(radio hissing) - [Host] 835.

(light guitar music) - [Host] Jamming the best music.

Johnny Andre, Myra (indistinct).

Today around 87, we are KPRS Kansas City, the nation's oldest owned Black-owned radio station.

- Hot 103 Jamz, getting ready for that live drive in five more weekends.

We got some serious traffic problems out there.

(no audio) (light piano music) - [Narrator] Born from the groundbreaking discoveries of the late 19th century, radio emerged as a revolutionary form of communication.

Initially a tool for ship-to-shore communications and wartime strategy, radio transformed into a consumer phenom by the 1920s.

Families gathered around their sets as a radio brought music, news, and entertainment directly into the living rooms.

By the 1950s, it was a cultural centerpiece, shaping communities and connecting the nation like never before.

- Black radio is an institution.

So it's like church, it's like school, it's like hospital.

And this is what Black folks depended on in terms of our information and for music entertainment, and what was happening in our community.

- I believe that when you come into a city, I go to the Black stations and I believe that I can actually learn a lot about the city just by listening to the Black station, whether it's healthcare, education, politics, social issues, you turn to the Black Station.

A concert?

You turn to the Black station.

Wanna hear new music?

You turn to the Black station.

- It was inherently ours and we supported it tremendously.

It was finally a place where we could turn and hear our story and hear our music and get our news.

- The beauty of the African American community, especially when it's happening to our community or in our community, they want to be informed.

- There was a tremendous sense of pride about having those kinds of business institutions that catered to our needs explicitly.

- We know that and that's our job.

So therefore, we've never lost being the mouthpiece of the African-American community.

We won't lose that.

- Just by punching the dough.

You can hear it, you can feel it, in essence see it, because it's all there in sound.

♪ O Lord (audience cheers) - Mainstream media, even academia, obviously didn't perceive Black radio as being important, and so they did not record the history.

In 1947, WDIA was licensed in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Black population of the United States was 10% at that time.

Memphis, the Black population was even larger.

But you couldn't tell it by listening to the radio stations.

They decided to go all Black all the time.

And they remained number one for decades.

And in the 1950, KPRS came on the air.

While WDIA was the first Black-owned station, KPRS was the first Black-owned group, and the only one that still exists to this day.

- In the '70s and '80s, and before then, the access for Black music was extremely limited.

- [Person] May 15th, 1950, he turned on that AM station.

♪ You gotta reap what you sow (upbeat spiritual music) ♪ Please don't forget - It was the first Black radio station west of the Mississippi, right?

The thing we're doing right now, we're the oldest Black-owned radio station in America, if not the world.

- The fact that Skip Carter worked so hard just so he'd be able to get that FCC license to be able to have a station.

- My grandfather wanted to be in the radio business and that guy, Alf Landon, who saw his article back in 1948 or '9, said, "Hey, Skip, I'll help you get into the business."

All right?

In fact, so much, he gave him radio transmitter to start KPRS AM.

- (chuckles) You know, to hear about all these things that Black people were going through back then, and actually for him to have a radio station is crazy.

- We're sitting on history, one of the few Black-owned companies from the Civil Rights Movement.

- We talking about, this is before the Civil Rights Movement.

18 years before Dr. Martin Luther King passed away, they started this radio station.

- You're part of history, you're standing on the shoulders of others that came ahead of you.

- This is a family business that was started with nothing but heart.

- [Person] The blood of Skip and Mildred Carter, it runs through the building.

- Because he already knew what to do for the engineering perspective, because he had studied engineering.

He went to school for engineering.

He just needed that license, that piece of paper.

And once he got that piece of paper, he was off to the races.

- And then that's how our story begins.

- I'm sure they had difficulty getting financing, getting funding.

There was discrimination with the banks.

The FCC, the process was discriminatory.

- If you can imagine 1950, what my grandfather and grandmother and that sales department had to do to try to make sales.

I mean, a lot of people didn't realize that KPRS stood for, Keeps People Really Swinging.

