8 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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RADIO
Owner doesn't buzz station from roster
Radio station perseveres after its listeners petition wage campaign to save it
By Amy Kelly akelle@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The beat will go on for 96.5 The Buzz.
News came quietly Friday that owner Entercom Communications would not give the alternative music station the boot, but the month leading up to the revelation was a noisy one.
When Entercom, corporate owner of eight Kansas City stations, announced one month ago that a new sports station featuring Jason Whitlock, sports columnist for The Kansas City Star, was in the works, the environment at The Buzz became a bit uneasy.
Because current Federal Communications Commission legislation allows Entercom to own only eight stations in one listening market, the acquisition of a new sports station meant jettisoning another. The Buzz receives only half the ratings of fellow Entercom station 98.9 The Rock making
"The Buzz is the only radio station around town that's even worth a crap. It's happened so many times around here, it's just another punch in the stomach — it's like losing another girlfriend."
Bret Wiedner Overland Park senior
employees wonder if it would be the victim.
"At the time, I thought it was definitely going to be us," Buzz morning DJ Afentra said. "To everybody in the building, we've always been like the red-headed stepchild anyway."
Afentra said she rebuffed Entercom's orders to quit talking about the station getting the boot. She reasoned that the news had already run in The Kansas City Star
and therefore already out in the open.
Not knowing whether they had two hours or 20 days left, the DJs used their airtime to ask for listeners' support.
What happened next could be described as a respectful, yet far-from-quiet uprising of sorts. Listeners e-mailed Entercom's Philadelphia headquarters. Protesters gathered at the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain on the Country Club Plaza two weeks ago. Buzz fan Ashley Lathery created an online petition, while DJs created their own petition at remotes.
Mike Kaplan, station manager at the Buzz, said the combined efforts gathered more than 12,000 signatures in the Save the Buzz campaign.
"It's like we won the war," Kaplan said. "It's really because of the passion of the audience that we're still here."
Afentra agreed with Kaplan and said when listeners became vocal, it caused the corporate bosses to pause.
Bob Zuroweste, Entercom manager, said the campaign had a significant influence, but the company never made a formal announcement in the first place stating that The Buzz was in danger.
Bret Wiedner, Overland Park senior said he listened faithfully to The Buzz and stopped by a Lenexa convenience store remote to sign the petition before Entercom announced the station's fate.
"The Buzz is the only radio station around town that's even worth a crap," said Wiedner, who said his previous favorite station, 105.9 The Lazer, was a victim of corporate decisions. "It's happened so many times around here, it's just another punch in the stomach — it's like losing another girlfriend."
Loyal fans don't need to worry for the time being, however. Entercom chose to end 106.5 Smooth Jazz rather than The Buzz.
Even though her station remains, Afentra said she wondered if the same thing would arise six months down the road.
The uncertainty is a bit unsettling for her, but Afentra said she felt grateful for being able to publicly voice her distaste.
"They could have stopped it altogether," Afentra said. "But I think it made them stop, take a peek and maybe really look at the station."
— Edited by Ehren Meditz