Could St. Louis lose its only classical music radio station?

By Mike Garrity

KSDK -- There's a lot of fear that St. Louis could lose its only classical music radio station, and the station's owners are not doing much to calm people's fear.

KFUO-FM "Classic 99", was not only St. Louis' first FM station, but for the past 61years, the community has grown to depend on the Marconi award-winning station as the only place for classical music and the arts on the FM dial.

And right now there's fear that could change.

The radio station is owned by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and recently church leaders decided to form a committee to look at the possibility of selling the station.

Church leaders did not want to go on camera but a spokesperson says church ministry is increasingly expensive, given the economy, so the church is taking a close look at all its assets.

The church says there's no timeline, but it is studying what selling Classic 99 might look like.

That's prompted plenty of public fear, because if the station were to be sold, industry experts say classical music is not a popular commercial radio format.

"No decisions have been made, and we think let this play out. I think it will play out well," says Dennis Stortz, Director of Broadcast Operations at Classic 99, KFUO-FM.

In recent months, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra says it has increased its advertising at Classic 99 to show support for the station. The symphony says it is not hearing anything from church leaders about the radio stations fate.

So at this point, the symphony is encouraging the public to be vocal about voicing support for the classical station.

The radio station itself says it has been flooded with calls of inquiry and support.

"The response has been fairly overwhelming. We've had a lot of calls and emails from supporters all around the country actually so, yes, there's some concern, yes," says Stortz.