A lot of folks thought it was Colored People's Radio Station, - Whether it was businesses that were advertising on that station, whether it was a place where we could turn and hear music that we could relate to.

You know, all of those things were so integral for what Carter broadcast and that radio station provided for this community.

And I think we saw it grow right along with the urban population's growth in Kansas City.

- And then there were the naysayers saying that "It will never happen.

You can't do this.

It's impossible."

A lot of them didn't last.

They went bankrupt.

But those who had the vision and really served the community became the pulse of the community.

And the community relied on them.

They supported them.

- I would really want to just hear the way that they speak about being Black and being in business, because their mentality had to be killer mentality.

They had to know, "I don't care who is sitting in front of me.

I'm gonna get this business done because this is my business and I want this for the next five, 10 generations."

Right?

They had no fear.

- And Skip and Mildred had that kind of vision and they knew it was competitive, but they won it.

It shows and I think it was the voice.

It was the voice along with one of the oldest African American weekly papers, the Kansas Call.

So there was, here, you read it and here you hear it.

And I think that so significant it was, but they're able to make it.

And still now, almost 75 years, they're still alive.

- I think it's a testament to their good work throughout the years, man, to be able to survive 75 years without other stations coming here and slamming on you.

You know what I'm saying?

Slam dunking on you, you know?

- Kansas City should be proud, you know, to have this legacy, this history right here in our city.

(gentle music) - And I remember going to that building and, gosh, it was so small, but it was theirs.

(light smooth pensive music) I remember my grandfather was just, he was such an engineer type person.

My grandmother was more the business end of things.

She didn't put up a lot of crap at all.

- Mrs. Carter came in once in a while and you knew who was boss when Mrs. Carter came in.

- What woman in an era where it's hard to get a Black business started, much less a radio station says, "No, we gonna do this station," it makes it happen?

- She taught me a lot of things.

She would always have conversations.

She would sit me down and remind me, you know, how the station was started, where you came from.

Because if it wasn't for Skip Carter, none of this would be possible for all of us.

- So one day Chris was in the production room.

He goes, "You're getting pretty good at this."

I said, "Thanks."

He goes, "Why don't you come in here and you sit on my lap and lemme see what you can do live."

And I was like, "Okay," you know?

And so Chris had talked to my grandfather and he got the okay from him.

And so I did it.

My grandfather said, "Let him do a show."

So I got to do the Mike Lewis Show and I played jazz and I did all this, you know, everything that a jock would do.

And every now and then, my grandfather would walk by and he'd look in and, you know, I was like, you know.

Okay?

And you gotta understand Skip Carter.

That man was so stoic.

I mean, if you weren't working, you better look like you were working when that man walked in, you know, "Skip's here!

Him Mr. Carter, how you doing?"

You know?

"Hello.

How you doing?

Good to see you."

You know, that kind of thing.

It's like what the kids are doing now on social media.

It was just so many cool things to do.

And you know, I'm sitting there handling this 100,000 watt radio station and, you know, it was just amazing.

It was just an amazing thing.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] By the 1970s, Black music and entertainment exploded into the mainstream reshaping the cultural landscape.

From soul and funk to the rise of hip hop, these genres carry the stories, struggles and triumphs of the community, captivating audiences across racial lines, influence in fashion, language and social movements.

Black artists didn't just entertain, they redefined the sound of a generation leaving an indeniable mark on global culture.

- Crown Centers wants to come in and start doing some work.

They're thinking about building the Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation.

So they started building Crown Center.

All right?

So when they got most of the building done, they wanted to take my grandparents building and demolish it.

They were gonna move them, basically.

So I guess the story goes is that, you know, she had a conversations with some of the Hall family people.

She told them that she would broadcast in George Washington Park and she would broadcast the Crown Center, ran them out.

Okay?

So that changed the whole dynamic.

So Crown Center, "Whoa, no, time out," right?

"We don't want to do that.

