In late September 2023, operations of the noncommercial spoken word and fine arts-focused stations under the CapRadio brand fell under the control of California State University-Sacramento. The move came after the school’s audit of CapRadio’s fiscal health found “substantial problems.”
The financial and operational struggle hasn’t ebbed, and the public broadcaster’s endowment leaders have proposed a wholesale transfer of control of CapRadio. Who should become the new licensee? Look no further than the PBS Member station serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto market.
As first reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, Sacramento State is being asked to transfer its assets to the parent of KVIE-6, the PBS Member station with some 60,000 contributors providing it with 49% of its operating revenue. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting supplies KVIE with 11% of the dollars needed to operate in a fiscal year.
While the endowment suggests that Sacramento State part ways with its radio stations, the University has shown no inclination toward relinquishing CapRadio despite its openness to begin a dialogue with KVIE.
With KQED and KDFC to the west in the San Francisco Bay area and Valley Public Radio to the south in Fresno and Bakersfield, CapRadio covers a wide swath of the northern San Joaquin Valley. Spoken word programming can be heard on KXJZ-FM 90.9 in Sacramento and on repeater FMs in Quincy, Stockton and Tahoe City, Calif. The Classical programming is based at KXPR-FM 88.9 in Sacramento and rebroadcast on stations licensed to Groveland and Sutter, Calif.; an FM translator brings coverage to the City of Merced.
These 7 facilities are in financial distress due to what the school’s audit found to be significant financial mismanagement, including unauthorized loans exceeding $1.1 million, mismanaged credit cards, and unapproved acceptance of gifts. An investigation revealed a sharp increase in the station’s liabilities, soaring from about $5.5 million to over $27.2 million within a year.
The endowment’s letter to Sacramento State President Luke Wood, obtained by McClatchy Co. flagship publication The Sacramento Bee, underscores a collective desire among major donors for a sustainable path forward, emphasizing the potential benefits of a merger for the station, the university, and the local community. The Capital Public Radio Endowment owns $4 million in assets, including a transmission tower and land.
— Reporting by Cameron Coats and Adam R Jacobson
