D
Deebee
Guest
From today's Parsons Sun. Am I reading this right? A five-minute infomercial every hour on folks with disabilities? Can anybody who listens to KSEK shed any light?
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SKIL agrees to buy KLKC Radio
By Jamie Willey
Parsons Sun
Advocacy issues for people living with disabilities will take over another small piece of the airwaves soon after Southeast Kansas Independent Living announced Thursday it has agreed to buy KLKC-AM/FM.
SKIL, a nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities, will buy the local radio station from Acme Broadcasting LLC upon approval by the Federal Communications Commission.
It will be the second radio station SKIL has bought in the past year. SKIL also owns Pittsburg-based KSEK 99.1 FM.
"One of our core services is information and referral," Dave Sorrick, SKIL's director of development and special projects, said this morning. "Radio is a great way for us to communicate with folks."
Sorrick said the station will entertain people with music for 40 or 50 minutes until taking a time out to spread its message of advocacy for people living with developmental and other disabilities.
Although Sorrick doesn't expect FCC licensing approval for about 45 days, SKIL will take over operation of the radio station on Saturday under a time brokerage arrangement. SKIL will work with the station's current staff for now and will discuss with employees the possibility of continuing their employment once SKIL owns the station.
Sorrick said the station's format will remain largely unchanged. The music played will still be adult contemporary, but SKIL will expand the station's song collection to include thousands of songs in its rotation, he said. The station will continue broadcasting Kansas City Royals and Chiefs games as well as Parsons High School sports.
"We have every intention of continuing broadcasting local sports. The Parsons Vikings are very important to us," Sorrick said.
The station's sports offering may even grow in the future.
"We will maybe expand that a little as time goes on, but first we need to get our feet under us," Sorrick said.
SKIL will upgrade the station's equipment upon FCC approval. Although the station is limited in signal strength to the 3,000-watt tower, the signal will offer a crisper sound, Sorrick said. SKIL also plans to explore the possibility of making the FM station, 93.5, a 24-hour station. Currently it broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The AM station, 1540, is limited by the FCC to broadcast from sunrise to sunset.
Another change SKIL plans is to make the FM and AM stations separate stations with their own identities, playing music and shows at different times instead of simultaneously as they do now.
Accessibility is important to SKIL, so the station may be relocated from its spot east of Parsons in the future to a more accessible, higher-traffic area. The station won't emulate KSEK, which broadcasts from the Pittsburg mall behind a glass window that allows people to watch on-air personalities broadcast live.
"It will remain true to Parsons. There will be a very comfortable, very local feel to the whole thing," Sorrick said.
Acme is owned by Lee and Diane Salyers of Parsons, Rod and Karen Landrum of Parsons, Gary Bandy and Doris Carlin, both of Joplin, and Pat and Paula Haley of Topeka. Most of the owners were graduates of the Parsons High School Class of 1973.
Lee Salyers, managing member of Acme, could not be reached for comment today. Salyers said through a news release Acme was happy to find a new owner for the station that would be committed to the community.
"We are pleased to find a buyer for the station that will carry on the tradition of serving the community. We are proud of everything we accomplished during our short period of ownership. We believe we improved the station in a number of respects. We just got to the point where the operation of the station required too much time from the owners. We believe that SKIL will provide the same great service and communication that we provided during our ownership. We're very happy that the station will be in the hands of people who have a commitment to the community," Salyers said.
According to information provided by SKIL, KLKC went on the air on Oct. 26, 1948. The station was begun by a group of Parsons businessmen including Clyde M. Reed Jr., publisher of the Sun; Will Martin, a Parsons furniture dealer; Lloyd Durr and Oz Willard, both of the Sun; Glen Jones, a local attorney; and George Alderman, a Parsons hardware store owner. Gene Joslin was the station's first broadcaster.
Community Broadcasting Co. bought the station in 1954. Lester Combs Jr. assumed management of the station in the spring of 1954. In 1955, Dick Combs became the general manager of KLKC. In 1978, KLKC-FM was added. New studios were built in the mid-1980s.
Sorrick said SKIL's primary purpose will remain serving people with disabilities and helping them live independently in their own homes. He said radio is a good tool for outreach to the public, but SKIL has no plans to buy a third radio station at this time. The organization will unveil plans for another business venture soon, he said.