I tell you what, we'll put you in our building."

- They wanted to put her in the basement, and she wasn't having none of that.

- She goes, "No, I'm not doing that.

I'm just gonna go right out here at George Washington Park until you can find me a place that's reasonable that we can be in.

So next thing you know, we got into the 2440 building.

That's where we started doing, started making the moves that way.

They put the groundwork together, put the building up.

My job was to fill in the building and take it to the next level.

1987.

Okay?

Now we had been automated.

You had mentioned automation, 'cause we were the first automated radio station in Kansas City.

First Black automated station in the country.

- You could set your watch or not even wear a watch, know what time it was to KPRS growing up, because at about two to three minutes to the top of the hour, you'd hear a jazz song.

It'd be George Vincent or a Grover Washington Jr. song or something.

And you knew that it was the top of the hour.

- They had Gap Band.

♪ You can't keep running in and out of my life ♪ That's how it went off every night.

♪ In my life They had this like loud delay, it is reverb delay.

Same song every night, my whole childhood, they played the Gap Band.

- I wanted to try to get us out of that automation and go back to live format.

And when I had mentioned that to my grandmother, my grandmother was like, "Oh no, we're not doing that, 'cause those jokes don't show up, and you know, uh-uh."

Grandfather goes, "Wait, wait, what are you talking about, Mike?"

And I said, "Well, I just think we could have a stronger station if we were back to live and people could talk to us and all those types of things."

So in the meantime, I take it upon myself to go ahead and start doing some live broadcast at night.

- For us to go live at that time, it changed the dynamics of everything for the radio station, for our personalities.

- "Wow, you guys, can I request a song?"

Yeah, here, what song?"

You know?

Think about if you're the listener and you're turning on the radio and your favorite stars are on the radio having a chit chat.

We were getting ready to dedicate a new tower, 'cause my grandfather wanted to be on this 1,100-foot tower.

- And my grandmother comes out and says, "Thank you for coming here today.

We are about to dedicate this tower and we are going to announce that we're going back to a live format, and we've got some other changes that are gonna happen.

And one of those major changes was we're gonna name a new president of the radio's company."

So my grandmother says, "Oh, and our new president is my grandson, Michael Carter."

(interviewer chuckles) My mom goes, "Get out there, get out there."

And I go, "Shit, she did not just mention me!

She did not say me."

- And I was honest with her, said, you know, "Michael is young and this is a big... You've been going down for X number of years.

I don't know."

She said, "But don't worry, I'll be looking after him."

- "I'm gonna tell you something.

You knew your grandfather couldn't be here 'cause of his health."

And I said, "Yeah."

She said, "But he wanted me to do something for you."

And I said, "Okay."

So my grandmother reaches down in her purse and she pulls out these keys, and she hands me the keys to the radio station.

Now I am something, I'm the president.

(interviewer chuckles) - And then KPRS came up with a new slogan for the station, Hot 103 Jamz.

Went on a blitz, passing out bumper stickers and key chains and whatnot.

And then the whole, don't forget to slam that Z window happened.

And it was just a thing at that point.

- [Host] On KPRS Kansas City HD1, Hot 103 Jamz.

- We go back.

Now I'm president of the station.

We got the live format going and I'm, yes.

And you know, and all that.

- So we went live in April and there were only four of us, Chris King, Dell Rice, Freddie Bell, and myself.

So we had to go live on FM, and we still had to tape the Am which I did both.

- It was nothing to walk into the offices at Crown Center on the weekend to do your shift.

And DJs were asleep, passed out everywhere.

'Cause we'd come right from where we were, take a couple hours nap, hop on the air, go freshen up and hop back in the van and go someplace else.

- And you know, when we got a van and we just started doing remotes and we just started really hitting the streets and kind of gorilla warfare in a way to make us on the map.

- So I used to work at this clothing store on 35th and Prospect called Wild West Fashions, my junior senior year in high school.

And Freddie Bell used to come by and do live broadcast.

