According to a report in the Siloam Springs Herald Leader, news/talk KURM-AM/FM in Rogers, Arkansas (about 25 miles north of Fayetteville) go dark on July 1 after 45 years of service to the community. The station is owned by Kermit Womack, the 89-year-old father of Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, who
states in a press release, “It’s with a great deal of regret that I announce today the end of an era in local broadcasting. KURM has been a mainstay in this region for nearly 45 years, dedicated to the coverage of local events across a three-state region. Our style of radio is hard to do. That, coupled with some unfortunate health circumstances, have led to this decision.” Steve Womack put the station on the air in 1979 and the Herald Leader says he managed it for 11 years before leaving to join the Army ROTC program at the University of Arkansas. Steve Womack tells the paper, “It’s a sad day, to be sure. But over time, not only has this business changed dramatically, but the listening habits of people have changed. There are simply too many outlets competing for consumers. My father is an institution. He’s among the last of a vanishing breed. He is KURM, and if he is unable to continue, it is fitting that the station retires with him.” Read the Herald Leader report here.
