KCSC

Infobox Radio station
name = KCSC


city = Edmond, Oklahoma
area = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
branding = KCSC/KBCW
slogan = "Oklahoma's Choice for Classical Music"
airdate = 1966 as KCSC
frequency = 90.1 MHz HD Radio
90.1 HD-2 for ed 901
repeater = KBCW 91.9 FM McAlester, Oklahoma
format = Classical Music
power =
erp = 100,000 watts
haat = 256 meters
class = C1
facility_id = 66632
callsign_meaning = K Central State College
owner = University of Central Oklahoma
webcast = [http://laka.ucok.edu/ramgen/broadcast/kcscfm/kcscfm.rm Listen Live]
website = http://www.kcscfm.com

KCSC (KCSC/KBCW) is a classical music radio station serving the Oklahoma City area and is owned by University of Central Oklahoma.

History

KCSC was originally a classical music station run by students at Central State College. KCSC adopted its name from when the university was known as Central State College, but it is now the University of Central Oklahoma. Its programming is simulcast by KBCW (91.9 FM) in McAlester, OK. A full station history is available here: [http://www.kcscfm.com/station_history.asp KCSC History]

KCSC are also the call letters for a student owned and operated Internet radio station run out of California State University, Chico that started broadcasting in 1951 but switched to FM Cable in the 70s and then to the internet in 1999. KCSC stands for K, Cal, State, Chico. [http://www.kcscradio.com KCSCradio.com]

The Non-Renewal of "A Prairie Home Companion"

In August 2003, Garrison Keillor brought his Rhubarb Tour to the Zoo Amphitheater in Oklahoma City. This was not a for-broadcast episode of "A Prairie Home Companion," but part of a tour where the cast went to a handful of cities and did a show for fun. For years, KCSC had broadcast the radio show and used it during the spring fund drive several months before as an example of the type of programming donations would be used to purchase.

The outdoor show had problems. First, thunderstorms saturated the area during the show. Next, there was a high level of security that Keillor felt unnecessary, being asked for his ID to get backstage at intermission, having just left the stage in a tuxedo. Additionally, the crowd (est. 2500) seemed small, being blamed on the show coinciding with the opening game of the 2003 University of Oklahoma football season in Norman. Finally, Keillor did not feel much audience reaction, leading him to feel that they did not like the show or could not hear him. Naturally, it is difficult to hear performers at an outside venue during a heavy rain. The audience was extremely good-natured, huddling under umbrellas and tarps as they enjoyed the performance.

In what would today be called a blog (then it was called a show diary), Keillor noted how bad he felt about the way the show went, the problems as he saw them, and made comments about the area and the people, most notably stating that doing the show in Oklahoma City was a bad idea because the show is too northern. He also noted that a country music show would have been more suited to the audience, and that doing a show on the opening day of football season in Oklahoma was like doing one at Easter in Rome.

Some listeners wrote to Keillor on the PHC website, telling him that they had a wonderful time at the show, that not all Oklahomans were football addicts, and generally tried to appeal to his sense of reason about the issue. Other fans confronted the station about why the show had been booked outside, in what ordinarily would have been horrible August heat, at what was typically a rock music venue. Station management responded that Keillor's people had clearly wanted an outdoor venue and could not be persuaded as to other options.

Following the event, owners of PM Group Incorporated of Norman, who administers concerts at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre, cheated KCSC out of several thousand dollars related to admission receipts. Three months later, the station chose not to renew its contract with "A Prairie Home Companion." The decision was mainly based on the lack of adequate listener financial support for the program.

HD RADIO

KCSC is also broadcasting in HD Radio. An alternative rock radio station broadcasting on the HD 2 signal of 90.1. That station is branded as ED 90.1 and is the student run radio station at UCO.

External links

* [http://www.kcscfm.com Station website]
* [http://www.ed901.com/ ED 90.1 HD2 website]
*FMQ|KCSC
*FML|KCSC
*FMARB|KCSC
* [http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/travel/cat_rhubarb_tour_2003.html Keillor's Comments about the Rhubarb show]
* [http://www.zooamphitheater.com Zoo Amphitheater]