Detroit’s NPR Station, WDET has been given a Kresge Foundation Grant to help replace the transmitter. Kresge’s grant of $150,000 complements more than one thousand donations from listeners during the station’s on-air spring fundraiser.
“We are thankful that The Kresge Foundation, like our listeners, understands the value of the programming that we bring to the Southeast Michigan community day in and day out,” said Mary Zatina, GM. “Our digital presence is important; it reaches listeners around the world. But our over-the-air signal is essential to make the station broadly available across our region to anyone who can tune in. Roughly 80 percent of our audiences listens to us via traditional radio.”
“For decades, WDET has been a go-to place on the radio dial for news, information, music and cultural programming. We readily recognized the importance of the transmitter as an access issue for metro Detroiters,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, Managing Director of Kresge’s Detroit Program. “This station is an irreplaceable local voice that’s rooted in our community; it’s a unique place for discussion of the vital issues that shape our future and for elevating arts and cultural elements that contribute to our social bonds.”
The station reported earlier this year that both its 21-year-old transmitter had failed and its 34-year-old back-up transmitter was having severe problems, compromising sound quality and endangering broadcast continuity. The new equipment is expected to be installed by the end of summer.
