LCMS' radio station sold without open bid

[Studeclunker]

EDIT:
This Article, which I have had to edit, was sent to me included in a Reclaim News letter, for which I have recieved full rights to quote. However, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hasn't given direct permission, so please forgive me for chopping this a bit. If I can procure permission, I'll seek permission in turn to restore the entire article. I will post a link as soon as I can find the original story, if it's available on-line:

KFUO radio station sold for $18 million
By Sarah Bryan Miller
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/06/2009
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod will sell its 61-year-old classical music station, KFUO-99.1 FM, to Gateway Creative Broadcasting, the LCMS and Gateway announced today, for $18 million plus $8 million in interest over a 10-year term.
The sale will become final in March, pending the approval of the Federal Communications Commission and transfer of the license...
"...The board reportedly decided it wanted to sell to a Christian organization. However, said the Rev. Dr. Paul Devantier, senior vice president at Concordia Seminary, Brashear refused to acknowledge a Lutheran group which wanted to buy the station and retain the format.
LCMS second vice president Paul W. Maier, a professor of history at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, charged that the board had ignored a petition signed by 41 church leaders, and abandoned its responsibilities. At its August meeting, the board turned over full authority to sell the station to Brashear. No discussions within the Synod were ever held.

...After learning of the sale, Neidorff and Wilkinson issued a statement that said "the entire process leaves many questions unanswered." It also expressed "dismay that Kermit Brashear was not willing to negotiate with the (KFUO) Radio Arts Board or provide us upon our request the terms of any sale."
Opponents of the sale, both within the LCMS and the Friends, said that they were considering appeals to the FCC and legal challenges to the sale.

Interesting...

Synger has kindly researched the location of this article and she has posted the links below.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Stude, you'll need to edit that down to comply with the 20% copyright rule.

 

[DaRev]

Interesting indeed. One would think the sale would require convention approval.

 

[LutheranHawkeye]

Interesting indeed. One would think the sale would require convention approval.

Under our current leadership...this doesn't surprise me.

 

[JTornado1]

I'm surprised they sold it.

 

[Tangible]

Did they sell both the AM and FM stations? I know there was some confusion about that when this was first being discussed.

Honestly, I'm not sure if a church has any business owning a business, other than maybe owning stock as an investment. Were the employees of the station actually employees of the LCMS? That seems really weird to me, especially since (as I understand it) it just played secular quasi-classical music (basically Muzak, right?) with maybe a little sacred music tossed into the mix on Sunday. I could be wrong.

 

[Studeclunker]

Cantate, the employees of the radio station would be employees of the station itself. In a very indirect way, they would also have been employees of the LCMS as well as, in turn, the LCMS owned the station.

I see no problem at all with a religious organization owning a buisness as long as that business is related to missions or the operations of the church itself. A good example was Concordia Publishing House, which used to be owned by LCMS. In part at least. Now it's just another publishing house and reflects so as it refuses to publish a lot of old material and also refuses to allow it to be published elsewhere. Dr. Rosenbladt was always complaining about this obnoxious habit of theirs.

So, yes, a radio station would be a good venue for a programme such as, 'The Lutheran Hour,' which is now less than half-an-hour. Thus, the station would meet the requirements of missons and the operations of the Church itself.

Unfortuneately, the Corporation has the right to sell it's assets to anyone they choose. If they have violated a detail of their charter, then there is a cause for action. Otherwise, it's just the, perfectly legal, disposition of an asset. No matter how shady the deal.

In answer to your other question, Cantate, it was the FM station that was sold. Revrand Casione relates the following in the latest Reclaim News:

Since the AM station depends on support from the FM station, the sale of AM will be a couple of years behind or sooner. No one contacted our BOR about what would happen to the buildings on our property which have been rent free ever since the existence of KFUO. No one has any idea what the cost will be to remove the buildings once AM is sold. No one has made any provision for any kind of monies to be contributed to the St. Louis Seminary for all the free years of rent etc.

 

[synger]

Link to the story:

10/06/2009 - KFUO radio station sold for $18 million - STLtoday.com

St Louis public radio article

KWMU: KFUO-FM to be sold to Christian broadcaster (2009-10-06)

 

[Studeclunker]

Thanks Synger!

 

[DaRev]

KWMU: KFUO-FM to be sold to Christian broadcaster (2009-10-06)

I find this statement from the above article intersting:

"But he says the church appears to have ignored a community responsibility."

What is the "community responsibility" of the Church? To broadcast classical music, or to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Church isn't ignoring their "community responsibility" at all. They are attempting to use their assets to better fulfill their true "responsibility".

 

[Studeclunker]

I find this statement from the above article intersting:

"But he says the church appears to have ignored a community responsibility."

What is the "community responsibility" of the Church? To broadcast classical music, or to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Church isn't ignoring their "community responsibility" at all. They are attempting to use their assets to better fulfill their true "responsibility".

This is most certainly true. I also found that remark a bit odd, considering whom was being discussed by whom.

Mr. Bronstein is concerned with keeping his venue open. However, his comment makes a bit more sense when quoted in context:

The executive director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra calls the pending sale of KFUO "tragic." Fred Bronstein says the LCMS can do what it wants with KFUO, which it owns. But he says the church appears to have ignored a community responsibility.
"This is a station that has been in existence for more than 60 years, it's been an important voice for arts and culture in St. Louis in a city that really cares about arts and culture," Bronstein said. The Symphony has several broadcast agreements with KFUO, including a series of live concerts. Bronstein says officials have started exploring other outlets for those broadcasts.

I do, however, agree that the only responsibility the Church has to the community is to spread the Word. It's really sad that the LCMS had an excellent venue to do so and allowed it to be used soley for entertainment. Like I said earlier, it would be nice to see the 'Lutheran Hour' actually lasting one.