Tacoma, WA, March 1, 2004. Bates Technical College, Public Radio Capital and KEXP 90.3 FM Public Radio today announced a change in the ownership and programming of KBTC 91.7 FM in Tacoma.

Bates Technical College is selling KBTC-FM to Public Radio Capital (PRC), which works to broaden the reach of public radio nationwide through partnerships with educational institutions and public broadcasters. PRC has entered into a programming agreement with Seattle non-commercial station KEXP to program the channel with its eclectic music format of alternative rock, electronic, world, roots, jazz, hip hop and blues hand-picked by knowledgeable DJs.

“All along we have insisted that the radio station should go to public broadcasting, not some other broadcasting interest,” said L. H. Horton Jr., interim president of Bates Technical College. “We are delighted that PRC and KEXP will ensure that KBTC remains a public radio station. Selling the station allows us to better focus on training students in our public television operation as well as on the overall educational mission of the college.” 

“PRC has worked with educational institutions and broadcasters for several years to secure new channels for public radio.” explained Marc Hand, managing director of Public Radio Capital. “There is no public radio owner in a position right now to make this purchase. Just as the Trust for Public Land steps in to buy a property to preserve land for public enjoyment, this was an opportunity we needed to act on to preserve this station for public service broadcasting.”

Tom Mara, executive director of KEXP 90.3 FM, added, “We are just tickled that our current listeners will now hear us from Everett to Olympia and that our programming will now cover 1.2 million more people in South King County, Tacoma and Olympia. KEXP has a long history of supporting local musicians. This will help us work even more closely with artists in these musically- rich communities with remote broadcasts, live performances and interviews. We applaud Bates Technical College for its vision to keep KBTC in public radio, and we are glad to work with PRC to extend our eclectic music format to listeners throughout the area.”

The station’s call letters will be changed to KXOT 91.7 FM. Symbolically, the O and T pay tribute to Olympia and Tacoma, respectively. The X reflects the relationship to KEXP.

KXOT 91.7 FM is scheduled to begin broadcasting on Monday March 8, 2004 at 9:17 a.m. during the John In The Morning show featuring KEXP morning host John Richards.

PRC is purchasing KBTC from Bates Technical College for $5 million. The sale is expected to close in late spring, and KEXP will begin programming the station through a short-term programming agreement while PRC completes financing for the purchase and necessary approvals from the Federal Communications Commission.

CONTACTS
Public Radio Capital: Susan Harmon
765.215.1018

Bates Technical College: Franclyn Heinecke
253.680.7107

KEXP: Tom Mara, Executive Director
206.520.5811

ABOUT PUBLIC RADIO CAPITAL
Public Radio Capital (PRC) has a primary purpose: to partner with educational institutions and public broadcasters to broaden the reach of public radio to millions of listeners. PRC has already achieved results with public radio stations secured in Albany, Baltimore, Denver, Frederick (Maryland), Nashville, Portland (Oregon), Sacramento, and outside Boston and Chicago. These channels represent partnerships with educational institutions and local public broadcasters to build stronger public radio program services for larger and growing audiences. Other projects will result in new arrangements and program services in at least 15 other states within the next few years.

ABOUT BATES TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Bates Technical College is a public, accredited state college, and the largest technical college in Washington State. The college serves more than 22,000 students annually in career training programs, continuing education, apprenticeship training, business and management programs, home and family life classes, high school completion, Running Start, and adult basic skills training. Bates is one of only two Washington State colleges to offer an educational guarantee to employers, assuring that job skills are learned as covered in the college competency checklist.

ABOUT KEXP 90.3 FM
KEXP 90.3 FM is a public radio station in Seattle with a mission to enrich people’s lives with a unique wide and deep approach to music programming. Knowledgeable hosts hand-pick music including indie rock, world music, blues, jazz, hip hop and electronic from its collection of approximately 500,000 titles. The station also broadcasts more than 250 live performances each year. KEXP programming is also heard on the web at KEXP.org. KEXP 90.3 FM is governed by Friends of KEXP, an independent non-profit organization with an agreement to operate 90.3 FM on behalf of the University of Washington which holds the FCC license.