Nationally syndicated personality Delilah has announced the end of her ownership of KDUN-AM in Reedsport, OR, marking the end of a deeply personal chapter in her broadcast career. No sale will be pursued, and the station’s license has been surrendered to the FCC.
Delilah, who began her radio career at KDUN in 1974 as a junior high student, purchased the station from Post Rock Communications in 2021 for $60,000, per FCC filings, to bring the station back on the air. Despite the passion behind the project, Delilah shared that there was simply, “Not enough business to sustain a commercial radio station.”
In a farewell message on KDUN’s Facebook page, Delilah said, “It’s been my privilege to bless this community with the great music and companionship on KDUN AM 1030 for the better part of past four years. Thank you for giving this radio station your attention and support. Reedsport is in my heart.”
She expressed special thanks to station manager Bob Larson and engineer Ryan Warrey, adding, “I surrounded myself with so many talented individuals who helped me bring this radio station back to life. I’m proud of how we were able to entertain and inform you, whether it was with great music, fun conversations, local high school sports play-by-play coverage, and so much more.”
The move mirrors another high-profile figure exiting small-market radio within the last six months.
In December, prolific author Stephen King announced he was shutting down his three Bangor, ME, radio stations, WZON, WKIT, and WZLO, to streamline his business affairs at age 77. Despite a loyal following, the stations struggled financially, with King personally covering losses for decades to keep them running. Those stations would go on to be sold to local operators.
In a day and age where media is 24/7 and on demand, 600 watt nighttime signals are daytime signals only. I’m sure this station was unique over the air, in its community, but online it has to compete with the rest of the World Wide Web, not unique, not convenient and unable to cover its own community over the air at night is a recipe for disaster. RIP KDUN
Let the culling begin. First it will be AM stations, and then if the FCC and Congress don’t act to eliminate the ownership caps, FM is next. From 2004 to 2024 radio revenue in my market has fallen 50%! 50%!!! Let that sink in. Nielsen hasn’t reduced their fees. BMI and the like haven’t reduced their fees. Sound Exchange hasn’t reduced their fees. It’s a bums rush off a looming cliff if something isn’t done.
We desperately need a local all talk radio station. There is no dedicated 24/7 radio coverage of weather, traffic, local, state, national and international events and local opinions in my city. There is a local station that plays music and broadcasts our professional sports games. But, it does not provide timely weather-related coverage such as tornado warnings or timely traffic updates or timely important closures… you get the gist. I would love to invest in such an operation just as Delilah did four years ago. Except, I would operate it on far less financing with a mix of secular and non-secular perspectives in order to keep the station viable.
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