Oregon Public Broadcasting to Purchase AM Radio Station in Eugene

OPB's entry into the market is supported by KLCC FM public radio

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase KOPT AM 1600 in Eugene from Churchill Media. The acquisition of KOPT allows OPB to expand its award-winning radio service to the Eugene area where it already has a strong television service and donor base.

"OPB's over 7,500 contributors in the Eugene/Springfield area have long asked for OPB radio to be available," said Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO. "So, when OPB heard that a station in Eugene was available for sale, we immediately jumped on the opportunity and contacted Churchill Media," he said. "OPB is the voice for thinking Oregonians everywhere, and we look forward to developing a stronger local connection with the people of Eugene, one of Oregon's most vibrant communities."

KLCC FM, a public radio station licensed to Lane Community College in Eugene, has endorsed OPB's purchase of KOPT. KLCC already partners with OPB to maintain a Salem news bureau. "I welcome OPB to the Eugene/Springfield radio market," said Steve Barton, general manager of KLCC. "OPB's acquisition of KOPT provides a great opportunity to increase the depth and breadth of local radio programming. I look forward to collaborating with OPB to make this an excellent partnership of both organizations' talent and resources."

"OPB's news and information programming mix should complement KLCC's," said Lynne Clendenin, OPB's vice president of Radio Programming. "OPB and KLCC will work together to make sure Eugene residents have the greatest selection possible of quality public radio news and information. We plan to offer many programs not currently available on KLCC FM such as Talk of the Nation, Marketplace and BBC World Service, said Clendenin.

This expansion also provides OPB the opportunity to work with Lane Community College to offer increased public service for the citizens in Eugene and Springfield.

"Increasing the community's access to public radio news and programming supports the college's mission of education, lifelong learning and workforce training," said Mary Splide, president of Lane Community College. "The better informed people are, the more successful they are as students and workers, employers and citizens. We look forward to collaborating with OPB to develop, over time, a new service with a deep connection to the community, combining the best of KLCC and OPB."

With the addition of KOPT and a number of recently launched initiatives as well as future program plans, OPB is well on its way to building stronger, more personal connections with communities and audiences throughout Oregon.

OPB Makes Changes to Radio Program Schedule; Expands Local News Coverage

Oregon Public Broadcasting is making some notable changes in our radio program schedule that will provide our listeners with more local and regional news throughout the day.

"As Oregon's most-trusted source for news and information, OPB is continually trying to find new and better ways to serve our audience," said Morgan Holm, vice president of News & Public Affairs. "More people are seeking news throughout the day and are using their radios as well as their computers for listening and podcasting. Our aim is to provide our audience with news all day long and as it happens."

Local and regional news can now be heard at the top of every weekday hour. We'll also expand our local and regional news coverage during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In addition, beginning Monday, December 3, All Things Considered will move to 4pm weekdays to provide the first comprehensive coverage of the day's events. Marketplace will move to 6:30pm, capping off coverage of business news and how it affects you. After more than 17 years, Oregon Considered will leave our schedule. Oregon Considered Host Allison Frost will continue to lead the reporting staff in her new role as assignment editor. This new configuration provides our news staff greater flexibility to cover more stories across our region in greater depth.

"These, and other changes to come including a new local program – Think Out Loud, with broadcast and online components – are the result of nearly two years of research, audience surveys and strategic planning," said Holm. "The additional flexibility we've gained in our News Department will help us give voice to more people in our community than ever before."

OPB to launch "Think Out Loud" In January

Oregonian Emily Harris to host dynamic online and daily radio program

Oregon Public Broadcasting announced today that it will launch Think Out Loud, a new and engaging local online and daily radio broadcast in mid-January. Emily Harris, who most recently served as the NPR foreign correspondent in Berlin, and David Miller, a veteran radio producer, will host the daily program at 9am weekdays starting in January.

"Think Out Loud is designed to be the spark that starts discussions and the flame that keeps them burning. It builds on recent initiatives including our opbnews.org, an online news site that is gaining in popularity, our newly established Central Oregon news bureau and the OPB Public Insight Network, which is harnessing the experience and expertise of average citizens in the news gathering process," said OPB President Steve Bass.

Think Out Loud will strive to engage individuals in a participatory program that explores the issues, ideas and culture that make our region a unique and vibrant place.

Think Out Loud will celebrate the fact that in the Pacific Northwest we are independent thinkers, who have a unique outlook, with a strong sense of place and of community. We are a place that values civil discourse, where people with different and strongly independent views talk - and listen - to each other.