So right after automation, they went live in the late '80s.

We would always do character voices and do a lot of stuff and engage the customers and coercing them in the shopping and buying stuff.

So he was watching all of this, and we're just doing what we do, and he is like, "Hey, have you guys ever thought about doing character voices for a morning show?"

And we're like, "We don't even know what that means."

So we created some characters for the Morning Show.

At the time was Diane Devereaux and Freddie Bell.

And the characters took off.

Like I would literally go to the radio station, before I went to school in the morning.

So I'd go do some of those voices and record 'em and then head off to school.

- You know, all of a sudden we have more salespeople.

So we expanded while we were in Crown Center.

We worked seven days a week for quite a few months, no day off.

- And I think Michael has done well, beyond a lot of people's thoughts about that.

And I was, you know, this is nothing to play with you.

And you and Andrew had built this to a point to where it was very competitive.

You had your resources out there, your advertising out there to keep you alive.

- Us going live gave us more credibility with the audience.

You know what I mean?

Connecting with the audience.

The DJs could deliver the information in real time, interact with the audience more.

What it did for us, it just changed the dynamics of everything from the front office to on air to sales.

It just changed the narrative and the conversation.

- Then it became like, ah, this is what radio's really supposed to be.

- There was always a live broadcast somewhere from a clothing store, from a car dealership, and most definitely nightclubs.

- Broadcast live from the corner of 18th and Vine with a turntable and all that stuff on (indistinct).

- Tony G, who was probably one of the first superstars to come out of KPRS with Live Radio and Magic Man and then Diane Devereaux and those guys, you know, wherever they were you wanted to be.

- We just got out in the community and started being part of it, just like it probably was in the '60s.

- Well, I think it really gave people a feeling that they could now reach back and talk to the station.

They could have easily sold it and "You kids go do whatever the hell you want to do.

We made our money.

See you later."

But they didn't.

And that was so unselfish for them.

♪ Hit it, hit it (upbeat music) - 1990-ish or '91-ish or so, I had talked to my grandmother.

I said, "Hey, you know what?

We gotta get outta Crown Center, 'cause this stuff is just costing us too much money.

I don't have the room.

I need more space."

So she said, "Well, go around and look and see what you can find."

So I went over to where we are now and I said, "Whoa, this is nice."

We got a radio wing and we got, you know...

So I called my grandmother the next day.

I said, "Chichi, I think I found something."

She said, "Okay, I need you to come up."

So she said, "Well, gimme about two or three days, I'll come up and look at it."

So she did, she came up and look at it.

She goes, "Oh, this is perfect."

We made our move from Town Center in 1992.

And then we did everything that we could do to get our building into the shape that it's in today.

And you know, that sign, Carter Broadcast Group, you know, we changed the name and all of that from KPRS Broadcasting.

And it was a big move for us.

- We all had to make that change.

We all had to adapt, because it's a lifestyle.

I mean, hip hop music started becoming a lifestyle.

- It was still pretty R&B driven at the time, you know, we hadn't even got to the point where there were a lot of rap artists featuring on songs at that point.

So it's just, you had your run DMCs, you had your Houdinis, you had the staples that were there at that point.

And KPR still did not play a lot of that, but they were still coming around.

So you could still hear those artists, but- - Trending to become one of the top selling genres of music, you know, in the latter part of the '90s, early 2000s.

So it just took us all with it.

- Black stations introduced the music, but music is universal, okay?

It's a feeling, you know, it's an inspiration.

It has a story, and the stories motivate people and inspire people.

So it's not just Black people who are inspired by it.

- You have to look at the explosion of what was happening in Black music at the time too.

There was a lot of different sounds that was being introduced.

You had, of course your R&B, you had your hip hop, you had your go-go, you could hear jazz on Urban Radio station.

It may be a blues record that sifts in and becomes a big hit.

You have to look at house music that made up the rainbow of Black music right at the time.

