CPB Issues Grants To Grow Urban Alternative

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced grants totaling $1.3 million for three public radio stations to implement the increasingly popular Urban Alternative format to connect with young, multicultural audiences — Radio Milwaukee, Minnesota Public Radio and Jackson State’s WJSU/Jackson, MS will support transitions to locally customized Urban Alternative channels. Jacquie Gales Webb, CPB VP of Radio, announced the grants Tuesday at the virtual Public Radio Program Directors Conference.

• Radio Milwaukee Triple A WYMS (88Nine Radio Milwaukee) has received a two-year $450,000 grant from the CPB to launch a new Urban Alternative channel in June 2022 and have a terrestrial presence on 88.9FM from 9pm-3am weekdays and midnight-3am on weekends; and will also have a 24-hour presence on WYMS-HD2. Station Director Jordan Lee will oversee the collaboration between 88Nine 88.9 and the new Urban Alternative channel. The station’s all-Milwaukee music channel, 414Music.FM, will transition to HD3. “Radio Milwaukee is thrilled to bring the Urban Alternative public radio format to Milwaukee,” said Executive Director Kevin Sucher. “We are excited to be part of this national effort to elevate Black voices and celebrate Milwaukee’s unique culture. Through this new platform, Radio Milwaukee will amplify untold stories, champion homegrown talent, and create a space for celebration and creativity.” Radio Milwaukee will be hiring for Urban Alternative PD and other positions in the coming months.

• Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) will collaborate with KMOJ, a community-licensed public radio station that focuses on the Twin Cities’ communities of color, to amplify the format’s reach, cultivate new talent, create engagement opportunities, and develop co-branded content to be shared across airwaves and digital platforms. Triple A The Current will build on the success of its Purple Current stream, which was established in 2018, following the death of Prince, as a source for funk, soul, R&B, and hip hop, celebrating the Minneapolis Sound.

The $400,000 grant, with additional contributions from MPR, will allow The Current to transform the Purple Current into a standalone Urban Alternative stream by mid-2022, with an announcement of the name and brand prior to launch. This will also carry over to The Current’s FM airwaves, with dedicated crossover programming across multiple dayparts, hosted by new talent. The Current and KMOJ will work closely on content sharing, developing new talent and building social media capacity between the two stations.

“We’re honored to have this opportunity to connect with and better serve a more diverse audience,” said David Safar, Managing Director of The Current. “We know this project will only be successful with strong partnership of music leaders in our community, especially KMOJ, and we hope this is a first step in much more community collaboration to serve our audiences.” Freddie Bell, General Manager of KMOJ, noted, “We’re excited to be working closely with The Current on this exploration of a new service for our community. CPB’s meaningful support will help us launch the process to bring this standalone stream and all its components to life, all to the benefit of our listeners.” The Current will hire additional talent to support this new endeavor, including an on-air host, Content Director and host, and Community Engagement Manager.

• WJSU, a public radio station licensed to Jackson State, a historically Black university in Jackson, MS, will refresh its programming to reflect the changing interests of students and younger listeners, provide a path to long-term sustainability, and increase community collaborations and digital engagement. WJSU will also pursue a multi-platform strategy including some FM broadcast, a dedicated 24-hour digital channel and a mobile app.

“The Urban Alternative format has been built by and for a new generation of public radio listeners — a younger, multicultural community that is creating its own public media sound,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB SVP of Radio, Journalism & CSG Services. “CPB is proud to support the expansion of this format, in which the stations are meeting the music and information needs of young, diverse audiences as trusted partners.”