Supporters seek new call letters for KPLU

KING, KJAZ, KJAM and KNEW are already taken.

The folks who will build the next iteration of radio station KPLU are looking a new name.

KPOT, KPUG, KBOP and KOOL also are spoken for.

Brenda Goldstein Young, with the Friends of 88.5, writes to say, “Part of the Friends of 88.5 FM’s agreement with Pacific Lutheran University is that we will no longer use the KPLU call letters. So, on the advice of KPLU’s morning Midday Jazz host Dick Stein, we are asking the public for suggestions on what our new call letters should be.”

The winner will be the first person to give voice to those new letters live, on the air.

Suggestions and submissions should be offered before the July 24 deadline and sent to surveymonkey.com/r/newcallsign.

To see what’s already taken, the Federal Communications Commission keeps a list containing call letters that are no longer available at http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/callsign/main.html.

Following an announcement last year that PLU intended to sell its public radio franchise to the University of Washington, a nonprofit group comprising KPLU supporters was given the opportunity to match the UW offer and create an independent entity that would manage the new station.

In May, Save KPLU reached its $7 million goal “to sustain local and national news, thoughtful storytelling and inspiring music.”

So how about KNSM, your headquarters for News, Storytelling and Music?

Oops, sorry. That also is unavailable, owned as it is by the University of Northern Iowa.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Supporters seek new call letters for KPLU."