As Post-Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller reported yesterday, Sen. Kit Bond has stepped into the fray to question the Missouri Synod's sale of KFUO. In fact, he has requested a Congressional Inquiry into the sale. It just gets more and more interesting:
"Bond joins the odd political couple of Reps. John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) and Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis), who recently denounced the sale on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in back-to-back speeches.
The FCC does not concern itself with format changes; the sale would end KFUO’s 62-year run as an outlet for classical music broadcasting and replace it with 'Christian contemporary' pop music.
However, opponents have brought out other issues with the sale, including allegations that Gateway lied to the Commission on its application, stating that it had met the FCC’s financial requirements at the time it filed in October, when it was actually in debt; and allegations of illegal discriminatory practices on the part of the LCMS and its representatives in the actual sales process."
Some of the peculiarities of this sale are due, apparently, to one Kermit Brashear, a Nebraska lawyer and lobbyist hired by the Synod to handle the sale. Miller has written quite the profile on him; you can read that here. Getting to know Mr. Brashear's methods of doing business perhaps sheds light on why this particular deal is being ram-rodded through, despite other attempts to buy the station and keep the classical format. After all, selling to Joy FM seems to be an almost illogical move. For one thing, a twiddle of your radio dial will reveal that "Christian contemporary" is anything but an endangered species. St. Louis has one of the finest symphonies in the country, and a long-running relationship with the station that goes far and beyond the weekend live broadcasts. And as Rep. Shimkus and Clay noted in their remarks from the floor (again, reported by Miller, who has done a gangbusters job of covering this story), St. Louis' cultural community would suffer deeply if the city lost it only classical music station. Rep. Clay:
"Arts education organizations throughout my district, like the Opera Theater of St. Louis, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Touhill Performing Arts Center, will lose their only major arena for audience-building, live broadcasts and fund-raising. This loss of revenue will hinder arts and music education in the district, further impairing opportunities for our young people to be enriched through the arts. We know that arts education gives youth self-confidence and increases academic achievement. We simply can not afford to sacrifice these opportunities, and I am deeply troubled by the idea that more educational outlets for our children will be put into jeopardy by this move."
Clay also noted that "94% of readers polled by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feel that the loss of Classic99 'takes away a vital voice for the arts in this community,' and will detrimentally affect their ability to support local artists." Which suggests a lot of people are hoping the sale does not go through (though it's safe to say that Kermit Brashear is probably not one of them). Either way, it's fascinating to watch people standing up for what matters to them, rather than acquiescing to what appears to be literally business as usual. --Stefene Russell
UPDATE: Sarah Bryan Miller has just posted that Sen. Claire McCaskill's office has taken an interest in this story...as have we. Looking forward to reading more of her coverage of this situation as it unfolds. --S.R.
