New York's WQXR Radio Changes Owners, and Frequencies, Starting Today

WQXR, the classical radio station that's been a fixture on the New York City airwaves for decades, has changed owners and, as of 8 p.m. tonight, has changed frequencies.

The station, which was long owned by the New York Times, was acquired in a three-way deal in which pubic radio station WNYC acquired WQXR. WQXR can now be found at 105.9 FM... the former frequency of Spanish-language station WCAA-FM, which is owned by Univision (the third party in the transaction). WCAA swaps frequencies with WQXR, and is now broadcasting at 96.3 FM. A blend of classical music meant to appeal to younger listeners can be found on an online stream called "Q2," according to an article in the Times.

On thing that's not changing is the station's format: it will still be devoted to airing classical music.

WNYC bought WQXR for $33.5 million. Laura Walker, WNYC's president and CEO, explained the transaction in a letter on its Web site. WNYC also has a set of frequently asked questions on the WQXR acquisition.

WQXR is an all-classical station that survived in a rough market that's seen many stations change hands and program formats. Unlike those stations, WQXR was being sold not because of lack of interest in its classical format but because of the continuing financial problems of its owner, the New York Times. (WQXR's slogan was, "The radio station of the New York Times." Which used to be radio stations, in a time in the past when WQXR had both an AM and an FM frequency playing classical music.)

WNYC now has three stations. WNYC AM (news and talk) will probably see few if any changes. WNYC FM, which plays classical and other music but has been featuring more news and talk over the years, will probably more even more in that direction as some of its classical programs and hosts move to WQXR.

I've enjoyed listening to WQXR off and on for more than 30 years, so I'm glad to see it still around, and still playing classical music. The new WQXR can be found at 105.9 FM in the New York metro area and at www.wqxr.org.

Having just become a public radio station, WQXR is already taking part in a longstanding tradition of that genre: the pledge drive (naturally, they've got to pay off that $33.5 million somehow).

John Hockenberry Rips Network TV

John Hockenberry has had a long and distinguished career in journalism, so when he ripped his former employer "Dateline" and network TV journalism in general, people sat up and took notice.

Hockenberry's comments, which came in a lengthy article in Technology Review (published by MIT), took NBC and other networks to task for a variety of complaints that will be familiar to any TV viewer, including a focus on heart-tugging stories and an obsession with irrelevant stories that will attract viewers (and advertising). "News producers," Hockenberry writes, "rarely ventured out of a safety zone of crime, celebrity, and character-driven tragedy yarns."

The article is entitled "'You Don't Understand Our Audience:' What I learned about network television at Dateline NBC."

John Hockenberry was fired from NBC after 12 years in a downsizing, so it might be tempting to dismiss his article as sour grapes. But he's long been a thoughtful and knowledgeable journalist who really cares about journalism.

John Hockenberry now works for MIT's Media Labs and has been doing commentaries for a radio series on the mind called "The Infinite Mind." Late last year he was named as co-host for a public radio morning show to be co-produced by Public Radio International and New York public radio station WNYC and editorial partners including the BBC World Service, The New York Times, and WGBH Radio Boston. That show is to begin airing sometime in early 2008.

Read the article and see what you think.