Eric Brown to retire

Post date: Dec 28, 2011 4:26:11 AM

With Eric Brown’s retirement, management of KRVN transitions out of family’s hands for first time

• • Kearney Hub, December 26, 2011 12:27 pm (Eric resides at Johnson Lake, North Shore0

LEXINGTON — Lexington’s one and only radio station, established with the intent to reach and benefit farmers and ranchers throughout the entire state, has had only two general managers in its 60 years.

• • • • ERIC BROWN

      • ERIC BROWN of Lexington will retire as general manager at KRVN on Sunday. Brown has managed the station since 1979, when he took over after his father, Max, retired.

“The job doesn’t come open very often, so if you miss the boat you have to wait 30 years,” Eric Brown joked last week after he announced he will step down as general manager effective Sunday.

He moved back to Lexington and rejoined KRVN as general manager in 1979 when his father, Max, retired.

KRVN provided Brown with his first job when he worked as a janitor and disc jockey during high school. That taste of radio influenced his educational aspirations and career goals.

“It’s in my blood,” he said of growing up while observing how his father could use the radio station to provide valuable information to people.

Brown will continue with KRVN and the Nebraska Rural Radio Association in a national sales and public relations role until he officially retires on Aug. 1, the 33rd anniversary of his homecoming.

KRVN is the only farmer/rancher-owned radio station in the nation. The NRRA was set up so that members receive no profit from the income of the radio station. Instead, they benefit from the programming being broadcast, as do nonmember listeners.

“I just think the people of the state are wonderful. They’re warm, honest, friendly. They help their neighbors. This is a great place to raise three kids,” Brown said.

Incorporated as a nonprofit organization, KRVN pays taxes as if it were a commercial station and re-invests earnings in operations, ag-related nonprofit organizations, and education.

Brown said his time at the head of KRVN has been satisfying. He had flexibility to serve on a variety of local and state boards and the opportunity to promote agriculture.

Additionally, Brown serves as a political lobbyist for broadcasters and rural hospitals.

“It’s always changing, but you’re never out of issues,” he said.

Providing information and linking people with the world around them are important missions for KRVN.

“You can really help people in our audience with their need for information — about markets, news, weather and sports,” Brown said.

He said KRVN has the highest ratings of any agriculture radio station in the nation in audience share, or percentage of listeners. When listeners travel out of state and can’t tune in, they report missing the market information and weather.

Career highlights for Brown include the 1984 purchase of KNEB-AM/FM in Scottsbluff and KTIC-AM and KWPN-FM in West Point in 1996 for the formation of the Nebraska Rural Radio Network. This expansion aligned with the original goal of statewide broadcast coverage.

Obtaining Federal Communications Commission approval, competition for available frequencies and economic crisis were challenges along the way.

Competing against Mother Nature has also been an ongoing battle. Brown said the first FM transmission tower erected, which was 600 feet tall, was toppled by a storm three weeks after it went on the air in 1962. The pattern repeated, and KRVN lost four towers in less than 10 years before settling on a smaller 320-foot tower.

A 1,000-foot tower was built almost five years ago in a joint venture with Bott Radio Network of Kansas City. Bott purchased KAMI of Cozad to offer Christian programming at 104.5, KCVN — The Christian Voice of Nebraska, and occupies the upper part of the tower. Another Christian station leases space below KRVN.

“That’s all I can do for insurance,” said Brown. “I put God above me and God below me.”

Although employee longevity isn’t common in radio, it is at KRVN. Brown said employees such as radio announcer Dave Thorell have been with KRVN for more than 35 years. Even in the acquisition of new stations many employees were retained.

“It’s a family culture,” said Brown. “We treat people as they would like to be treated. We also help them develop and grow. We do some promotion from within.”

Brown said KRVN was fortunate to be in the forefront of embracing new technology, offering Internet service and developing a website before many really understood the Internet.

“We were early on in that game,” Brown said. “We saw it as an extension of our service in agriculture, as a service to our listeners.”

Brown chronicled the history of KRVN in the book, “KRVN, the First 50 Years of Service to Agriculture,” written from his father’s notes and published in 2002. His wife, Ruth, a journalism professor, edited the book. Brown plans to update the book by adding the history of the last decade as he retires.