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UW, PLU Push Back Deadline For Finalizing KPLU Sale Agreement

PARKER MILES BLOHM
/
KPLU
Former Seattle P-I employee Curt Milton addresses the crowd at the November 23 meeting of KPLU's Community Advisory Council.

Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington have extended their deadline for signing the asset purchase agreement of KPLU until Jan. 15. They originally set Dec. 18 as the deadline for signing and then submitting it to the Federal Communications Commission for approval. 

The two universities confidentially negotiated a letter of intent for the sale and then made it public last month. It calls for UW, which operates the rival public radio station KUOW, to pay $7 million for KPLU and broadcast an additional $1 million in on-air promotions for PLU. UW has said it will turn 88.5 FM into an all-music station. KPLU's newsroom would cease to exist, though reporters were told they could apply for positions at KUOW. 

Public outcry was so intense and KPLU listeners sent so many emails to university administrators and regents that UW President Ana Mari Cauce urged the universities to pay attention, said UW Associate Vice President Norm Arkans.

“When people speak in that way, in quantity and in volume, her view is, `Well, we need to stop for a second and listen to this and see what people are asking us to do, and if it’s something we can do, then we should do it,'” he said.

Now, the two sides are negotiating a new addendum making it possible for an outside group to put forward a competing bid for the station.

PLU spokeswoman Donna Gibbs said in a statement that this was “a mutual decision reached by the two university presidents in conversations on Tuesday.” She said the two sides are still working to sign the final agreement quickly but agreed on an extension to accommodate holiday schedules. 

Among those who advocated for a reconsideration of the deal was Stephen Tan, chair of KPLU’s Community Advisory Council.  In an earlier letter addressed to PLU President Tom Krise and the Board of Regents, Tan denounced the sale and urged the university to “preserve the station’s status as an independent public radio affiliate.”

He said he’s grateful the universities are working on an addendum.

“It’s later than it probably should have happened, but I appreciate the fact that they’re listening, and they have heard those concerns and are acting in response to those concerns,” said Tan.

A non-profit group called Friends of KPLU recently registered with the state of Washington. Tan said a loose-knit group of KPLU supporters is working on launching a fundraising effort and is still figuring out the legal framework for doing that.

KPLU General Manager Joey Cohn said he’s been moved by the outpouring of support for this station. 

“It’s been gratifying for us to know that people have described KPLU as friends or family and that we’ve been that meaningful to people,” he said. “And it’s our hope that we can continue to do that.”

In July 2017, Ashley Gross became KNKX's youth and education reporter after years of covering the business and labor beat. She joined the station in May 2012 and previously worked five years at WBEZ in Chicago, where she reported on business and the economy. Her work telling the human side of the mortgage crisis garnered awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Chicago Headline Club. She's also reported for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage and for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.