Eclectic KBCS-FM overhauls programming as listener interest wanes
Seattle Times, August 17, 2009. By Nicole Tsong, Seattle Times reporter

Bellevue community radio station KBCS has been losing listeners and loyalty for years. In response, the station is changing its morning programming in hopes of drawing new listeners.

In the two small buildings on the Bellevue College campus that house radio station KBCS-FM (91.3), music spanning from jazz to the Grateful Dead drifts through as volunteers come and go. Colorful posters for shows like the World Rhythm Festival and "An Evening with Robin and Linda Williams" hang on the walls.

But on Aug. 24, the community radio station once dubbed "Place to Catch the Craziest Music" by a local magazine will eliminate four morning music shows and use that time instead to air the same show every day. The station also is cutting a staple: two hours of early-morning jazz in lieu of public-affairs news.
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As we near Aug.24, when the first round of these dismal changes starts, I will sorely miss the popular "Lunch With Folks" show (noon-3pm) as it will be replaced with a generic "Americana" (whatever that means) with one or two paid DJs to replace the volunteer DJs (a different one each week day) who have a wealth of knowledge of various types of folk music and would play and interview our local and regional folk musicians.

S. in Seattle
where we once had great
local community folk radio