Star Tribune

Minneapolis Star Tribune
February 20, 1998

Children's Broadcasting deal puts Beat Radio back on the dial

Kristin Tillotson / Star Tribune

Former pirate Beat Radio is back on the air --
legally this time, on the old Radio AAHS
frequency.

Its mix of techno/dance-club music can be heard
from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on WWTC Radio (1280 AM)
through a temporary agreement with Children's
Broadcasting Corp., until recently the purveyor
of children's programming.

"The deal sort of fell in our lap," said Beat
founder Alan Freed, a vocal and tireless
crusader for local underground radio. "They
needed programming, we needed an outlet."

Freed has been lobbying for legitimacy since the
Federal Communications Commission took Beat Radio
off the air in 1996 for broadcasting from an
unoccupied frequency without a license.

The arrangement expands Beat Radio's reach to AM
stations owned by Children's Broadcasting in
nine other cities, including New York City and
Los Angeles, via satellite.

Children's Broadcasting has aired an eclectic
mix of pop music -- with no announcers, just
occasional station identifications -- since it
pulled the plug on the AAHS format Jan. 30,
after a deal to sell the company collapsed.

The network will continue with that pretaped
programming during daytime hours, said Gary
Landis, programming vice president. In the
meantime, the company's stations remain for
sale, he said. As for the future of Beat Radio:
"We're waiting to see whether it's a niche
format that will be defined and supported by a
small but loyal community, or one that has more
generic market potential."

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