Ellensburg’s KXLE-AM changed formats at the start of 2024, switching from news/talk to classic country. The unpopular decision made by new ownership has resulted in an exodus of the station’s original staff.
Bill Wolfenbarger and his business partners acquired the licenses for both KXLE-AM and FM in July 2023. The company kept it business as usual for 2023 but decided change was necessary in 2024 for the AM property.
In a conversation with the Daily Record, Wolfenbarger said “when we were given notice that general manager Brad Tacher and his wife Patti (office manager) would be resigning at the end of the year, we felt it was time to explore the programming on both stations.”
Wolfenbarger explained that the company stuck with KXLE-FM’s mainstream country programming because it reached key demographics. The decision to change the AM property was more complicated.
“We knew that while high-powered ‘news/talk’ stations in large markets often do well with their live traffic reports and long commutes, local AM stations in small markets don’t have the conditions or available resources to be relevant,” said Wolfenbarger.
Ellensburg Radio Broadcasting’s new owner added “While knowing that many of those who listen to national talk shows would be upset with change no matter what we did, it was determined that in the long run, KXLE-AM would garner more overall listeners and be of most value to local businesses and the community if we were to launch a similar music format to the KXLE-FM, but for older demographics.”
Brad Tacher was with the station for almost 30 years. He told the Daily Record, “It was time for me to go. It was an awesome run, but there are big changes in the industry locally and nationally, and I’m not ready to tackle them in this stage of life.”
Bruce and Patti Tacher were not the only two to exit. Another “eight or so” part-time and full-time employees have also departed.
There are no reported plans to feature local talk programming on KXLE-AM. Wolfenbarger said the station is not in a fiscal position to make those type of moves currently. He did however leave open the door to revisiting that possibility in the future.
Should further news develop, we’ll keep you updated on Barrett News Media.
