Ideastream

Ideastream (marketed as Ideastream Public Media) is the main public broadcaster in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, serving both Greater Cleveland and much of Northeast Ohio. Its headquarters, newsroom, and radio and television studios are located at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland.[3] It operates WKSU (89.7 FM), the region's main radio news service aligned with NPR, and owns classical music/jazz outlet WCLV (90.3 FM) and Cleveland PBS member station WVIZ (channel 25).[4]

Ideastream
Ideastream Public Media
IndustryMass media
GenrePublic radio and television broadcasting
Predecessor
  • Educational Television Association of Metropolitan Cleveland
  • Cleveland Public Radio
FoundedCleveland, Ohio (2001 (2001))
Founder
  • Jerrold Wareham
  • Kit Jensen[1]
Headquarters
Cleveland, Ohio
,
US
Key people
  • Kevin E. Martin
  • (president/CEO)
  • Jenny Northern
  • (general manager)
  • Todd Mesek
  • (chief marketing officer)[2]
Websiteideastream.org

Ideastream was formed in July 2001 through a merger of equals between WVIZ and then-NPR member WCPN (since supplanted by WCLV), which up to that point operated separately as Educational Television Association of Metropolitan Cleveland and Cleveland Public Radio, respectively. Talks of a cooperative agreement between the two entities began in 1999, but was first proposed in 1993, when co-founder Jerrold Wareham was named as WVIZ's general manager.[1] WCLV, then operating as a Lorain-licensed station at 104.9 FM, was donated to the group in 2011.[5] Since 2021, Ideastream has operated WKSU and its repeater network on behalf of owner Kent State University,[6] and has been Cleveland and Akron's sole NPR station of record since March 28, 2022.[7] Kevin E. Martin has been the organization's president/CEO since January 9, 2017,[8] succeeding Jerrold Wareham.[9] Jenny Northern, a staffer with WCLV since 2001, was elevated to station manager in 2014[10] and became general manager for all stations in 2020.[11]

All stations in the group jointly rebranded as Ideastream Public Media on June 15, 2021, to celebrate the entity's 20th anniversary.[2]

Radio

WKSU
Main articles: WKSU and WCPN

WKSU was founded by Kent State University in 1950; Ideastream has operated the station since October 1, 2021, via a public service operating agreement with the university. Originally broadcasting solely to the campus population as a non-commercial educational station, WKSU has been an NPR news and information affiliate since 1973, and is the originating radio station for the City Club of Cleveland's Friday Forum.[12] Licensed to Kent, Ohio, WKSU's signal is rebroadcast full-time over a network of five full-power repeaters and two low-power translators. With a combined 22-county coverage area and potential audience of 3.6 million people, WKSU and its repeater network boast the largest collective footprint for an FM radio station in Ohio.[13] Since 2022, it has also served Lorain County and the western portion of Greater Cleveland via Lorain-licensed WCPN (104.9 FM).[14]

The station and its full-power repeater network carry a roster of four HD Radio subchannels: a simulcast of WKSU's analog transmission, folk music via FolkAlley.com, a simulcast of WCLV and an alternate lineup of news and talk programs.[15][16]

WCLV
Main article: WCLV

The region's only full-time classical music and jazz outlet, WCLV was founded on November 1, 1962, as a commercial radio station at 95.5 FM.[17] A complex asset and intellectual property swap on July 3, 2001, re-established WCLV on 104.9 FM as part of a long-term plan initiated by founding owners Robert Conrad and Rich Marschner to preserve the format from being subsumed by ownership consolidation in the radio industry.[18][19] With station operations moved to the Idea Center in 2010,[20] WCLV was donated to Ideastream in 2011[5] and converted to non-commercial status in 2013.[21][22] WCLV has been the originating station for Cleveland Orchestra radio broadcasts since 1965 and for Weekend Radio since 1982.[23]

WCLV's current 90.3 FM frequency was previously home to WCPN, one of Ideastream's two founding partners and, from 1984 to 2022, competed with WKSU as the region's other NPR member.[24] It is also the successor station to WBOE, which the Cleveland Board of Education operated from 1938 to 1978,[25] one of the first formally licensed non-commercial educational radio stations on the FM dial and one of the first FM stations in Ohio.[26]

