate, creative and localized reporting to the communities in which they live and serve,” said IDEASTREAM PUBLIC MEDIA Pres. KEVIN MARTIN. “Simply put, our goal is to provide more programming, expand journalism for the entire region, and build on our established business models to become even more sustainable.”

“We are pleased to be bringing two stellar media organizations together for the expansion of public news and information in NORTHEAST OHIO,” said KSU Pres. TODD DIACON. “WKSU carries a long legacy of award-winning news coverage and, together with IDEASTREAM, we can become the premier news and information source in the region. Most importantly, our collaboration will result in even more learning and talent development opportunities for our students.”

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