Who and Why

First, the “WHO”. I’m Brad Hildebrand. For the past 54 years I’ve worked in radio. It’s been my only career since I graduated from high school. To put it mildly, radio is my passion.

That picture is of me in the old KSLQ (now Y98) studios at 111 South Bemiston (now, the County Jail!). The picture was taken in 1981. I was the afternoon jock on “The Q”. For the past 27 years I’ve owned three radio stations in the western ‘burbs of the STL. That’s the “WHO”.

Now, the “WHY”.

All these years later I’m still a radio fan. But I’m concerned about what’s happening to the radio industry. Big picture is things kinda suck on all levels. A macro view of our industry is not what I’m doing here. I’m taking a micro view on one particular radio station.

IMHO I think there’s something going on with a local radio station that’s not quite right. I’m talking about KWMU, or as they call it now St. Louis Public Radio. Since it’s been on the air it’s been owned by the University of Missouri system. But that’s about to change. And the change is what I’m concerned about.

My main concern is what does the University of Missouri have to gain from divesting itself of KWMU, KMST and WQUB to a relatively small not for profit with no history of radio station ownership or management?

Stick with me as I dust off my two (useless) journalism degrees and try to make my late journalism professor, Dr. Kamil Winter, proud of me. Well, he didn’t give out too many compliments. Maybe I should just hope he doesn’t yell at me from the newsroom upstairs.

Just one quick aside. St. Louis Public Radio brags about how they are such a great source of local journalism. But so far they have been anything but open to my journalistic efforts to document what’s going on with the “transaction”. Are they hiding something? Hopefully, I’ll find out.

For a background of what’s happened so far and what might happen read the ABOUT page or just read the home page.