FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Stacey Vaselaney, SLV Public Relations, LLC
216.905.0908 | slvaselaney@slvpr.com
Ideastream Public Media Announces Important Changes Starting March 28
WKSU Will Become Northeast Ohio’s Primary NPR News and Information Station
WCLV Will Expand Classical Service to 1 Million Households
CLEVELAND, Ohio (February 24, 2022) – On March 28, WKSU will become the primary NPR news and information station for Northeast Ohio. Last fall, WKSU and Ideastream Public Media announced plans to join forces to expand coverage for the region. Those plans will take effect at the end of March and will mean a change for listeners who currently get their NPR programming from WCPN in Cleveland. WCLV, Cleveland’s home for classical music, also will be affected and will be moving to a new location on the dial.
HOW TO FIND IDEASTREAM PUBLIC MEDIA NEWS, INFORMATION & NPR SERVICE
As of March 28, those who currently listen to WCPN 90.3 FM will be able to find their favorite news, reporters, programs and NPR coverage at WKSU 89.7 FM, as well as on 104.9 FM and the network of stations that carry WKSU including 89.1 Thompson, 89.3 Wooster, 90.7 Norwalk, 91.5 New Philadelphia, 94.7 Mansfield and 95.7 Ashland.
HOW TO FIND IDEASTREAM PUBLIC MEDIA CLASSICAL SERVICE
WCLV, Ideastream Public Media’s classical service, will move from 104.9 FM to 90.3 FM beginning March 28. This change will extend classical music to approximately 1 million additional listeners.
OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN
In addition to tuning in at 89.7 FM or 104.9 FM for news & information or 90.3 FM for classical music, listeners can:
- Tell Alexa, Siri or their preferred smart speaker to “Play WKSU” or “Play WCLV”
- Go to ideastream.org to stream from their computer or mobile phone
- Download the WKSU mobile app
COMMUNITY UPDATE: SERVING NORTHEAST OHIOANS WITH MORE NEWS COVERAGE
Ideastream Public Media and WKSU joined forces in October 2021, building upon decades of award-winning journalism from two of the region’s leaders in news and information, to create one of Northeast Ohio’s largest news organizations. This partnership creates an expanded and sustainable regional news service that delivers local, statewide and national news, using a combination of broadcast, digital and on-demand platforms to increase the audience for Ideastream Public Media’s news and information programming from 2.4 to 3.6 million people in 22 counties throughout Northeast Ohio.
Since announcing the agreement, Ideastream Public Media has brought together the staffs of WCPN and WKSU, working together to develop programming, technological and communications plans. The unified organization, which secured support and a vote of confidence from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has also conducted a variety of community conversations, as well as a quantitative survey of listeners to get their input on how Ideastream Public Media can provide more expansive news coverage.
As a result:
- Expanded News Service: Ideastream Public Media will expand the number of weekday and weekend newscasts on WKSU and add a mid-day news host on weekdays, providing local news service from 5am – 6pm on weekdays.
- Service to Cleveland, Akron and Canton: Unifying the Ideastream Public Media and WKSU news teams will allow for the establishment of a regional newsroom, which will not only add regional context and relevance to news coverage, but also establish an Akron/Canton news hub.
For more information about the changes, please click here.
About Ideastream Public Media
Ideastream Public Media serves the people of Northeast Ohio as a trusted and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Ideastream Public Media is the home of five public television stations (WVIZ, WVIZ OHIO, WVIZ WORLD, WVIZ CREATE and WVIZ KIDS); WKSU, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news and public affairs radio station; and WCLV, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station. Ideastream Public Media produces the award-winning children’s series “NewsDepth” and manages The Ohio Channel and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau on behalf of all Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. Ideastream Public Media is indispensable and highly valued for its unique ability to strengthen our community. For more information about Ideastream Public Media’s rich legacy of innovation and credible content, visit ideastream.org.
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