09/10/2021 | Press release | Archived content
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 14, 2021) - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced grants totaling $1.3 million for three public radio stations to implement the Urban Alternative format to connect with young, multicultural audiences. The grants to Radio Milwaukee, WJSU (Jackson, MS), and Minnesota Public Radio will support transitions to locally customized formats using local and national Hip Hop and R&B. Jacquie Gales Webb, CPB Vice President, Radio, announced the grants today at the virtual Public Radio Program Directors Conference.
CPB support for research and development in 2015 enabled Chicago Public Media to transform its Vocalo online music service into Chicago's Urban Alternative. The research created a model format that borrows from the popularity of urban contemporary music while remaining true to public radio's values, connecting urban audiences through music discovery and community engagement. With CPB support, the Urban Alternative format has been adopted by Rocky Mountain Public Media's THE DROP in Denver, KTSU/The Vibe in Houston and WNSB/Blazin' Hot 91 in Norfolk, VA.
'The Urban Alternative format has been built by and for a new generation of public radio listeners -- a younger, multicultural community that is creating its own public media sound,' said Kathy Merritt, CPB Senior Vice President of Radio, Journalism and CSG Services. 'CPB is proud to support the expansion of this format, in which the stations are meeting the music and information needs of young, diverse audiences as trusted partners.'
Under the two-year grants:
Minnesota Public Radio will work with KMOJ, a community-licensed public radio station, to develop the Urban Alternative public radio format in Minnesota. Photo by Tom Baker for MPR.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for other updates.