Inside KOSU

February 16, 2007 - Oklahoma Public Radio KOSU Director and General Manager Craig Beeby will retire from Oklahoma State University in June. He has accepted a national position as Executive Director of the University:Station Alliance (U:SA). Beeby has substantial broadcast experience at the state, national, and international levels. This experience will serve him well as head of the national grassroots initiative. Beeby is the current President of the U:SA and has been working with the organization, on a volunteer basis, as the president since February of 2001.

Beeby has guided KOSU through historic times in Oklahoma. From reporting live on the scene at the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing in 1995, to anchoring live broadcasts of the tragic OSU basketball team plane crash in 2001, and being one of the primary voices heard daily on the network, Beeby's career has been dynamic.

"I credit the station's success to all the wonderful professional staff members and students present and past who have worked at OSU over the years," Beeby said. "I feel confident that the tradition of excellent service will continue because of the staff's devotion to listeners. The listening audience has been instrumental as active members of the Oklahoma Public Radio team. It is truly rewarding to work at an institution so many people love."

Albert Colom, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Oklahoma State University said, "For Craig to be selected by his peers to lead a national organization is very complimentary of his recognized skills and accomplishments. It is the ultimate act of respect by his colleagues and he is well deserving. He has set a high standard as KOSU director at Oklahoma State University and leaves a significant legacy for Oklahoma."

Beeby said, "While working nationwide with university-licensed stations, the U:SA Board has agreed I can be available to assist Oklahoma Public Radio KOSU. Happily, whether my work is on the national level or here in Oklahoma, it all benefits KOSU and that is important to me."

March 6, 2006 - Public Radio Capital and nationally recognized KOSU Oklahoma Public Radio (91.7 FM in Central Oklahoma & 107.5 FM in northeast Oklahoma) announced the installation of a new signal "101.9 FM" serving the Okmulgee area south of Tulsa.

Public Radio Capital (PRC), which broadens the reach of public radio nationwide through partnerships with educational institutions and public broadcasters, has purchased the equipment for the new frequency. PRC has entered into an agreement with Oklahoma State University's non-commercial station KOSU to manage and operate the new facility.

"PRC has worked with educational institutions and broadcasters for several years to secure new channels for public radio and assist with capital projects," explained Marc Hand, managing director of Public Radio Capital. "PRC was established to help stations like KOSU expand its public service. Just as the Trust for Public Land steps in to buy a property to preserve land for public enjoyment, this was an opportunity to build a facility to provide an important public broadcasting service in central Oklahoma," added PRC managing director, Susan Harmon.

Craig Beeby, Director and General Manager of KOSU said, "The KOSU expansion initiatives are part of the university's commitment and leadership toward extending higher education and public service to all Oklahomans."

Beeby continued. "The station's ultimate goal is to improve service in all directions." The new 101.9 FM radio frequency in Okmulgee provides the opportunity to improve the signal strength into one of the many rural areas not served before by public radio or KOSU."

February 20, 2006 - Former State Capitol Correspondent Rachel Hubbard has been promoted to the position of News Director for Oklahoma Public Radio KOSU. Director and General Manager for KOSU, Craig Beeby said, "Hubbard has been repeatedly recognized nationally as one of the outstanding journalists in the country. She has the talent to work anywhere in the country and she has chosen to keep her talents here in Oklahoma. We are thrilled with her abilities and her willingness to lead the news department to the next level as a statewide resource."

Hubbard will steer KOSU's news department, but she will also continue her award-winning coverage of the state capitol. "I am looking forward to this opportunity. We have a small staff, but I want to give our listeners the most I can with more diverse state news coverage." Hubbard graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agricultural communications. She started working for KOSU part time in 1999 and has worked in a variety of positions since that time.

"When someone cares about how they serve the listening audience and has the professional tools and determination to be the best, when placed in a creative environment they will flourish," said Beeby. "Rachel has the potential to be one of the best News Directors the station has seen and with our history of excellence that really says a lot."

Hubbard has won numerous awards from state and national organizations for her coverage of the state capitol and other Oklahoma news. "I hope to use my experience at KOSU to help our listeners receive better news coverage each and every day," Hubbard said. Hubbard has won numerous awards from state and national organizations for her coverage of the state capitol and other Oklahoma news.

