KANU announces events to celebrate 50 years of broadcasting

LAWRENCE -- As KANU, the public radio station at the University of Kansas, turns 50 this year, the station is celebrating its past and planning for a bright future.

KANU 91.5 FM, which provides music, news, sports, cultural and educational programming for northeast Kansas, started broadcasting on Sept. 15, 1952.

Several special events have been planned throughout this anniversary year so listeners can help KANU remember its past and celebrate its future. Concerts, comedy, quizzes and even birthday cake will be featured.

Highlights include the station's 50th birthday party on Sept. 15. The party will feature food, drink and live music for hundreds of guests at KANU's new broadcast studio and office facility, 1120 W. 11th St.

"This is an exciting time for KANU," said Janet Campbell, general manager of KANU. "We're proud of the programming we've aired over the past 50 years and are looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence the station has established. We have so much going on -- thanks to the generous support of our listener-members, underwriters and the University of Kansas -- that it may take another 50 years to thank them all."

Among the special events the station has planned are:

 • A concert by Marion McPartland, host of the nationally syndicated program "Piano Jazz," May 4 at the Folly Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.
 • Live broadcasts of the Sunflower Music Festival from Topeka, June 7-15
 • "Right Between the Ears," KANU's resident comedy cutups, June 29 and Oct. 5
 • "Whad'Ya Know," the popular comedy quiz show, at KU's Lied Center on July 13
 • A concert featuring the best songs from Broadway musicals, Sept. 7 at Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City, Mo.
 • A folk music concert at Lawrence's newly opened arts center on Dec. 7

As part of the station's yearlong celebration, the KANU news department is producing a series of special reminiscences from the broadcast pioneers who helped launch the station. News director J. Schafer has spoken with professors, announcers, and KANU alumni and engineers who laid the foundations of programming and content and provided the vision and expertise that have guided the station since then.

"I'm not sure if it comes from a sense of pride or merely nostalgia, but we wanted to take a look back at our past 50 years in broadcasting to find out where the station's been and where it might be headed," Schafer said. "We're running the yearlong recollection series to feature some of the personalities and programs that helped shape KANU during its first five decades. We're hoping these mini time capsules will evoke memories for many of our longtime listeners and give new listeners a sense of the station's history."

While KANU relives some its past highlights and successes, the station remains focused on the future.

"We are looking forward to providing our listeners with high-quality programming for another 50 years," said Campbell. "The next 50 years will be more exciting than the first 50."