The board of KUSP-FM in Santa Cruz, Calif., got approval Wednesday night to seek a sale of the station.
Members of the Pataphysical Broadcasting Foundation, which holds the station’s license, voted 41-27 in favor of a sale, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.
As KUSP’s board shifts its attention to finding a buyer, station staff will be laid off Friday and all original programming will end Sunday at 1:30 a.m. The station will continue to air an automated stream of Triple A music.
KUSP will hire a station manager to keep the station running at a lower cost. Board members will volunteer at the station to make sure it meets FCC requirements for being active.
The station sought a sale last year to Classical Public Radio Network because of its unstable financial situation, which includes more than $700,000 in debt. But an infusion of “miracle money,” according to outgoing GM Bonnie Primbsch, gave it time to drop NPR programming and experiment with a Triple A format. The switch to music aimed to differentiate its programming from that of KAZU in Pacific Grove, Calif., a competing NPR station.
The station sought to raise $300,000 in its spring fundraiser but earned only a third of that goal, prompting the board’s recommendation to sell.
We want a new NPR station for Santa Cruz.