Red River Radio is a regional

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

network for northwest

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, southern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, eastern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and the southeasternmost corner of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, serving communities in the valley of the

Red River of the South The Red River is a major river in the Southern United States. It was named for its reddish water color from passing through red-bed country in its watershed. It also is known as the Red River of the South to distinguish it from the Red River ...

through five

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

s. The network is headquartered in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, on the campus of

Louisiana State University Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 25 u ...

. The Red River Radio listening region is one of the largest coverage areas for public radio in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Stations

Red River Radio consists of six stations and one translator:

Programming

Red River Radio (RRR) is affiliated with

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and broadcasts many popular NPR programs including ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

'', ''World Cafe'', '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me'', and '' From the Top''. The network also broadcasts many

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

programs including ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' and '' To the Point'' and many programs from

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

, including ''Marketplace Money'', ''

Performance Today ''Performance Today'' is a classical music radio program, first aired in 1987 and hosted since 2000 by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations. ...

'', ''and '' The Splendid Table''. Red River Radio broadcasts many independently produced programs such as ''Art of the Song'', ''Beale Street Caravan'', ''Blues Before Sunrise'', ''Bluegrass Breakdown'', ''Classical Guitar Alive'', ''

Hearts of Space ''Hearts of Space'' is an American weekly syndicated public radio show featuring music of a contemplative nature"When you listen to space and ambient music you are connecting with a tradition of contemplative sound experience whose roots are an ...

'', ''intelligence² Dates'', ''New Orleans All the Way Live'', ''

Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program and podcast produced by WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City, and broadcast on more than 570 public radio stations in the United States. The show has earned many industry awards for its "imaginati ...

'', ''Snap Judgment'', ''With Heart and Voice'', and ''Women in Music''. Red River Radio provides local news weekday mornings during Morning Edition. In 2005, news producer Kate Archer pioneered a community news-gathering effort called the Community Correspondent program in which residents of the community borrow equipment from the network to produce local stories for broadcast during the local newscasts. Some of the programs aired on RRR are produced locally, at the KDAQ studio. For instance, Wally Derleth hosts ''Evening Jazz'', featuring nights dedicated to big band, contemporary and other subgenres of jazz music. Other locally produced programs include ''Blues After Hours'', hosted by John Ellis and ''Regional Symphony Broadcasts'', hosted by Kermit Poling.Red River Radio Program Guide
/ref> A previously-aired local program, ''Soul Review'', dedicated to classic soul and R&B from the 1960s to the 1980s, was hosted by Eric Jenkins from 2008 to 2011. Numerous local and national contributors provide educational and often compelling commentary at different times during the week. Currently, these short radio segments include ''A Moment of Science'', ''Get It Growing'', ''Earth and Sky'', ''History Matters'', ''Eco Tech Minute'', ''What Was I Thinking?'', ''Dr. Archie McDonald's Commentary'', ''The Big Picture With Alexandyr Kent'', ''Stardate'', and ''Spotlights''.

Station operation and development

Like most public radio stations, RRR is funded primarily by its members. Twice each year, the network conducts a membership campaign pledge drive to pay for programming and ongoing operational costs. For the past several pledge drives, RRR has met or exceeded its membership goals, and at the halfway point through fiscal year 2009 had recorded its best support ever, despite the uncertain economy. For over two decades, Red River Radio operated out of cramped quarters in a temporary building at the LSUS campus. However, a separate funding campaign was launched in 2007 to construct a new building on campus, that would house production and on-air studios, as well as a small concert hall. Keeping in step with technological advances in broadcasting, RRR was already sending out two of its signals via the new technology called

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

, by mid-2007. Currently there are three HD streams for KDAQ. The ''HD1'' stream is a digital version of the regular programming, ''HD2'' is Classical Music, and ''HD3'' has News/Talk with additional programs not found in the regular lineup, allowing for more choices throughout the day and night. The long-awaited move of the radio station into new facilities, located in a renovated building on the edge of the LSUS campus, was completed on December 5, 2012. The new facilities and studio space of KDAQ were redesigned out of the former Baptist Student Union Building, which also served as a church sanctuary.KDAQ Public Radio Studio
Retrieved 22 June 2014.

Notes

External links

Red River Radio Online
{{American broadcast radio Louisiana State University System Mass media in Shreveport, Louisiana NPR member networks Organizations based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana College radio stations in Louisiana