Colorado Public Radio

Type	Public radio network
Country	United States
Broadcast area	Colorado
Programming
Affiliations	National Public Radio
History
Founded	1991
Coverage
Stations	CPR News CPR Classical Indie 102.3 KRCC
Links
Website	www.cpr.org

Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is apublic radio state network based inDenver, Colorado that broadcasts three services:news,classical music and Indie 102.3, which playsadult album alternative music. CPR airs its programming on 15 full-power stations, augmented by 17 translators. Their combined signal reaches 80 percent of Colorado.^[1] CPR also managesKRCC, the NPR member station inColorado Springs, in partnership with the station's owner,Colorado College.

As of 2013, CPR had 440,000 weekly listeners, 47,000 contributing members and annual revenue of $14 million.^[1] In early-March 2019, CPR acquired hyperlocal news site Denverite from Spirited Media to bolster its web news coverage for locals.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

CPR is anonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. Private support from listeners, corporations, foundations and partners accounts for approximately 95 percent of CPR's total budget.

The first station in what would become Colorado Public Radio,KCFR (90.1 FM) in Denver, went on the air in 1970. The station was initially licensed to theUniversity of Denver. In 1973, KCFR began carrying programming fromNational Public Radio (NPR), beginning withAll Things Considered.Morning Edition was added in 1979. More NPR programming was added the following year when the network began to distribute programming via satellite.

KCFR separated from the University of Denver in 1984, becoming a community-licensed public radio station. That same year,KPRN inGrand Junction signed on the air. In 1991, KPRN merged with KCFR, forming the new entity, Colorado Public Radio. The original plan as proposed to the Western Slope listeners and the FCC during the license acquisition phase was to continue providing original localized programming for the needs of the Western Slope audience. But despite protests from those listeners, within a few years the KPRN studios were closed, all volunteers and news staff positions were eliminated and it became asatellite station of KCFR.^[7][8]

CPR added more satellite stations in the following years, includingKPRE Vail in 1994,KCFP Pueblo in 1996, andKPRH Montrose in 1998. CPR also began adding other low-power translators, sometimes in competition with existing public radio stations. Stations in other areas not served by CPR, likeKDNK in Carbondale, complained that CPR would also send out fundraising solicitation letters to KDNK listeners leaving the impression that they could thank CPR for receiving popularNPR programs like All Things Considered or Morning Edition, sometimes resulting in misdirected donations.^[7]

Until 2001, CPR's format was a mix of NPR programming andclassical music. However, in 1999, CPR bought Denver classical music stationKVOD, a prelude to providing both a 24-hour news format and a 24-hour classical format.^[9]

In 2001, CPR attempted to purchase theUniversity of Northern Colorado's FM stationKUNC in a closed-door deal with then-UNC presidentHank Brown. When the pending deal was announced to the public, KUNC immediately raised over $1,000,000 in a week of emergency fundraising as a successful counteroffer to CPR's, thus ending CPR's plans to acquire the KUNC radio network.

In 2001,KCFC Boulder,KKPC Pueblo andKPRU on the Western Slope joined the CPR network. In 2004, CPR broughtKVOV in Glenwood Springs on the air as part of its statewide network. In 2008, CPR's news service moved to 90.1 FM, and 88.1 FM carried CPR's classical service in Denver. In 2011, CPR launched the new-music station OpenAir on1340 AM as KVOQ, and in 2015, OpenAir switched to broadcasting asKVOQ-FM on 102.3 FM in Denver/Boulder, and KVXQ (now Classical KVXO) on 88.3 FM in Fort Collins.

On January 17, 2020, CPR took over fromColorado College the management ofKRCC, the primary NPR member station inColorado Springs. While CPR will handle all operations, Colorado College will continue to hold the license and the station will still be operated from Colorado Springs. Initially, the station's format of NPR news during the day and adult album alternative music at night remained the same. However, the station's daytime schedule was tweaked slightly to match that of CPR's all-news network, and KRCC added CPR's daily statewide news program, "Colorado Matters." As part of the agreement, Colorado College and CPR will collaborate on a "public media center" that will be home to KRCC, the Colorado College Journalism Institute, andRocky Mountain PBS' Regional Innovation Center.^[10][11] CPR had expanded to Southern Colorado in 2016 with the purchase ofManitou Springs-licensed AM stationKXRE,^[12] but in April 2020 it switched that station to a simulcast of KVOQ.^[13]

In August 2023, CPR purchased a six story 72,000-square-foot building at 777 Grant Street to house its studios, offices and auditorium. The $8.34 million used to buy the property came from a donor.^[14] A few years prior CPR in December 2019 had relocated its 50 person newsroom to a 9,000 square space at 303 E. 17th Avenue.^[15]

In March 2024, CPR laid off 15 employees, none from the newsroom. The downsizing followed a period of staff increase at CPR, growing from 48 employees in 2006 to 214 in 2022.^[16]

CPR News includes a locally produced program called “Colorado Matters,” local newscasts throughout the day and national/international news from sources like NPR and the BBC. Over the years, Colorado Public Radio's newsroom has received a number of journalism awards, includingRTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards,^[17] Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) Awards^[18] and Colorado Broadcasters Association (CBA) Awards.^[19]

In 2017, CPR produced a three-part podcast broadcast on the radio entitledThe Taxman. Produced by Rachel Estabrook, Nathaniel Minor, and Ben Markus, it gives the story about the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, orTABOR, in Colorado. It follows the man who created it,Douglas Bruce, and how it affected the state government. All three episodes were released on November 13, 2017, and narrated by Rachel Estabrook and Nathaniel Minor.^[20]

CPR's full-power stations are split between three services. Seven broadcast NPR news and talk, five air classical music with hourly NPR news updates, and three air adult album alternative music.

*NOTE: Italics denote low-powertranslator stations. Many of the listed translators are owned by county cooperatives, and may change stations or frequencies with little notice. This listing does not includeKRCC and its satellites, which are owned byColorado College and managed by CPR.

• Colorado Public Radio

• Colorado Public Radio
• Radio stations in Colorado
• NPR member networks
• American radio networks

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