The school radio station WKKCFM/ 89.3 at Kennedy-King College is no longer the only station with a presence in the Englewood community. In June, WBEZ-FM/91.3 opened a South Side bureau at 6957 S. Halsted St. and will hold an open house from 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
But officials at WKKC, 740 W. 63rd St., do not see the public radio station as competition and hope more stations will come to the area. “We do not see WBEZ as a competitor, none whatsoever,” said Dennis Snipe, assistant director of operations for WKKC, a 250-watt radio station. “Our focus at WKKC is not on news reporting but training students to enter the broadcast industry. We will ultimately serve as an asset to WBEZ because our students could end up working for them.”
The primary reason for WBEZ opening a satellite office in Englewood was to be closer to Black community and develop in-depth, said Ron Jones, vice president of programming for WBEZ, a 4,000- watt radio station. “Englewood was not chosen so we can compete with WKKC or report on news solely in Englewood.
We chose that site because it was strategically close to many Black communities on the South Side,” Jones said. “But the South Side Bureau will report on news affecting Black communities on the West Side as well as the South Side.” Englewood residents have mixed reactions to its neighborhood having two radio stations.
“I don’t know if that’s good news or bad news because it means if something goes down in Englewood like a shooting or something, then all of Chicago will hear about it and that makes the area look bad when it’s really a cool place to live,” said Quintin Brand, 21, who grew up in Englewood.
“Then again, if we have something good happen like the relocation of Kennedy-King, then that’s something we want to advertise.” Another resident, Sandra Perry, 56, who has lived in Englewood for 20 years, said having two radio stations in the community is only good if its intent is to promote the greatness of the community it serves.
“It does no good to put a station here that will crank out one negative story after another about Englewood,” she said.
______ Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
