Who bought the station in Miami?

American Public Media Group purchased WMCU 89.7 FM, a 24-hour, 100,000 watt radio station that broadcasts throughout southeastern Florida. American Public Media Group is a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service.

American Public Media Group learned about the opportunity to purchase the station from Public Radio Capital, a nonprofit station broker whose mission is to preserve and expand public radio in communities nationwide.

American Public Media Group will assume operation of the station when approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is finalized. A date when this process will be completed is currently unknown.

Will the station remain WMCU?

No. The station has been assigned the call letters WKCP.

What type of programming will the station have?

American Public Media Group will operate WKCP as a public radio station dedicated principally to classical music, including broadcasts of American Public Media's^TM national classical programs Performance Today®, SymphonyCast®, Pipedreams®, and Saint Paul Sunday®.

What is currently broadcast on the station?

WMCU 89.7 FM signed-off on its previous programming on September 28. American Public Media Group began providing to Trinity University, the licensee of WKCP, live, full-time continuous testing on October 24 at 6 p.m. EST. Consistent with FCC rules, American Public Media Group is providing programming to the station licensee during the time when the FCC is reviewing the application to transfer the license to American Public Media Group.

During this transition period, American Public Media Group will provide the station with 24-hour classical music programming, including Performance Today, SymphonyCast, Pipedreams, and Saint Paul Sunday.

Why broadcast classical music?

Despite a rich cultural setting, with the newly-built Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, The New World Symphony dedicated to training classical musicians, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Opera companies, and The Cleveland Orchestra's Miami residency, and first-rate touring classical music performances, Miami is the largest radio market in the country without a full-time classical music service. Miami lost its last classical FM radio service, a commercial station, a few years ago.

American Public Media Group looks forward to engaging the region's cultural organizations, over the coming months, to explore ways for the new classical music service to grow and to best serve audiences in south Florida.

Does Classical South Floriday have a Web site?

Yes! The Classical South Florida Web site can be found at www.classicalsouthflorida.org and includes information about the station, its programming, and opportunities for supporting its service.

Who is American Public Media?

American Public Media is the nation's second-largest producer of public radio programs. With the largest broadcast audience reach of any classical music radio producer in the United States and streaming audiences around the globe, American Public Media is one of media's most active champions of classical music. American Public Media is the producer of award-winning programs, series and specials such as Performance Today®, SymphonyCast^TM, Pipedreams®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Composers Datebook®, BBC Proms, and World Choral Spectacular, among others. American Public Media also produces Classical 24®, a 24/7 stream of live-hosted classical music broadcast on public radio stations nationwide. American Public Media's classical music programs reach an average of 3.8 million listeners nationwide each week (Source: Arbitron Nationwide DMA P12+ Fall 2006/Spring 2007).

Through global partnerships with leading music organizations, the European Broadcasting Union, the BBC, orchestras, festivals, vocal ensembles, and artists, American Public Media's classical music service sets the standard for connecting audiences to the best classical music.

American Public Media's portfolio of programs also includes A Prairie Home Companion®, Marketplace®, The Splendid Table®, Speaking of Faith®, Weekend America®, and special reports produced by its documentary unit, American RadioWorks®. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services for the American Public Media national network can be found at www.americanpublicmedia.org.

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