Oklahoma Public Radio Names Underwriter Specialist

OPR is the network you trust. We bring you the state, the nation, and the world. We inform, enlighten, and entertain. With your investment, we can continue the business of being your most trusted radio source for news and culture in Oklahoma. Thanks for your support!

CLICK HERE TO PLEDGE NOW and thank you for your support.
Call in your pledge at 1-800-228-4678
Or mail your contribution to: KOSU, 303 PM, Stillwater, OK 74078

Public Radio Capital (PRC), which broadens the reach of public radio nationwide through partnerships with educational institutions and public broadcasters, has built the new tower and HD broadcast facility. PRC has entered into an agreement with Oklahoma State University's (OSU) non-commercial station KOSU to manage and operate the new facility.

This project extends KOSU's reach into the Oklahoma City Metro and the central Oklahoma area. The construction of the new facility began in early June.

"The expansion will create new avenues of understanding and civic dialogue when the station's news and information is available statewide," said Craig Beeby, director and general manager of KOSU. "The KOSU expansion initiatives are part of the university's commitment and leadership toward extending higher education and public service to all Oklahomans." Beeby said.

"KOSU has attempted to serve the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas long distance with our one facility since 1971," Beeby continued. "The station's ultimate goal is to improve service in all directions." The new station facility provides the opportunity to improve the signal strength into the major metro areas as well as many rural areas not served before by public radio or KOSU."

"One of the primary missions at Oklahoma State University is outreach to Oklahoma. The KOSU expansion is an extraordinary opportunity," said Dr. David Schmidly, President and OSU System CEO. "The expansion extends our campus outreach beyond the physical boundaries of the university grounds making it accessible by simply tuning 91.7 FM on the radio dial. It is a historic day for radio in the state and a great way to celebrate KOSU's 50th anniversary." Schmidly said.

In another project, PRC and KOSU teamed up to improve the quality of the signal serving the Tulsa metropolitan area and northeast Oklahoma by purchasing a radio station and converting it to 107.5 KOSN, a noncommercial public station.

"The two stations will allow KOSU to become not only a statewide network but a regional resource. It's exciting for our listeners," Beeby said.

The next three development projects include an improved signal in the southern part of Tulsa, a new signal in Okmulgee, and an improved signal in northern Oklahoma. With these three projects KOSU is waiting to receive approvals from the Federal Communications Commission so that PRC can complete the construction.

June 16, 2005 - Oklahoma Public Radio is a recipient of one of the most prestigious broadcast journalism awards in the country, the Edward R. Murrow Award. KOSU is one of seventy-two recipients of this year's Award, chosen from a pool of 3,390 submissions nationwide. Since 1971, the Edward R. Murrow Awards have been presented annually by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the world's largest professional organization dedicated exclusively to electronic journalism.

KOSU Program Director Ted Riley won the national honor for a series of radio stories he produced focusing on the problems and possible solutions at the nation's largest EPA Superfund site, Tar Creek, located in Northeastern Oklahoma.

"KOSU first reported on the Tar Creek situation four years ago. At the time, not much was being done at either the state or federal level to clean up the environmentally tainted 40-square-mile area or to help those affected by the environmental and health hazards associated with Tar Creek," said Riley. "Since then, the state has made several efforts to help the residents, and to an extent, so has the federal government. But despite those efforts, after nearly a quarter of a century, Tar Creek still remains on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List. That's what these stories were about."

Under the leadership of KOSU General Manager Craig Beeby, KOSU has earned 235 national, regional, and state honors for journalism excellence, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards, two Scripps-Howard Journalism Awards, and the broadcasting equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, the duPont-Columbia Award.

"What an exciting honor for KOSU during our 50^th anniversary," said Beeby. "This top quality award is reflective of our wonderful audience and is one of the many exciting things that make up the tradition of the past fifty years of KOSU excellence. It couldn't have happened at a better time."

KOSU Program Director Ted Riley will receive the Edward R. Murrow Award in New York City this October.

