The on-campus radio station KKJZ (88.1) FM will begin operations under new management of Global Jazz Inc. in April after a 10-year contract was signed.
The Cal State Long Beach Foundation and Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc., the parent company of Global Jazz, have finalized the negotiations and signed a 10-year agreement for managing KKJZ.
“We are very thrilled knowing that we’ll soon be launching on this new venture,” said Global Jazz public relations officer P.J. Ochlan.
KKJZ will continue to be owned by CSULB Foundation, while Global Jazz will handle the managerial and financial aspects. Associate Vice President of University Relations Toni Beron said the decision to opt for Global Jazz was partly due to financial matters and the involvement it would have with the school.
Beron said Global Jazz will handle some of the costs that the university had been paying up to this point, such as utilities, broadcast space and others.
Recently, the radio station suffered financial woes, and the new management will have the ability to operate the station without any financial struggles.
“The intent here is to strengthen the radio station’s ties to the university, but also to bring a new entity that will bring financial stability to the radio station,” Beron said.
As part of the agreement, Global Jazz will maintain the existing format at KKJZ as a mainstream jazz and blues station. Ochlan assured that there is no intention to change the existing format of the radio station.
“Our format and emphasis will continue to be mainstream jazz,” Ochlan said. “We want to stay true to the heritage at KKJZ, but at the same time integrate some aspects of jazz that will keep the station vital and current.”
Brian Nowlin, associate executive director for CSULB Foundation, said the new management will be beneficial to the radio station and the university.
“Both the Foundation and Mt. Wilson are dedicated to maintaining the same jazz format and have the radio station become more involved with the student body,” Nowlin said.
As part of the contract, each year Global Jazz will offer four scholarships to CSULB students at $5,000 each, provide paid internships for four students and attempt to hire more students as paid employees, interns and volunteers of the radio station.
The company will continue to present the annual Blues Festival, an important local event for KKJZ. Global Jazz said it will also co-sponsor events on campus, as well as expand on marketing and on-air promotion of CSULB.
The announcement of finalized negotiations comes more than three months after Mt. Wilson was selected by the Foundation as the winning bidder for management of KKJZ.
Global Jazz will take over Pacific Public Radio, which was turned down for contract renewal. Beron said the criteria for the winning bidder surpassed that of simply financial stability.
“There were a lot of bidders, but Global Jazz particularly was chosen over the rest,” she said. “We were looking for a proposal that focused on enhancing services for students.”
Global Jazz will assume the management of KKJZ on April 21 under the contract, which will extend until 2017.