- Without getting too racial about it, it crossed over.

- Music and sports are so closely intertwined.

It has been the one common denominator, if there's been of any that has unified us, it's been music and sports.

- In Kansas City, there's the Kansas City Chiefs, the Royals, and there's Carter Broadcast Hot 103 Jamz.

- And I think there's a reason for that.

It doesn't see color, it doesn't see, even though you have all these various genres of music.

Yeah.

But when it's all said and done, music speaks to the soul.

And having a radio station like the Carter Broadcast Group, KPRS, KPRT later on, it was so important to our culture to have that.

- More and more and more whites listening to Black music.

It helps when you have playing the music that everybody wants to hear.

- [Person] White folks have always loved Black music.

And that hadn't changed.

No, no.

It was the same.

So, I mean, good music is good music.

Nobody, it doesn't matter what color your skin is.

- I would say that Black people are the author of cool.

- Times changed, music change, and the culture changes.

So Carter Broadcast Group, they grew with the listeners.

- So it's like, we've been here, we've been there, we done, that and we'll keep doing it, no matter how much the music changed and the audience adjusts from time to time.

It was a constant, constant voice.

- [Narrator] In the 1990s to early 2000s, hip hop exploded on the mainstream, evolving from its roots in the urban community into a global, cultural force.

With the rise of influential artists, dynamic beats, and powerful storytelling, the genre broke barriers and dominated the airways.

Radio stations played a pivotal role.

What began as a voice of the streets became a worldwide phenomenon, shaping trends, inspiring movements, and redefining popular music for a new generation.

- I didn't have a lot of media sources growing up.

You know, we didn't have a lot of money to buy music.

- I just remember that this was a station that felt like it was for us.

You know what I'm saying?

And this is probably early, man.

I'm talking five years old, four or five years old.

- KPRS was the reason I was hearing gospel music on Sunday in my grandma's Christian House.

- [Person] At a young age, I knew it was a Black station because of the music.

- If you go over to people's grandmother's house and you see that old stereo with the TV on it, that's the console on the floor with the light up dial of all, the 103 is burnt out because that light has been there for 50 years, just burning on 103.

It had never changed, 'cause that was the only station that Blacks listened to.

It was either that or the AM dial KPRT.

So it was always on.

My dad was a barber, had a barbershop, it was always on in the barbershop.

So the music was always there.

And it was always KPRS.

- KPRS was the center of source of music for me even in the '90s and 2000s.

- And on the radio I heard "Planet Rock," (humming) and I ran back down to our house.

I was like, "Turn the radio, Ike!

They got that song playing!"

And he turned it on and I got the end of it.

KPRS was playing "Planet Rock," man.

Oh my God.

You know what?

I'm sizzling.

And that's like 10 years old, you know what I mean?

That I've been tuned in to KPRS.

- My mother taught me harmonies and taught me music in the church.

But I learned what the hits were from listening to that radio station.

You know, when the Gap Band was out and when Zapp, Roger Troutman and Zapp were out, you know, and it made me cool in a gang and groups like that, it made me go to the Roger and Zapp concert.

And then when I saw Roger and Zapp on stage, I'm like, "Oh, that's what I want to do right there."

- If you're heard on KPRS, it adds some legitimacy to what you're doing, what you're saying, what message you're trying to provide.

- Oh no, in Kansas City, getting my song on Hot 103 Jamz?

I made it.

- Fast forward to Tech N9ne time, we got "Cloudy Eyed Stroll" on the radio... That was my first song on the radio after all those years trying, you know what I'm saying?

And then it was just back to back bumbles after that, after Mitch Bay.

I think it was, "Let's Get Cranked Up."

You know what I'm saying?

That's how they played it.

And then right after that was (humming) Tech N9ne.

"Planet Rock," man, take it all the way back to when I was 10 "Planet Rock."

You know what I mean?

So we've been tuned in, man, you know, they showed a lot of love over the years, you know, to Tech N9ne.

