Facing lawsuits and dwindling ratings, KDHX 88.1FM—the beloved community-focused radio station that long specialized in eclectic music little heard elsewhere on the dial—has announced that it has ceased all new programming and dismissed all of its on-air volunteers. The station’s schedule will instead be filled with previously recorded programming.
We last covered the KDHX saga in October of 2023, when a number of local musicians teamed up in an attempt to ouster the station’s controversial Executive Director, Kelly Wells. More controversy has haunted the station since then, including the suspension of community-elected board members who were only added to the board after the station settled a lawsuit regarding their election. (Full disclosure: one of those board members is The Arts STL contributor Courtney Dowdall, who was not consulted or involved in the creation of this article.) Just this week, former KDHX DJ Stacy Bernard filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the entire board besides Dowdall for “dishonest or fraudulent conduct and gross abuses of authority and discretion.”
In a statement posted to the station’s website on Friday night, Gary Pierson—President of the KDHX Community Media Board of Directors—blamed “financial challenges.” The statement, in full:
This evening, KDHX will pause live broadcasts on 88.1 FM and kdhx.org due to financial challenges.
The station does not have the resources to sustain current operations. As a result, our small staff has made significant financial sacrifices. All volunteer content production roles, including our valued volunteer DJs, have been discontinued.
This was a difficult decision for our board as our audience has grown and expanded in recent years, most notably online.
Several factors have contributed to this decision, including long standing financial pressures, industry-wide challenges for public media, and a decline in financial support. Unfortunately, recent disparagement campaigns and senseless lawsuits have severely impacted fundraising.
To continue serving our listeners locally and worldwide, previously recorded programming will air on 88.1 FM and kdhx.org beginning tonight at 7 p.m. CST. Meanwhile, our board is actively exploring options for the future of KDHX to continue fulfilling our mission of building community through media.
We understand that this news is disappointing. We deeply appreciate the support of our volunteers, listeners, and donors over the years. If you value independent, community-driven programming, we encourage you to stay engaged by visiting KDHX.org for updates.
Several KDHX DJs also shared the internal communications informing all of the volunteer DJs of the move, which included much the same information but contained an expanded definition of all of the positions being eliminated:
For the foreseeable future, KDHX will only broadcast previously recorded content. For this reason, the station will no longer have volunteer content producers. KDHX defines volunteer content producers as any role that creates content or supports the creation of content for any KDHX platform, for example, 88.1 FM, KDHX.org, social media. Specific roles include programmer/DJ, substitute programmer/DJ, radio show assistant, podcast host, podcast assistant, podcast technician, calendar producer, announcement producer, voice talent, writer, photographer, film and performing arts reviewer, music library, and production department volunteer.
After Friday, January 31, 2025, the only volunteers who will continue with the station are volunteers in non-content producer/supporter roles.
Unfortunately, this means that your volunteer DJ role with KDHX will end effective immediately. Because you will no longer be in an active volunteer role, your status as an Associate Member will also terminate, effective immediately.
Left out of these statements is any explanation as to how getting rid of volunteers—people who by their very definition work for free—will either save the station any money or inspire any increase in donations. As St. Louis Magazine noted in the above links, rumors have been swirling that the station is preparing to sell their broadcast license, with station management remaining completely silent on the possibility. There is some speculation that the statement regarding “Associate Member” status may be a move to remove volunteers’ ability to vote on any proposals regarding selling the station or its broadcast license. Should this pause prove permanent, the loss of KDHX’s richly varied programming will be a devastating loss to the St. Louis arts community. | Jason Green
This news is a shameful new chapter in this saga. The power grabs, gaslighting, and poor management of the station under Wells has ruined a station that was not just a place to find new left of the dial music, but a vital community resource.