WVGN Radio gone - sold

my workmate loves to listen to that. i guess you have to do the podcast thing now

They used to get sponsorship from Dockside Bookstore on STT, but that store went out of business years ago. I never heard of anyone stepping in to sponsor local NPR.

Thank goodness for the internet.

I wonder why the GVI will fund PBS locally but not NPR?

I can't even get PBS over the air because their signal is too weak.

PBS gets federal funds whereas NPR does not. I can get PBS without cable or dish. You need the right antenna, I think.

I am on STX, I have the best OTA antenna and booster.
I can see Blue Mountan and Mt. Washingington from my house.
PBS also gets funds from the GVI.
They should also fund NPR to be fair, or fund neither.

NPR does not want government funds. Google for the history of NPR funding.

When is it supposed to shut down? Was still listening to it at lunch today.

Here's the link to the article:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/03/11/wvgn-going-air-contemporary-format-taking-over

Thanks for the link. That's just sad in so many ways. There goes my source for most news. Guess, I'll be downloading more podcasts to listen to while driving around.

At least it's not another talk radio station - for now.

I watch the PBS shows I like through my Roku and get my NPR fix from Sirius XM satellite radio's internet service. I can listen to it in my car using the Sirius Android app. It was very difficult at the best of times to get good reception of 107.3 on STX.

And what source did you acquire that information from because it is totally wrong!

PBS and NPR got $445 million from the government in 2012—or about 0.014 percent of the federal budget.

it's worth noting that the government doesn't actually give money directly to PBS or NPR. Instead, Congress funds the Corporation on Public Broadcasting, which in turn divvies up the money according to formula. A big chunk goes to TV programming, with the rest going to 581 local television and radio stations around the country.

And the reason this 'could' be an issue is that we all fund NPR and not necessarily by choice.

If you walked through an NPR newsroom and took a poll on political affiliation, you would find that like most newsrooms, there are primarily Democrats on staff and these journalists in general tend to skew liberal, and at NPR, it might be fair to say they do so even more than most.

Most good, post-modern educated journalists will admit that even tho they try and be objective, there is a cognitive level of bias that is unavoidable and creeps into their work, and there are occasions where they can't help but be passionate about issues that are clearly partisan in nature. Which is to say, there is a liberal bias at NPR.

Thank goodness!:-)

Thanks for unnecessarily bringing politics into this discussion. That's just what we needed to talk about in this thread.

I am a local PBS member. It's a bargain compared to cable, and more interesting programming. We need more local support for these stations so we have options.

NPR Station Could Continue on WVIE

BY MOLLY MORRIS — MARCH 13, 2015

WVGN 107.3 FM will go off the air Sunday, but it may not be taking National Public Radio with it, as reported Wednesday.

The new owner of the station, Robert Watkins, president and CEO of WHPR TV33 / FM88.1 in Detroit, said Friday that he is in negotiations with NPR, and he intends to keep some NPR programming.

"There are no promises at this point,” Watkins said, but he has reconsidered his previous decision to drop the programming after getting feedback on NPR’s popularity in the territory.

His new station, WVIE, Virgin Islands Entertainment, "is a commercial, for-profit station,” Watkins said, "but we can still carry not-for-profit programming, though not 24 hours. We will carry the programming the public supports. We don’t have the license or know the dollar amount NPR wants yet, but I’m willing to put my neck on the line to be of service to the community with sponsorship, membership or whatever we can come up with, I’m more than willing.”

He said he was still in talks with NPR Friday. "We need to get the satellite hookup,” he said.

Watkins said in the meantime, he will carry jazz and some talk shows when the change takes place after Sunday.

That's because all of us are paying for YOUR programming.
Not saying it is not interesting, just that they can fund themselves if people like you were paying for it. Right?

Thanks for unnecessarily bringing politics into this discussion. That's just what we needed to talk about in this thread.

The word 'Liberal' has many more meanings than just a political ideology. Have a look at Webster's!

NPR had an intelligent bias. Not a liberal bias. Unless you associate being liberal with being intelligent.

A huge loss for the VI if we lose NPR. I wish I had donated more often and that I had known they were in trouble.

NPR isn't in trouble. It's just that the new station owners may chose a new format that excludes NPR, but it is not written in stone as yet.

Always got a weird feeling listening to NPR on St. Croix; like hearing a broadcast from Mars, having no relevance to life on the island. Island talk shows are at least grounded in real life issues here.
Another thing needed is our own classical music station besides the one in Puerto Rico, which has its faults but is better than nothing.

PT

NPR may not be lost:

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/03/13/npr-station-could-continue-wvie

http://m.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/contemporary-format-to-replace-npr-programs-as-107-3-is-sold-1.1848208

"Most good, post-modern educated journalists will admit that even tho they try and be objective, there is a cognitive level of bias that is unavoidable and creeps into their work, and there are occasions where they can't help but be passionate about issues that are clearly partisan in nature. Which is to say, there is a liberal bias at NPR."

Reality is spelled REALITY not BIAS.