Local radio station WVGN 107.3 FM, home to NPR, has been sold. Keith Bass, managing member of LKK Group Corp., which owned the station, on Tuesday confirmed the sale. Speaking from LKK’s Hollywood, Calif., home, Bass said the station has recently been sold to Robert J. Watkins of Michigan.
"Basically over the last 10 years we have performed a community service,” Bass said, “and we are winding down. One thing, we haven’t been able to look at more local programming. With NPR, you need to integrate local programming."
He said he thinks Watkins will retain NPR, and incorporate more local programming. He said the new owner will take over the programming in November. Bass declined to confirm the selling price.
The sale will come as a blow to many Virgin Island residents, if it means the loss of NPR. Victoria Squires, general sales manager of WVGN, said there is no way to judge the local NPR audience because "it’s not a measured market."
One person who was surprised at the news is Doug Lewis of the WVGN Doug Lewis show, from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays, which he has hosted for years. The popular show features a broad spectrum of music. "I hadn’t heard a thing," Lewis said Tuesday. His show is one of a handful of local programs on the station now.
