CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University has announced that their student-run, 24-hour jazz radio station will continue through the rest of the current academic school year.
KEWU-FM, Eastern Washington University’s 73-year-running jazz station was originally scheduled to close on Dec. 31.
At the beginning of September EWU sent a release saying that the decision to close the station didn’t come about lightly, and that program faculty and university administrators supported the move.
“KEWU has provided quality entertainment as well as classic and contemporary jazz to the Inland Northwest for nearly 74 years, and we are proud of that accomplishment,” says EWU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jonathan Anderson. “With how dynamically the media landscape is changing there will be new opportunities for the university to explore.”
After discussing their decision, EWU decided that they will extend the phase-out plan for KEWU into 2024 to allow them time to deal with complexities surrounding licensing and equipment.
During this transition period, KEWU will continue maintaining programming with pre-loaded jazz music each day. Also starting Jan. 1, “student DJ’s will work about 10 hours per week during weekday morning drive times.”
As the university closes this chapter in their history, they say they will “look to explore other media opportunities and involve students with other creative forms of communication.”
For more information about KEWU’s extended operations, go to the Eastern Washington University’s website.
