KPCC-FM Mourns Loss of ‘Kids America’

The Christmas Eve cancellation of “Kids America” is coal in the stockings for young radio listeners of station KPCC-FM (89.3), according to station management.

“ ‘Kids America’ was the only quality program on the air for kids,” said an angry Larry Shirk, program director of the Pasadena City College public station, the show’s only Southern California outlet.

The cancellation of the show, which KPCC has carried since September, 1986, comes at a particularly bad time for the station, he added, for it had recently received permission to construct a new Mt. Wilson transmitter that will triple its current 30-mile broadcast radius.

“We had looked at ‘Kids America’ to be a mainstay of our programming along with (National Public Radio news magazines) ‘Morning Edition’ and ‘All Things Considered’ when we move, especially ‘Kids America,’ because we have a commitment to children,” Shirk said.

For the time being, KPCC will move its 2 p.m. broadcast of “All Things Considered” into the 3:30 slot vacated by “Kids America” and extend its big band jazz programming until 3:30 p.m.

Ultimately, KPCC hopes to replace “Kids America” with other children’s offerings, perhaps even produce its own, though Shirk thinks that probably would be too costly a prospect.

Said a downcast Shirk: “It’s going to be impossible to keep that time slot kid-oriented now, because there’s no available programming.”