"These discussions and the search for solutions will be the centerpiece of Think Out Loud," said Morgan Holm, OPB's vice president of news & information.

Emily Harris, who grew up in Oregon, will return home to host the on-air program, after a distinguished reporting career that has taken her to Iraq, Russia, and most recently to Berlin as a European correspondent for NPR. For her work in Iraq, she shared in NPR’s 2004 George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of the war. Harris grew up in Portland, attended Chapman Elementary School, Harriet Tubman Middle School and Lincoln High School. She received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, in Russian and East European studies, and speaks Russian and German. Her grasp of global issues and her strong ties to the Pacific Northwest make her the ideal on-air host of Think Out Loud.

"I have seen, all over the globe, how people react to the world through the lens of their local experience, and how much humans want to learn and talk about how events, happening anywhere, affect them," Harris said. "After all my travels, my favorite places remain in Oregon, and my inner belief remains that what happens here matters."

A unique feature of Think Out Loud will be the key role of the online host, who will lead discussions online and on air. David Miller, who has worked on everything from long-form radio documentaries to the recent daily radio show "Open Source," is a leader at the intersection of radio and online conversation. As Think Out Loud's online host, he will travel regularly to different communities in the region, seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Miller graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English.

"I'm so excited to be a part of this new show because of both my own mandate to foster a more perfect union of Internet and radio, as well as the larger mission of creating a raucous and civil, vibrant and engaging regional conversation," Miller said.

Eve Epstein, who will serve as executive producer of Think Out Loud, was the senior editor for the public radio business show "Marketplace" before coming to OPB as the senior producer for the 13-part radio series Unfinished Journey: The Lewis and Clark Expedition. She is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Rounding out the Think Out Loud team is senior producer Sarah Rothenfluch, former producer of the daily call-in show "These Days" on KPBS/San Diego. Originally from Canada, Sarah worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) as a radio producer for numerous shows including the daily radio program "This Morning." Sarah is a graduate of Victoria College, University of Toronto, with a degree in English, and received a bachelor of applied arts in journalism from Ryerson Polytechnic University, in Toronto, Canada.

Jim Russell, who assisted OPB in the talent search for Think Out Loud, is a creative advisor to the program.

Scott Silver, OPB's Public Insight Network (PIN) analyst, will be working closely with Think Out Loud to expand the list of sources from around the state who can contribute their experiences and firsthand knowledge to deepen conversations. Since its launch on September 5, more than 1,000 people have signed up to join OPB's Public Insight Network.

Support for Think Out Loud comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which awarded OPB a $325,000 grant to create a prototype program that marries the potential of online media to expand reach and engagement with the power and intimacy of radio conversation. As part of the CPB grant, OPB will work with four West Coast stations (KUOW in Seattle, KQED in San Francisco, KPBS in San Diego and Northwest Public Radio in Pullman, Wash.) to explore how public radio can better serve its audience using new technologies to expand discussions and engage communities. The grant from CPB underwrites the cost of program development and on-air operations for the first few months of the program. Additional funds will be sought from individuals, corporations and foundations to provide long-term support for Think Out Loud.

Think Out Loud is the latest addition to OPB's local news department, under the direction of Morgan Holm. Holm oversees OPB's local news operation and produces local radio and television news/public affairs programming, as well as local news content for opbnews.org.

Oregon Experience: "The Beach Bill" Premieres November 12

In 1967 Governor Tom McCall signed the Beach Bill with great fanfare, granting the public recreational access to the dry sands of Oregon's beaches. The next episode in the Oregon Experience series, "The Beach Bill," looks at this landmark legislation and how it set the stage for other breakthrough environmental legislation. Tune in to the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting on Monday, November 12 at 9pm.

The fight to protect Oregon's beaches from private development and "No Trespassing" signs began around 1913 when Governor Oswald West designated Oregon’s tidelands -- the wet sand portion of the beach -- as a public highway.

But in the 1960s, private developers along the coast began challenging the law saying that, in fact, the dry sand portion of the beach belonged to the upland owners. And, therefore, they could do whatever they wanted with the land -- including putting up barricades to keep the public off their portion of the beach.

What ensued was a fight to save Oregon's beaches for public recreational use -- all the way to the vegetation line. The battle erupted into the hottest issue of the 1967 legislative session.

Using archival footage of Governor Tom McCall, State Treasurer Bob Straub and many others, this documentary illuminates the events and issues that led to the Beach Bill, and tells the stories of people who worked for its passage.

It is a story of conviction, passion and the vision to save the beaches of Oregon for future generations.