When Congress voted to rescind federal funding for public media last summer, it was a 12% hit to the KPBS budget. But San Diego’s other public radio took an even harder hit; the $200,000 loss is 20% of the budget for KSDS Jazz 88.
As the end of the year approaches, we decided to check in on how things are going for KSDS. We began our visit with longtime DJ Gary Beck in the on-air studio. He seemed unbothered by the station’s financial challenges, but then again, this isn’t his first time at the radio rodeo.
“Oh my God, 52 years, this October,” Beck said with a smile when we asked him how long he’d been a DJ.
Beck was born in San Diego, and he got his start here. But he’s also been on the air in Los Angeles and New York. He’s been back on the air at KSDS for 15 years now. In the last half-century, he’s seen and heard it all.
Beck said he’s content to spend his last years at one of the remaining, true jazz radio stations in the U.S. He told us how great it is to work at a station where the DJs get to play the music they want to hear.
“We pick it, yeah. We all add something to the station, and we know the music. If you didn't know the music, you couldn't do it,” he said.
Our next stop was a chat with station manager Ken Poston. We asked how far along the station was in replacing that $200,000.
“I think we're about 70%, maybe. We're pretty much on schedule,” he said.
Worrying about the bottom line is part of Poston’s job. But as 2025 comes to a close, he said he’s seeing positive signs.
“Because we always take in our normal amount of membership, which means this year we have to take in $200,000 more in some combination. All indications are that we are on track to do that. I'm just cautious but optimistic.”
Part of maintaining funding depends on how the station positions itself. A lot of that involves reminding listeners of just how rare this place is.
Poston reminded us that “San Diego is one of the last places that actually has this. And there's just a handful of full-time jazz radio stations left.”
And there’s something else unique about public radio in San Diego. Other cities, like LA, have more than one station like KPBS that are NPR member station, so they — in essence — compete with one another. That’s not an issue here.
“We have it here to where we complement each other,” Poston said of his station and KPBS. “And we have a lot of people that support both stations.”
Back in the on-air booth, Gary Beck was doing his thing, keeping the jazz rolling — and not worrying about the future.
“With the great listeners that we have and the good staff that we have, we just keep going. You can't look over your shoulder. You got to keep going forward,” Beck said with a chuckle.
If you’d like to help keep both KSDS and KPBS moving forward, it’s easy.
Here’s where to go to support KSDS, and you can click here to support us. Thank you!
