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Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is a
public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
state network based in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unite ...
that broadcasts three services:
news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. Ne ...
,
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical m ...
and Indie 102.3, which plays
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
music. CPR airs its programming on 15 full-power stations, augmented by 17 translators. Their combined signal reaches 80 percent of Colorado. CPR also manages KRCC, the NPR member station in
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since 2 ...
, in partnership with the station's owner,
Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
. As of 2013, CPR had 440,000 weekly listeners, 47,000 contributing members and annual revenue of $14 million. In early-March 2019, CPR acquired hyperlocal news site Denverite from Spirited Media to bolster its web news coverage for locals. CPR is a
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, 501(c)(3) organization. Private support from listeners, corporations, foundations and partners accounts for approximately 95 percent of CPR's total budget.


History

The first station in what would become Colorado Public Radio, KCFR (90.1 FM) in Denver, went on the air in 1970. The station was initially licensed to the
University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
. In 1973, KCFR began carrying programming from
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
(NPR), beginning with ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
''.''
Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'' was added in 1979. More NPR programming was added the following year when the network began to distribute programming via satellite. KCFR separated from the University of Denver in 1984, becoming a community-licensed public radio station. That same year, KPRN in Grand Junction signed on the air. In 1991, KPRN merged with KCFR, forming the new entity, Colorado Public Radio. The original plan as proposed to the Western Slope listeners and the FCC during the license acquisition phase was to continue providing original localized programming for the needs of the Western Slope audience. But despite protests from those listeners, within a few years the KPRN studios were closed, all volunteers and news staff positions were eliminated and it became a satellite station of KCFR. CPR added more satellite stations in the following years, including KPRE Vail in 1994, KCFP Pueblo in 1996, and KPRH Montrose in 1998. CPR also began adding other low-power translators, sometimes in competition with existing public radio stations. Stations in other areas not served by CPR, like KDNK in Carbondale, complained that CPR would also send out fundraising solicitation letters to KDNK listeners leaving the impression that they could thank CPR for receiving popular NPR programs like All Things Considered or Morning Edition, sometimes resulting in misdirected donations. Until 2001, CPR's format was a mix of NPR programming and
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical m ...
. However, in 1999, CPR bought Denver classical music station
KVOD KVOD (88.1 MHz) is a public radio station broadcasting a classical music format. Licensed to Lakewood, Colorado, it serves the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by Public Broadcasting Of Colorado. Its programming is broadcast on ...
, a prelude to providing both a 24-hour news format and a 24-hour classical format. In 2001, CPR attempted to purchase the
University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially change ...
's FM station KUNC in a closed-door deal with then-UNC president
Hank Brown George Hanks "Hank" Brown (born February 12, 1940) is an American politician and lawyer from Colorado. He is a former Republican politician and U.S. Senator. He served as the 21st president of the University of Colorado system from April 2005 ...
. When the pending deal was announced to the public, KUNC immediately raised over $1,000,000 in a week of emergency fundraising as a successful counteroffer to CPR's, thus ending CPR's plans to acquire the KUNC radio network. In 2001, KCFC Boulder, KKPC Pueblo and KPRU on the Western Slope joined the CPR network. In 2004, CPR brought KVOV in Glenwood Springs on the air as part of its statewide network. In 2008, CPR's news service moved to 90.1 FM, and 88.1 FM carried CPR's classical service in Denver. In 2011, CPR launched the new-music station OpenAir on 1340 AM as KVOQ, and in 2015, OpenAir switched to broadcasting as KVOQ-FM on 102.3 FM in Denver/Boulder, and KVXQ (now Classical KVXO) on 88.3 FM in Fort Collins. On January 17, 2020, Colorado Public Radio and
Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
announced that Colorado Public Radio would take over the management of KRCC, the primary NPR member station in
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since 2 ...
. While Colorado Public Radio will handle all operations, Colorado College will continue to hold the license and the station will still be operated from Colorado Springs. Initially, the station's format of NPR news during the day and adult album alternative music at night remained the same. However, the station's daytime schedule was tweaked slightly to match that of CPR's all-news network, and KRCC added CPR's daily statewide news program, "Colorado Matters." As part of the agreement, Colorado College and Colorado Public Radio will collaborate on a "public media center" that will be home to KRCC, the Colorado College Journalism Institute, and
Rocky Mountain PBS Rocky Mountain PBS is a network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Colorado. Headquartered in Denver, it is operated by Rocky Mountain Public Media, Inc., a non-profit organization which holds the licenses for most of th ...
' Regional Innovation Center. CPR had expanded to Southern Colorado in 2016 with the purchase of
Manitou Springs Manitou Springs is a home rule municipality located at the foot of Pikes Peak in western El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded for its natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers, ...
-licensed AM station KXRE, but in April it switched that station to a simulcast of KVOQ.


CPR News

CPR News includes a locally produced program called “Colorado Matters,” local newscasts throughout the day and national/international news from sources like NPR and the BBC. Over the years, Colorado Public Radio's newsroom has received a number of journalism awards, including RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) Awards and Colorado Broadcasters Association (CBA) Awards.


''The Taxman''

In 2017, CPR produced a three-part podcast broadcast on the radio entitled ''The Taxman.'' Produced by Rachel Estabrook, Nathaniel Minor, and Ben Markus, it gives the story about the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in Colorado. It follows the man who created it, Douglas Bruce, and how it affected the state government. All three episodes were released on November 13, 2017, and narrated by Rachel Estabrook and Nathaniel Minor.


Stations

CPR's full-power stations are split between three services. Seven broadcast NPR news and talk, five air classical music with hourly NPR news updates, and three air adult album alternative music. ''*NOTE: Italics denote low-power translator stations. Many of the listed translators are owned by county cooperatives, and may change stations or frequencies with little notice. This listing does not include KRCC and its satellites, which are owned by
Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
and managed by CPR.''


References


External links


Colorado Public Radio
{{Public_broadcasting_in_the_United_States * NPR member networks American radio networks