California merger rejected, but debate keeps going

Conversation continues in the pages of the Monterey Herald about the failed merger between two local public radio stations, KAZU and KUSP. The newspaper opined in a March 2 editorial that the pro-merger campaign “seemed to have an unnecessarily aggressive edge” and added, “If there was good reason for that, it should be expressed openly and directly.” In an op-ed last week, an advocate for merging took to task California State University Monterey Bay, licensee of KAZU, which rejected the merger. “Thoughtful people may disagree about the recommendation to merge KAZU and KUSP, but everyone should be concerned that CSUMB made its decision without consulting the listening public or the task force that recommended the merger,” wrote Susie Franklin, a fundraising consultant.