February 18, 2005 - To hear about KOSU's future and the significant accomplishments of its past, click here. KOSU is now available on two stations. In central Oklahoma listen on 91.7 and in northeast Oklahoma you will hear Oklahoma Public Radio KOSU on 107.5. 107.5 extends our noncommercial public radio service from Tulsa to Joplin, Missouri. We may take the station off the air for short periods of time for maintenance and installation of new equipment. Oklahoma Public Radio KOSU is now serving northeast Oklahoma 24 hours each day.

January 10, 2005 - Let the celebration begin! 2005 marks the 50^th anniversary of broadcasting for KOSU, Oklahoma's Public Radio. We have great things in store for you.

This landmark year will begin with an exceptional treat for classical music devotees. Miles Hoffman and the American Chamber Players will be here for a special concert at the Seretean Concert Hall on the OSU campus, Tuesday, January 18 at 8 pm. Miles and his ensemble will delight you with an extraordinary repertoire of pieces for all ages to enjoy.

Tickets may be purchased one of two ways: by calling our toll free line 1-800-228-4678 and asking for Karen; or by contacting the Student Union Hub at 405-744-7400. Refreshments will be served during intermission to commemorate this very special evening.

KOSU could not be "Oklahoma's Public Radio" without listeners like you. We appreciate your support and look forward to many more years of broadcasting service.

September 10, 2004 - Public Radio Capital and nationally recognized award winning KOSU 91.7 FM "Oklahoma's Public Radio" announced a change in the ownership and programming of Ketchum, Oklahoma commercial station KGND 107.5 FM.

Public Radio Capital (PRC), which broadens the reach of public radio nationwide through partnerships with educational institutions and public broadcasters, has entered into an agreement to acquire KGND, pending Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. PRC has entered into a programming agreement with Oklahoma State University's (OSU) non-commercial station KOSU to program the channel with state and national news programming, specialty programs and classical music.

"PRC has worked with educational institutions and broadcasters for several years to secure new channels for public radio," explained Marc Hand, managing director of Public Radio Capital. "PRC was established to help stations like KOSU expand its public service. Just as the Trust for Public Land steps in to buy a property to preserve land for public enjoyment, this was an opportunity to acquire a channel to provide an important public broadcasting service in Northeast Oklahoma."

Craig Beeby, general manager of KOSU added, "We are thrilled our current listeners will hear us from Southwest of Oklahoma City to Northeast of Miami, Oklahoma and our programming will cover parts of four states and reach 4 million people in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri."

The sale is expected to close during the final quarter of this year and KOSU will begin non-commercial programming after PRC completes financing for the purchase and receives necessary approvals from the FCC. "KOSU has attempted to serve the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas long distance with our one facility since 1971," says Beeby. "The station's ultimate goal is to improve service in all directions. The second station provides the opportunity to improve the signal strength into the major metro areas as well as many rural areas not served before by public radio or KOSU."

In another project, Public Radio Capital and KOSU are teaming up to improve the quality of signal serving the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Beeby says, "We will improve our signal with a new broadcasting facility. This is in response to listeners in our fringe broadcast areas who for years have been requesting a stronger signal. The two stations will allow KOSU to become not only a statewide network but a regional resource. It's exciting for our listeners." This second phase of expanded service is expected to launch in the Spring of 2005 after KOSU receives necessary approvals from the FCC and PRC completes construction.

Public Radio Capital (PRC) has a primary purpose: to partner with educational institutions and public broadcasters to broaden the reach of public radio to millions of listeners. PRC has already achieved results with public radio stations secured in Albany, Baltimore, Denver, Frederick (Maryland), Nashville, Portland (Oregon), Sacramento, Seattle, and outside Boston and Chicago. These channels represent partnerships with educational institutions and local public broadcasters helping to build stronger public radio program services for larger and growing audiences. Other PRC projects will target new arrangements and program services in at least 15 other states within the next few years.

KOSU 91.7 FM is listener supported and owned and operated by OSU. KOSU is a public radio station serving Stillwater and the state since 1955. As the first National Public Radio member station in Oklahoma, KOSU's mission is to provide quality programming from OSU to significant audiences as well as to be a vital source of information, ideas, and cultural experiences enriching people's lives through lifelong learning. The station has a full-time State Capitol correspondent, is recognized nationally for news journalism excellence, and is known internationally for outstanding management. KOSU programming can be heard on the web at KOSU.org.