Dear Mr. Faulkner,
As I am sure you are already aware, the only classical music radio station in Houston has been split recently into two radio stations. 88.7 now carries all-day news and political analysis, while classical music programming has been spun off as 91.7.
This broadcasting change would have been more or less transparent to classical music fans in the Houston area were it not for the fact that while 88.7 can be heard anywhere in the Houston region and out into the Gulf of Mexico, the 91.7 transmitter has such limited range that the southern half of our metropolitan area has been left essentially without coverage. In other words, thousands of classical music listeners in the fourth largest American city have no access to classical music programming on the radio dial.
While many of us appreciate the availability of All Things Considered on 88.7, it is a troubling development that news and politics received the more powerful transmitter in view of the fact that, with universal access to the Internet, anyone interested in current events and political discourse has thousands of choices online as well as in traditional media like TV and radio. At home, in the car or at work, the news is everywhere. By contrast, no alternative to classical radio exists in the Houston radio spectrum for the thousands of listeners left in the lurch by the 88.7/91.7 fiasco.
Throughout the years, by its sponsorship of the wonderful Houston Symphony, the Houston Foundation has recognized that classical music is an island of serenity and beauty in a ocean of chatter, a form of art that will be remembered when today's politics is all but forgotten. Where it is readily available, classical music enriches life and nourishes the mind.
On behalf of the classical music community of the Houston area, I beseech you and the Houston Foundation to use your considerable influence to help restore access to classical radio to everyone in the Houston area. Thank you in advance!
Kind Regards.
I personally would rather have him use his influence to restore 91.7fm to KTRU and Rice University, but that ain't gonna happen. *sigh* If only everyone had just left well enough alone.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Rice University needs to have its station KTRU back. Please ask your friends to "like" this page http://www.facebook.com/pages/KUHF-Please-Return-Classical-Music-Station-to-Houston/219637344735987, express your opinion, spread the word. Hopefully KUHF will restore classical music to all its listeners in Greater Houston and return Rice beloved radio station KTRU. Thank you!
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