Programs/Content

Colorado Public Radio, Colorado Symphony part ways after 15 years

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Colorado Public Radio and the Colorado Symphony have ended their 15-year relationship after a disagreement over the value of the symphony’s performances to the station and a demand for editorial control over coverage of the ensemble. CPR stopped airing symphony performances as of Nov. 30, ending an arrangement that had been in place since 1999. Colorado Symphony CEO Jerome Kern said that in addition to providing performances to CPR free of charge, the symphony had bought underwriting on the station, to the tune of about $91,000 in the last fiscal year. In the symphony’s eyes, it was giving CPR not only valuable content but cash as well, Kern said.

Programs/Content

Colorado Public Radio brings dancing to the radio

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Colorado Public Radio launches its as-of-yet unnamed weekly arts show today, premiering with an unlikely pairing of mediums — radio and dance. The inaugural episode leads with the first in a special series, Radio Dances, which explores how the medium of dance translates to radio. Producers in CPR’s multimedia arts bureau worked with dance companies, students and members of the public to create 30- to 60-second dance pieces that were choreographed with a radio audience in mind. The segment will be accompanied by an interview with This American Life’s Ira Glass, whose own treatment of live storytelling and dance served as the inspiration for Radio Dances. “Our weekly arts show is intended to shine a light on our state’s cultural diversity and richness, while also raising the level of critical discourse around Colorado culture,” said CPR Arts Editor Chloe Veltman, in a prepared statement.

Quick Takes

After lawsuit from Colorado Public Radio, TPT drops Open Air name

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Following legal pressure from another public media outlet, Twin Cities Public Television is rebranding its younger-viewer outreach initiative five months after its initial launch. Andi McDaniel, manager of TPT’s Open Air project, announced Oct. 15 on the project blog that the network would be changing the name, citing “the fact that there are other public media brethren entities using the name” as one of the reasons behind the change. In July, Colorado Public Radio filed a trademark infringement and violation suit against TPT in federal court over use of “Open Air,” which is also the name of a Denver-area Triple-A music station that CPR has operated since 2011. McDaniel also wrote that the Open Air name became less useful for the brand “as our work progressed and we gained focus,” and that TPT began brainstorming a new name in August.