KXTR; A bad case of mono; Move to AM has classical music fans sounding off

Can classical radio be saved in Kansas City? Or will we go the way of other towns where classical music on the airwaves is dead or dying? Stay tuned. Almost as soon as Entercom Communications abruptly moved the city's 100,000-watt classical programming on KXTR-FM to a low-fidelity alternative at 1250 AM, listeners began expressing outrage and arts leaders started discussing how to create a new FM station. "The only way we're going to be able to guarantee a classical-music station is to get people together who see it as a cultural and spiritual asset to the city," said Friends of Chamber Music artistic director Cynthia Siebert, who has spent hours on the telephone with arts leaders and potential funders since the format change Aug. 17. "It probably won't be revived as a commercial station." It would appear Siebert has plenty of company and not just the ones lighting up Entercom's switchboards. In the spring 2000 Arbitron ratings book, the most recent, KXTR finished tied for 12th overall (out of 34 stations) with listeners ages 12 and up. Arbitron estimated that KXTR reached 118,900 listeners in an average week. Siebert is just one of several concerned music lovers casting about for a way to save FM classical music. She said there's a will in the community to find an alternative to KXTR, which has broadcast classical music since the 1950s, but fears it might be beyond the reach of the city's arts-funding resources. Starting a new station could cost $15 million or more. "Because of the deregulation in the last 10 years, it's not feasible to make a classical station very profitable," she said. "Buying a bandwidth is extremely expensive. It would have to be an act of true love, because there's no way that people could make a lot of that money back." KXTR had barely completed its move from the Mission studios of its previous owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, to the Entercom center in Westwood when the switch occurred. The FM studio was taken over by "The Buzz 96.5," a contemporary rock station that is currently running off an automated server. (On-air staff is expected to join "The Buzz" after Labor Day.) A question of quality Listeners instantly took the move of KXTR to AM as an insult. The AM band may have been cutting-edge in Toscanini's time, but classical has long been associated with stereo sound Be heard Listeners can make their feelings known about KXTR by writing to Entercom Communications, 4935 Belinder Road, Westwood, Kan. 66205 or by calling (913) 677-8998. @ART CAPTION:Patrick Neas in his small studio at the Entercom broadcasting building on Belinder Road in Westwood. @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:TALIS BERGMANIS/The Kansas City Star >>>