- When people look at our family and they look at our legacy, they know that it is genuine.

They know that when we say we care about the community, we really do.

It's not like we're just saying that to hear ourselves talk, and people can see that through the gestures and the things that we do in the community.

- And I think a lot of the people who have grown up with KPRS, my grandparents, your grandparents, you know, they saw KPRS as that vehicle.

And I want now my kids to understand that.

- We can keep this torch burning and we can keep this torch alive.

And all we have to do is keep passing it and keep running.

When I'm dead and gone, I hope my kids will continue on, make this 100 years, you know?

- We just always have been involved in the community since we've been live.

Get out help, we help out all.

Can we run something?

Can we bring somebody on the air to talk about this event?

We just get involved.

If you ask some of the old time jocks from the '60s, what KPRS was about, 'cause you know, "What's your purpose?

What's the radio station's purpose?

Why did Skip Carter start the radio station in 1950?"

You know, it can't just be about money.

I don't believe that.

It has to be about, well, the giving back to the Black community, especially in that time period, right?

We're doing that still, serving the community.

It's different than it was in 1950.

- Being part of something that meant so much to the Black community.

I was honored and it excited me.

And to this day, I'm still excited about what I'm doing 36 years later.

- It's just fun.

I come to work every day, man.

I'm 66 years old.

I have no interest in retiring 'cause I'm still having fun.

- We're so deep into Kansas City, we're ingrained in this city.

And I don't think I especially would never want to lose that.

I mean, I would never want to lose that.

I feel like that would be a disservice and just disrespect almost to what everything my great grandparents did and my dad did.

- I feel that Carter Broadcast grew family, Mike Carter and everyone, they just support the community.

If something's going on, we're gonna talk about it.

And they allow us to talk about it.

They allow us to be real about it and just be able to express ourself and help the community in so many ways.

- Yeah, during times of social injustice, and I've been a part of this, we just want to amplify the voices, the African American voices of Kansas City, because sometimes it feels like our lanes were so limited.

So KPRS has always been that outlet.

- There was a time in the mid to late '90s where the owner, Mike Carter was like, "I need you guys to pick a charitable organization and let that be your focus or pick some kind of cause so we can show that we're not just doing the music thing.

We want you to be in the community, be active and do something that's positive and engaging."

- You know, when I started Julie Jones Prom Closet, there were times where we'd do a Girl Power Day and we'd talk about being aware of date rape, and we talk about relationships and self-esteem.

I got a platform.

So if I can reach somebody who's in a place where they think they can never rise from, I wanna be the one to tell them, no, that's not true.

- We started a campaign, Put Down the Damn Guns, and Mike Carter himself came on the air, you know, and start, "Put down the damn guns."

- Organizations like AdHoc Group Against Crime.

That evolved out of a partnership in 1977 with KPRS.

- That's how we know about AdHoc, KPRS.

That's how we know about Alvin Brooks.

That's how we know whatever Emmanuel Cleaver was doing at the time, you know what I mean?

It's like everything we hear from our station.

- I became more involved with Carter Broadcast Group.

In 1977, there were 10 women of the evening were murdered.

As a result of that, the AdHoc Group Against Crime was formed the 3rd of November, 1977.

And we announced that we were going to share with the community.

The true story is to who the persons were.

- Alvin Brooks will be calling from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM with a lot of updates and trying to help not only find children, but also, hey, if there's a shooting, you know what happened?

Give us a phone call.

We will not... All you have to do is just tell us.

And we used to get phone calls at the station.

They would call us at the station, say, "Hey, this and this is happening.

Like, can I get that phone number?"

Like, so we would give the phone number to people and we would actually put people in touch with AdHoc Group Against Crime.

- So you asked me what KPRS is done, if no more than that, than how important was that, that no other station would've allowed me to do that.

Other stations didn't do it.

Other stations didn't have their relationship with the police department.

And I even broadcast from police headquarters, the second floor, which was the violent crimes.

