The parent of Miami-based public radio station WLRN says it is marching north to Palm Beach County and beyond with the acquisition of a local commercial station in West Palm Beach, “The Flame” 104.5.
“This acquisition is more than just an expansion — it’s a commitment to public trust, to community, and to closing the radio news gap that currently exists in Palm Beach and Martin Counties,” John LaBonia, CEO of South Florida Public Media Group, said in a statement.
The public radio operator cited the demise of newspapers nationally, their shrinkage locally and the rise of “news deserts — counties lacking a professional source of local news.”
“We are making sure that no corner of South Florida remains a news desert,” LaBonia said
Richard Rampell, the media group’s board chairman, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday that a sales contract was signed two weeks ago with the owner JDD Radio, which is led by West Palm Beach personal injury lawyer Dean Freeman. Several broadcast industry blogs quoted the price as $6.45 million. Rampell said he could not yet confirm any figure. Freeman was unavailable for comment.
The South Florida Public Media Group announced the deal last Friday. The license transfer requires Federal Communications Commission approval, “which is expected in the coming months,” the group said.
“Once finalized, 104.7 FM will be integrated into SFPMG’s broader network, ensuring consistent, high-quality public service journalism throughout South Florida,” the statement says.
“The Flame” is now a hip-hop station with programming driven by live DJs and community talk.
On Monday, Rampell said the acquisition is the culmination of more than 10 years of effort in securing a station that can help WLRN pump local news coverage into all of Palm Beach County. The newly acquired station’s reach also extends into Martin County.
“We’ve been looking to buy a license for quite a while,” he said. “We came close to buying one twice. Finally, we got a guy who wants to sell at a price we think is supportable based on our own endowment. We have the resources.”
Weakened signal to the north
On the drive northward along Interstate 95, WLRN’s signal does a slow fade slightly north of West Palm Beach. The signal reaches an estimated 4.5 million people in South Florida ages 6 and older. Of that number, approximately 324,900 people listen each week, according to a financial report released in January.
Once out of range, public radio listeners can switch to another NPR station, WQCS-NPR, which is located on the Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College. That station covers northern Palm Beach County, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties.
But the Fort Pierce station doesn’t address a paucity of local news coverage in Palm Beach County, Rampell suggested. .
“In an era where reliable local news is more essential than ever, along with emergency communications and valued NPR programming like All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, this acquisition underscores SFPMG’s unwavering commitment and dedication to being a trusted voice for the communities it serves,” Rampell in the statement.
He told the Sun Sentinel the group envisions posting reporters around Palm Beach County and supplementing their efforts with veteran journalists who are running independent online operations.
WLRN, which maintains its studios in Miami, employs close to two dozen on-air broadcasters. news reporters and producers.
Rampell, a CPA, is the father of Catherine Rampell, an opinion columnist with the Washington Post and co-host of a news show on MSNBC. He said he’s not shy about adopting the national newspaper’s motto, “Democracy Dies in the Darkness.”
“It’s important to preserve American democracy on a local level,” he said.
Rampell said the media group, which also operates WLRN-TV, has the wherewithal to grow and sustain itself without the help of government funding for public broadcasting, which President Donald Trump wants to cut. Both National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System are suing the Trump administration to restore money appropriated by Congress.
“We have a pretty substantial endowment,” Rampell said. “We could pay cash if we had to.”
He said WLRN’s most recent local fund-raiser raise more than the goal they had set.
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