RED RIVER RADIO TURNS 35 - Last evening there was a special event at Red River Radio as we celebrated our 35th Anniversary of being on the air. Red River Radio officially began on December 20th, 1984 as a single commercial-free broadcast radio station affiliated with National Public Radio. Today it has grown into a 5 radio station network serving South Arkansas, North and Central Louisiana and East Texas. Before 1984, there was no public radio serving the area – the nearest was KERA FM in Dallas-Ft Worth. Local attorney Neil Irwin played a key role in getting Red River Radio started. I visited with him and his wife Glenda who also played a role in those early days.
"It was an inspiration of Don Weiss who was president of the Shreveport Chamber about 38 years ago,"Irwin explained. "(He) said that we were the largest unserved area in the country of public radio and that was a barrier to our attractiveness for businesses and new residents."
Once the radio station became established, communities in adjoining states wanted to get involved. Glenda Irwin who retired as LSUS’s Vice Chancellor of Development explained how Red River Radio grew.
"I was on the board and I remember when the mayor of Lufkin said 'we want this so badly can we please be a part of it'," Glenda explained. And other cities like Eldorado, Arkansas; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Tyler, Texas would follow suit. Glenda added "I don't think there's another station in the country that equals what it does."
For many years- Red River Radio operated in a small- cramped temporary building but today its business offices and studios are housed in a renovated church building on the SW corner of LSUS’s campus. Chancellor Larry Clark was among those at last night’s anniversary celebration and reflected on how far Red River Radio has come.
Red River Radio is a commercial-free public radio service that is funded mostly by listener donations and local area business underwriters. It serves a broadcast market comprised of more than 2 million people.
