Spokane Public Radio has officially shifted from a mixed-format model to three dedicated, single-format stations: 91.1 SPR News (KPBX), 91.9 SPR Classical (KSFC), and 90.3 SPR Jazz (KPBZ) – a move group leaders say was necessary to secure its future.
SPR General Manager John Decker and Program Director Henry McNulty say the decision was driven by both strategic opportunity and financial necessity.
“It’s mostly about opportunity and about saving the station,” Decker said in an interview with SPR’s Inland Journal. “Doing the same thing over and over again is not a recipe for success. And that became very, very clear in the first few weeks, first few months of my tenure here at Spokane Public Radio.”
For decades, KPBX featured a blend of NPR news, classical, jazz, and local music programming. But according to Decker, listener patterns have shifted, and the old format, while beloved by some, no longer served a wide enough audience to sustain the station. “You put the strongest format on the strongest signal,” he said. “News and Information really is the strongest format that we have in the public media world.”
McNulty said the shift to single-format stations aligns with national trends and best practices. “Other stations have had great success with that and found that in the end, even though there’s a period of adjustment, listeners find that that is beneficial to them and they enjoy those formats.”
The overhaul allows Spokane Public Radio to expand 24/7 offerings in all three genres while also increasing its digital footprint. In addition to the over-the-air streams, all three services are now available online, through apps like TuneIn, NPR One, Apple Music, and Google Play, and on HD Radio.
Locally produced programs remain in the lineup. Most community music shows, including long-running favorites hosted by Rachel Bade-McMurphy and Kevin Brown, now air in weekend blocks on SPR News.
The changes had been in the works for more than six months, but the loss of federal CPB funding this summer added urgency. “Even with that money in our budget, it was clear that we were running out of time,” Decker said. “We have a $250,000 hole in our budget that it’s now even more important that we follow through.”
As for concerns that the changes represent a retreat, Decker offered this: “This isn’t us taking a step back by any stretch. This is about us providing a much wider canvas to grow and for us to paint on to increase our public service and increase the local shows that we do here.”
