Oregon state and local leaders are calling for a cooling-off period in a showdown over control of the public radio network that serves Southern Oregon (Medford) and parts of Northern California.
Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) is a vast network of stations, some owned by Southern Oregon University and others by the Jefferson Public Radio Foundation. It broadcasts from the basement of a building At Southern Oregon University in Ashland, OR.
Medford Mayor Gary Wheeler and others fear the dispute could spin out of control, the Oregonian reported 6/21.
An audit has warned that the foundation’s non-radio projects, such as the restoration of an old theater and construction of a new HQ in Medford, could overextend Jefferson Public Radio, putting the university at risk financially for its debts.
The foundation’s board is meeting to decide whether to accept a proposed settlement between the school and the foundation, which would separate the radio stations from the foundation.
The foundation has restored a theater in Redding, CA as a cultural center, and has launched into restoration of another in Medford. It is also turning an old warehouse into a new headquarters in Medford.
The university, which owns 14 of the stations and provides some of JPR’s finances, commissioned the audit that questioned JPR’s entrepreneurial spirit and called into question Ron Kramer’s dual roles as leader of both the broadcast operation and the foundation. The university president fired him from the radio job after that. The foundation owns eight of the stations.
The JPR stations:
Ashland, Oregon 88.3 FM KSRG
Eureka, California 107.3 FM KNHT Licensed to Rio Dell, California
Klamath Falls, Oregon 88.5 FM KLMF
McCloud, California 91.9 FM KLDD
Medford, Oregon 90.1 FM KSOR Licensed to Ashland, Oregon
Myrtle Point, Oregon 94.1 FM KOOZ
Roseburg, Oregon 91.5 FM KSRS
Yreka, California 91.3 FM KNYR
Ashland, Oregon 89.1 FM KSMF
Coos Bay, Oregon 88.5 FM KSBA
Klamath Falls, Oregon 90.9 FM KSKF
Redding, California 89.7 FM KNCA Licensed to Burney, California
Mount Shasta, California 88.1 FM KNSQ
Eugene, Oregon 1280 AM KRVM
Eureka, California 91.5 FM KNHM
Grants Pass, Oregon 930 AM KAGI
Medford, Oregon 1230 AM KSJK Licensed to Talent, Oregon
Mendocino, California 1300 AM KPMO
Mount Shasta, California 620 AM KMJC
Roseburg, Oregon 950 AM KTBR
Yreka, California 1490 AM KSYC
Redding, California 1330 AM KJPR Licensed to Shasta Lake City, California