KMUW drops Terry Gross’ “Fresh Air” due to cost and declining radio listenership

Wichita fans of Terry Gross and her “Fresh Air” public radio show can’t believe it, but KMUW, 89.1-FM, has taken the show off the air.

“We understand that it is upsetting,” says Debra Fraser, general manager. “It’s an iconic public radio program.”

The show’s cost and declining listenership are the issues.

“Fresh Air” ran at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Fraser says it “performed quite poorly.”

“Apparently more of us were listening to it on podcasts than we’ve realized,” she says. “It’s just what life’s become.”

The show cost $27,000 annually. The station has an overall budget of about $2.5 million, about $500,000 of which is for programming.

Fraser acknowledges that $27,000 may not sound like much in the overall budget, but she says about half of the programming budget “is just to get the morning and afternoon news, and then the other 24 hours a day are filled with what we have left over.”

Also, with the station’s move to Old Town, Fraser says operating costs have risen by about $80,000 for things such as custodial services and electricity, which KMUW didn’t have to pay when it was on the Wichita State University campus.

“I had to start penny-pinching,” Fraser says.

By dropping “Fresh Air,” Fraser says she’s been able to add a rotating mix of new shows in its place at 6 p.m. That includes “On Being,” a spiritual — not religious — show; “Latino USA,” a news and cultural show; and “Reveal,” an investigative journalism show.

At 11 a.m., there’s now “The Takeaway,” a news show with a minority focus.

“We think that the new material . . . will be very popular and more timely,” Fraser says.

She’s says bringing back “Fresh Air” could be an option if someone “made a donation that covered the show that would be outside of our operating budget.”

Fraser says she generally makes programming decisions based on at least a year’s worth of ratings and other information.

“This felt like the best strategic way to be good stewards of our donors’ money,” she says. “Doesn’t mean we’re always right. It just means we always keep trying.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 2:45 PM.