KERA is taking over WRR? Good after Jan. 3, I think

 I was driving home Wednesday night and wondered why I was hearing Christmas music in the 7-8 p.m. slot instead of the normal Bill McLaughlin. Then, after grocery shopping, realized I wasn't hearing the Chicago Symphony as the normal Wednesday night symphony broadcast.

So, I hit WRR's website when I got home. And found out KERA is taking over management. (Just a month after forming an agreement to take over the Denton Record Chronicle. KERA's got some big britches!)

First, the bad. WRR already played too much Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving on. Now, we're going to get it wall to wall?

Second, the VERY good. All non-classical is being ditched. The Saturday financial shows weren't a big deal, but the Sunday church programming was an EXPLICIT First Amendment violation, given WRR being a public, as in government-owned, station. Good BYE! That explained why the Catholic priest said a week ago that he was departing. Sadly, but not surprisingly, plenty of idjits commenting on the WRR announcement on Hucksterman are clueless.

Third, the good on at least a few specific commercials. No more pseudoscience, anecdotal hawking of CBD.

Fourth, the good in another way. Ever since Laura Miller wanted to sell the frequency slot and the Cedar Hill tower, the city of Dallas has largely treated WRR like a red-haired stepchild, if not worse than that. The takeover agreement is good.

Fifth, the interesting 2.0. Going non-commercial means Friends of WRR won't need to shill. Instead, KERA says it will be converted into an advisory board.

Sixth, the hopeful? A stronger arts calendar.

Seventh, the interesting. The wall-to-wall Christmas schmaltz is so KERA can review programming options within the all-classical format. I suspect Through the Night with Peter van de Graff stays. You hear that on about ANY classical station. 

Requests?

I hope they keep the 8-10 pm symphony hall slot. 

I hope they add a block of explicitly 20th-21st century programming, preferably two hours a day.

I hope they add a slot of "world classical" music.

I hope they add a slot of American classical music.

All of this to improve the somnolent dreck they play to satisfy the blue-haired ladies that's been their angle for more than a decade at minimum.

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I Tweeted a screengrab of the last part to Dallas Morning News classical music and arts critic Scott Cantrell, but haven't heard back.

That said, he did write several months ago about the possibility, including noting how much debt the station was racking up, and the struggles against online classical music. That would probably explain why most of the symphony broadcasts have been cut, and other syndicated broadcasting either cut or replaced. It's interesting Friends of WRR had some initial contractual concerns; let's hope, per the end of Cantrell's piece, that they were indeed addressed. Per another Cantrell piece, because of that debt, above all, this was in the works 18 months ago. Obviously, COVID added to that, and hid this from hitting my eyeballs.