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SKIL agrees to buy KLKC Radio
By Jamie Willey
Parsons Sun
Advocacy issues for people living with disabilities will take over another small piece of the airwaves soon after Southeast Kansas Independent Living announced Thursday it has agreed to buy KLKC-AM/FM.
SKIL, a nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities, will buy the local radio station from Acme Broadcasting LLC upon approval by the Federal Communications Commission.
It will be the second radio station SKIL has bought in the past year. SKIL also owns Pittsburg-based KSEK 99.1 FM.
"One of our core services is information and referral," Dave Sorrick, SKIL's director of development and special projects, said this morning. "Radio is a great way for us to communicate with folks."
Sorrick said the station will entertain people with music for 40 or 50 minutes until taking a time out to spread its message of advocacy for people living with developmental and other disabilities.
Although Sorrick doesn't expect FCC licensing approval for about 45 days, SKIL will take over operation of the radio station on Saturday under a time brokerage arrangement. SKIL will work with the station's current staff for now and will discuss with employees the possibility of continuing their employment once SKIL owns the station.
Sorrick said the station's format will remain largely unchanged. The music played will still be adult contemporary, but SKIL will expand the station's song collection to include thousands of songs in its rotation, he said. The station will continue broadcasting Kansas City Royals and Chiefs games as well as Parsons High School sports.
"We have every intention of continuing broadcasting local sports. The Parsons Vikings are very important to us," Sorrick said.
The station's sports offering may even grow in the future.
"We will maybe expand that a little as time goes on, but first we need to get our feet under us," Sorrick said.
SKIL will upgrade the station's equipment upon FCC approval. Although the station is limited in signal strength to the 3,000-watt tower, the signal will offer a crisper sound, Sorrick said. SKIL also plans to explore the possibility of making the FM station, 93.5, a 24-hour station. Currently it broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The AM station, 1540, is limited by the FCC to broadcast from sunrise to sunset.
Another change SKIL plans is to make the FM and AM stations separate stations with their own identities, playing music and shows at different times instead of simultaneously as they do now.
Accessibility is important to SKIL, so the station may be relocated from its spot east of Parsons in the future to a more accessible, higher-traffic area. The station won't emulate KSEK, which broadcasts from the Pittsburg mall behind a glass window that allows people to watch on-air personalities broadcast live.
"It will remain true to Parsons. There will be a very comfortable, very local feel to the whole thing," Sorrick said.
Acme is owned by Lee and Diane Salyers of Parsons, Rod and Karen Landrum of Parsons, Gary Bandy and Doris Carlin, both of Joplin, and Pat and Paula Haley of Topeka. Most of the owners were graduates of the Parsons High School Class of 1973.
Lee Salyers, managing member of Acme, could not be reached for comment today. Salyers said through a news release Acme was happy to find a new owner for the station that would be committed to the community.
"We are pleased to find a buyer for the station that will carry on the tradition of serving the community. We are proud of everything we accomplished during our short period of ownership. We believe we improved the station in a number of respects. We just got to the point where the operation of the station required too much time from the owners. We believe that SKIL will provide the same great service and communication that we provided during our ownership. We're very happy that the station will be in the hands of people who have a commitment to the community," Salyers said.
According to information provided by SKIL, KLKC went on the air on Oct. 26, 1948. The station was begun by a group of Parsons businessmen including Clyde M. Reed Jr., publisher of the Sun; Will Martin, a Parsons furniture dealer; Lloyd Durr and Oz Willard, both of the Sun; Glen Jones, a local attorney; and George Alderman, a Parsons hardware store owner. Gene Joslin was the station's first broadcaster.
Community Broadcasting Co. bought the station in 1954. Lester Combs Jr. assumed management of the station in the spring of 1954. In 1955, Dick Combs became the general manager of KLKC. In 1978, KLKC-FM was added. New studios were built in the mid-1980s.
Sorrick said SKIL's primary purpose will remain serving people with disabilities and helping them live independently in their own homes. He said radio is a good tool for outreach to the public, but SKIL has no plans to buy a third radio station at this time. The organization will unveil plans for another business venture soon, he said.