Television
Main article: WVIZ

Ideastream's television service, WVIZ, was founded on February 7, 1965, as the 100th public television station in the United States.[27] WVIZ at launch boasted the first female general manager of a major-market television station in the United States. Betty Cope, who played an active role in the station's formation and original focus towards educational television programming for school districts and telecourses for area colleges;[28] WVIZ gradually adopted the conventional PBS Kids and PBS lineups starting in the early 1990s. Through WVIZ, Ideastream jointly operates and manages The Ohio Channel (which is carried on a WVIZ subchannel) and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau.[2][4]

See also

References
  1. Washington, Julie (November 29, 2009). "Ideastream partners WVIZ Channel 25 and WCPN 90.3 enjoy benefits of merger". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  2. Andrus, Calle; Vaselaney, Stacey (June 15, 2021). "ideastream Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Rebrand and Renewed Vision to Strengthen the Community; Becomes Ideastream Public Media" (Press release). Cleveland, Ohio: Ideastream. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  3. Fybush, Scott (July 11, 2014). "Site of the Week 7/11/2014: Cleveland's Ideastream". Fybush.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022 – via RadioBB.
  4. "Stations and Services". Ideastream Public Media. December 19, 2016. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  5. "Classical music station WCLV-FM to join Ideastream". Crain's Cleveland Business. Cleveland, Ohio. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  6. Morona, Joey (September 15, 2021). "WKSU, WCPN deal approved by Kent State, combined NPR station to operate at 89.7 FM starting in 2022". cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  7. Venta, Lance (February 25, 2022). "Ideastream Sets Cleveland Public Radio Frequency Change Date". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via RadioBB.
  8. Connors, Joanna (November 23, 2016). "Ideastream names new CEO: Kevin Martin comes from KQED San Francisco". cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. "Ideastream chief Jerry Wareham plans to retire". cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer. June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  10. Dawidziak, Mark (July 31, 2014). "Ideastream names new content management team". cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  11. "Jenny Northern named first GM for all three ideastream stations". Crain's Cleveland Business. Cleveland, Ohio. February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  12. Venta, Lance (September 15, 2021). "Ideastream To Begin Operating WKSU; Swap Frequencies Of WCPN & WCLV Cleveland". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021 – via RadioBB.
  13. "Ideastream Public Media & WKSU: Frequently Asked Questions". Ideastream Public Media. ideastream. September 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  14. Morona, Joey (September 15, 2021). "WKSU, WCPN deal approved by Kent State, combined NPR station to operate at 89.7 FM starting in 2022". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  15. HD Radio Guide for Cleveland Archived September 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  16. HD Radio Guide for Akron, Ohio Archived September 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Gerber, Jacqueline (November 1, 2022). "WCLV Observes 60 Years on the Air Nov. 1". WCLV. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  18. Rosenberg, Donald; Feran, Tom (November 2, 2000). "Arts group will take ownership of WCLV". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. p. 1A. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via NewsBank.
  19. Quinn, Jim (June 18, 2001). "Seven area radio stations will play musical chairs". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. pp. A1, A5. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. Washington, Julie (February 19, 2011). "WCLV FM/104.9 Fits Right in at Idea Center in Cleveland". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on February 20, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  21. Lewis, Zachary (September 25, 2012). "Cleveland's WCLV FM/104.9 planning switch to non-commercial format". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  22. Venta, Lance (September 25, 2012). "WCLV Cleveland To Go Non-Commercial". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022 – via RadioBB.
  23. Spencer, Carrie (September 2, 2001). "Radio station saves classics, supports the arts". The Tribune. Coshocton, Ohio. Associated Press. p. 2C. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. Dawidziak, Mark (July 13, 1984). "Public radio in Cleveland: News and all that jazz". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. p. B10. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. FCC History Cards for WBOE
  26. "Education by FM" (PDF). Broadcasting. Vol. 20, no. 5. February 10, 1941. p. 49. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  27. Dawidziak, Mark (September 16, 2013). "Betty Cope, founding president of WVIZ Channel 25, dies at 87". cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  28. Lapin, Andrew (September 20, 2013). "Betty Cope, WVIZ founding g.m., dies at 87". Current. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
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