A Loss for Local Programming

Ventura County’s hometown public radio station just became a lot less local--and that’s a shame.

In an interview with The Times last month, Mary Olson, general manager of KCLU-FM (88.3), attributed her station’s success to its focus on Ventura County issues and newsmakers.

“The reason we’re so popular,” she said, “is because we’re parochial.”

Nevertheless, the station recently canceled four local talk shows and moved a fifth one in favor of reruns of a nationally produced program. Listeners at 7 p.m. on weekdays now get repeats of “Fresh Air” which already airs weekday mornings and Sundays from 9 to 10 a.m. Gone are the home grown “Local Talk with Beverly Kelley,” “Backstage Pass,” “Beyond Words” and “Local Talk with Russell Stockard.” The fifth local show, “Dialogues,” has been tentatively switched to Saturdays at 5 p.m.

Olson said the changes came in a response to listeners who complained about missing “Fresh Air” in its morning slot because they were at work. The station, based at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, depends on donations from listeners, businesses and foundations to produce its around-the-clock news, talk and jazz programming.

Since its debut five years ago, KCLU has been a cornerstone of public affairs discussion in Ventura County. No commercial station has devoted similar time or attention to examining and explaining the issues that shape the local community and politics.

It’s tough to measure the value of that contribution to Ventura County’s sense of community, understanding and quality of life. But we believe it has been substantial.

KCLU should think twice before it walks away from that important role. Keep those local voices on the air.