It’s the end of an era for Liberty’s radio station, KSHN. A little more than a year after selling the FM station to KSBJ and then reinventing KSHN as an online radio show, station owner Bill Buchanan and manager Tiffany York are calling it quits, citing concerns for York’s health.
York told listeners Tuesday morning that she is doing fine but the stress and strain of operating an around-the-clock radio station is taking its toll.
“I know people watched 10 years ago as I went through a real health battle. My thanks to (the late) Jana Buchanan and Brad Harrington who just would not let me quit. I managed to come out of that and the community was very supporting,” York said in the final radio broadcast. “The reality is that the time this place takes is starting to stress my health again. I can’t risk that. I have a teenager to raise. That’s why the decision was made … Rather than get sick again, we made this decision.”
For the final radio show, York was joined by Buchanan, former KSHN employee Ross Norwood and receptionist Debbie Polasek as they reminisced about their most memorable moments and thanked listeners for their 44 years of support – first with KPXE AM and then KSHN FM.
Buchanan tried to quash rumors that have begun circulating as word spread that KSHN was closing.
“For those of you who have already started the thing about us going broke or bankrupt, and all that kind of stuff, that is not what happened. It’s true we haven’t been doing the business we used to do with the radio station, but we did real well when we sold the radio station to KSBJ. Bill Buchanan and his family are going to be great for a very long time in the future,” Buchanan said.
In fact, keeping the online radio station afloat after the sale to KSBJ was never his idea, he added.
“Tiffany came to me and said she wasn’t ready to quit. We had been online for several years streaming KSHN. The audience, to a certain extent, was already there. I said, ‘Okay, if you want to make a go of it.’ There were all kinds of problems that went with it – the pandemic, the economy, things we never saw coming,” he said. “All of those things became players in this game. I told her I would help in any way I could. We continued on with online only and we got to see it grow a lot. I think we started out with 10,000 to 15,000 viewers and grew it to 100,000 viewers per month by adding video and everything else.”
With revenue changes, the station was unable to operate with a full staff, which meant York had to take on the lion’s share of responsibilities.
“Tiffany made the decision in her own best interest. That was when we determined to pull the plug,” Buchanan said.
As for what lies ahead for York, she is uncertain. She’s worked in radio stations since the age of 14.
“I have no idea what else I can do but I guess I am going to find out,” she said.
I’ll truly miss this station. I enjoyed the news reporting and also when Coach Dickson was there.
Southeast Tx will never be the same. The community news- the interviews- the covering of sporting events. KSHN was Liberty. Liberty cannot be Liberty without it. It had quite a following. I am devastated at its loss.
Good riddance