Passing: New York Times Jettisons WQXR Radio

For 60 years it has been known as the "Radio Station of the New York Times" - that is until October 9.

At 8 p.m. on Thursday October 8, WQXR changed. As part of its cost cutting efforts to survive in a difficult economy and media environment, The Times has sold WQXR.

As the dust started to settle, WQXR ended up at a new frequency (moving from 96.3 to 105.9)and a new guardian - WNYC. Lots of dollars transacted, and a disorienting series of changes. A voice on WQXR before it happened aptly described the feeling of many as "wrenching".

The whole thing is bittersweet. As a Public Radio listener and enthusiast, I am thankful there is a taker for classical music when even The Times has decided to bail out. And traditionally the Public Radio sensibility is a solid one (though the lack of meaningful info during this period of transition has been disturbing). One can hope.

Moreover, to be honest, I've had ups and downs with WQXR. I fondly recall the likes of George Edwards on "Bright & Early", Duncan Pirnie (Who can forget "Cocktail Time"?), Bob Sherman in "The Listening Room", and "Adventures in Good Music" with Karl Haas. In recent years, I was not always quite so connected to the station, although I do still love classical music. Too trendy, too top 40 of classical in a seemingly never ending search for its audience sweet spot - and in the process appearing to be in search of its voice.

But as the station changes in so many ways, I, nonetheless, mourn what at its core is a place of substance and class that is passing. WQXR started in 1929 as an experimental station - its call letters W2XR, and in the 1940's bought by the Times as what is now described as a public service.

And serve the public it did - through its music, and also by being a taste maker. One could only dream of trips to exotic places hearing SwissAir or Pan Am commercials. One also contemplated what it would be like to be a grown and sip Dubbonet.

The sound could be haughty and pretentious, but it was a unique New York institution, commercials and all.

Surprisingly, I find that I'll miss some of the cultured and sophisticated ads unlikely to be heard anywhere else(Broadway shows, museum exhibits, Alliance Francais, etc., but not for wrinkle cream). I will miss some of the radio voices not part of the change (especially Clayelle Dalferes). I'll miss "Symphony Hall", a weeknight fixture for decades. And I'll also miss Friday evenings without a very different kind of comfort food for the soul - the weekly services broadcast from Temple Emanuel (It's a tradition that goes back 65 years).

But, alas, it's the start of a new era, we are told. We'll see.(Initially for one listening within 15 miles of the origin of the signal most of what one hears is quite good)

In the meantime, here's a "bravo" to the generations who made the "Radio Stations of the New York Times" so meaningful - whether they are those who created the programming or folks like me who deemed them important to our lives.

Hail and farewell - we'll miss you.

BTW, you can see a video of the exact moment that the switch was made by an engineer on the 79th floor of the Empire State Building at 8 pm on October turning "The Radio Station of the New York Times" @ 96.3 fm to "Classical 105.9" and part of the WNYC family:
http://www.wqxr.org/articles/about-wqxr/2009/oct/09/flipping-switch/