Two days before KDHX was set to ask a bankruptcy judge to approve its $4.35 million sale to syndicated Christian network K-LOVE, another noncommercial Christian broadcaster is filing an objection – and a counteroffer – as it seeks to open bidding for the station.
Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which operates 99.1 Joy FM (KLJY) and Boost 95.5 (KXBS), filed a $5.5 million counteroffer, as first reported by St. Louis Public Radio.
Double Helix Corporation, the owner of KDHX, announced plans in March to sell the station’s FCC license to Educational Media Foundation for a reported $4.35 million after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The decision followed years of internal conflict, including leadership disputes, volunteer dismissals, and backlash from community members and artists.
However, the St. Louis community is pushing back hard against the proposed sale of the community radio station, as civic leaders, broadcasters, and residents rise in opposition, calling the move a betrayal of public trust.
The League of Volunteer Enthusiasts (LOVE) of KDHX, a nonprofit group formed in September 2023, strongly condemned Double Helix’s decision and expressed that it would challenge the move in court. Opposition also arose from newly elected St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin, both of whom have publicly spoken out against the sale.
Now, local arts and media leaders have joined the growing chorus urging that KDHX remain community-owned and operated.
Nine PBS President and CEO Amy Shaw stated, “As a community-licensed, nonprofit media organization committed to the people of the St. Louis region, Nine PBS supports keeping KDHX local and community-owned. Independent and community-centered media organizations are essential to an informed and connected region and KDHX’s future should continue to reflect St. Louis, which can only be achieved through local ownership.”
Classic 107.3 CEO and General Manager Julie Schuster added, “The service that a community radio station provides in promoting an area’s cultural attractions and events to both residents and visitors is irreplaceable, and Classic 107.3 strongly supports keeping KDHX as a locally focused, community-owned and operated radio station for the benefit of the entire St. Louis region.”
Sheldon Arts Foundation Executive Director Peter Palermo was more forceful in his criticism: “It is not as if others had not volunteered – there is an army of people dying to have a chance. Now, good people have stepped in – in good faith – and offered KDHX leadership a way to keep the station in the hands of the community. But, as Sarah [Fenske] reports, things have become personal and it looks like the Board will refuse out of spite. The only word for my reaction to this news is disgust.”
Palermo continued, “St. Louis needs KDHX. The St. Louis music scene needs KDHX. I urge the current board to resign immediately and let others assume control of this important local fixture that they have repeatedly failed to sustain.”
As to whether LOVE of KDHX supports a Gateway buy, as opposed to K-LOVE, remains unknown.
A bankruptcy hearing related to the station’s future is scheduled for later today.
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I hardly think it is fair to call this a “bidding war.” Gateway certainly has every right to express interest in purchasing a radio station as anyone else.
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