Ideastream Public Media has set the date for the next phase of its integration of Public News/Talk 89.7 WKSU Kent/Akron OH into its network.
Ideastream began operating WKSU last October in addition to their own Public News/Talk 90.3 WCPN Cleveland, Classical 104.9 WCLV Lorain and WVIZ-TV.
The second phase will take effect on Monday, March 28 when WKSU and its network of simulcasters 89.1 WKSV Thompson, 89.3 WKRW Wooster, 90.7 WNRK Norwalk, 91.5 WKRJ New Philadelphia, 94.7 W234CX Mansfield, and 95.7 W239AZ Ashland OH become the only Public News/Talk outlet. The move will also include a frequency swap as WCPN moves to the 104.9 Class A signal and joins WKSU’s network, while WCLV moves to the Class B 90.3 signal. The move will give Cleveland a full-market Classical signal for the first time since the 2001 seven signal format shuffle moved the station from 95.5 to 104.9
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.