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BYU Gets Rid Of Classical Music And PBS Programs

Lee Hale
/
KUER
Classical 89 will become BYUradio, a service formerly only offered on satellite radio.

Fans of Brigham Young University’s Classical 89 will have to say goodbye to the station next June. The university is shaking up it’s programing in favor of self-produced content.

BYU will transform the last remaining classical station in the state to radio shows already being produced in Provo. Until now, these talk shows, sports programs and faith series have only been available through satellite radio. They will be heard on the newly branded BYUradio when the music ends next Spring.

“In that 8 months between now and then I’m really committed to an educational promotional campaign where we’ll help loyal classical listeners find other outlets for classical music," says Michael Dunn, managing director for BYU broadcasting.

Dunn says a similar change is coming to KBYU TV as well. It will stop carrying PBS programing and instead air shows produced by the university, like the sketch comedy series Studio C and a new family game show.

Overall, the shift is meant to promote more original content for a national audience.

 

Lee Hale began listening to KUER while he was teaching English at a Middle School in West Jordan (his one hour commute made for plenty of listening time). Inspired by what he heard he applied for the Kroc Fellowship at NPR headquarters in DC and to his surprise, he got it. Since then he has reported on topics ranging from TSA PreCheck to micro apartments in overcrowded cities to the various ways zoo animals stay cool in the summer heat. But, his primary focus has always been education and he returns to Utah to cover the same schools he was teaching in not long ago. Lee is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is also fascinated with the way religion intersects with the culture and communities of the Beehive State. He hopes to tell stories that accurately reflect the beliefs that Utahns hold dear.
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