I broadcast from there when they brought suspects in.

- I really believe when they say that we want to be a community station, and not just say that, but to actually give time to AdHoc, to call in whenever they need to do a headline or do something to say, "Hey, we need to get this out to the community.

Where can they just call up?"

And we just run it back for 'em.

- If we were like any other corporate station in America, we wouldn't be doing the things that we're doing for our city and be looked at how we're looked at.

And I think I could speak for everybody when I say that we go to extra effort always to try and make something funny, make an interview happen or what have you.

- So what has KPRS Carter Broadcast Group done for this community?

It's been a lifesaver in many cases.

Not only in terms of the broadcasting.

They went religious hip hop and bringing the other side, but a pillar if you will, a stalemate if you will in the beginning if you will, of what communities ought to be about and have with them a media source.

'Cause no other station was doing this.

No other station found it.

No other station really covered the African American community like Carter Broadcast Group.

- And that's something again, like, I don't know how many radio stations would do that.

Like most radio stations like, "Hey, that's giving away a commercial time," or "Hey, that could be a song that we could be playing right now."

But to give Alvin Brooks time whenever he needs it, no matter what time of the day it is to make that phone call and to be able to get that information out, speaks to what the Carter Broadcast Group is about.

- We have responsibility not only to ourselves, but we have responsibility to those that we serve.

And that's the overall community.

And we take that very seriously.

- Like when I find out something, oh, you gonna know about it too.

Whether it is because we talk about it on air or whether it is because we're posting on it on social media.

- Whatever they were doing, we were involved.

Whether we was dropping off toys, voter registration, back-to-school events, what we just did recently with giving hope and help, trying to give back to domestic violence shelters with their feminine hygiene products drive.

So we're always conscious of that.

It's one of the first things I learned when I moved up here when they say we are about being a community station.

- You know, KPRS gonna always have the info for us, you know what I mean?

To rally behind our people.

- I love the fact that they love to give back here to the community.

They pride themselves on that.

- And I think that reason alone is why the tenure of our team is what it is.

- I know that everybody at the station feels the exact same way, which is why there's been people that have been there for their whole careers and their whole lives.

And I think that can just speak to the family culture that's within the station.

- You know, there are people there that have been there 36 years, 37 years.

And we all take that very seriously as far as who we are and why we have to continue to serve our community.

That's all we listen to.

That's all my mom played is when I was a kid, and now I listen to it and now they want their kids to listen to it.

- And so we gotta still build that audience, especially nowadays when you have more competition with your phone.

- So we had three, four generations of folks that grew up listening to our radio stations.

But I can't begin to think about retirement until I have CBG, Carter Broadcast Group where it needs to be to compete for the next 75 years.

Mom and pop businesses like ours, 20 years ago, there were a lot of us.

Now I bet I can count 'em on two hands, you know?

It couldn't be no more than 10, 12 mom and pop Black radio stations that are still fighting to fight.

Not only do we have to be good at what we do, I don't even say good, we gotta be great at what we do, to stay in business against an Audacy with nine stations, Cumulus with eight stations.

Okay?

Just due to math.

- In a situation of 1996, Telecommunications Act, a lot of our Black owners sold their properties.

How did that change the landscape of the power and the voices that were in the Black community, which was the Black radio station?

- [Narrator] Black-owned businesses, including radio stations, have long faced challenges in maintaining ownership amidst systematic barriers and corporate consolidation.

Despite their cultural impact, many have struggled to compete in an industry dominated by larger entities.

Today, radio is more than just a medium for listeners.

It's a business shaped by data and dominated by industry giants.

Nielsen's ratings and corporate influence continue to control the narrative, determining which voices are amplified and which remain unheard.

Yet, the resilience of Black-owned media reminds us of the ongoing fight for representation and autonomy in a changing world.

- So what is Nielsen?

Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement and data analytics.

Doing TV, doing radio, there is almost an industry dependency on Nielsen.

Advertisers know that this information that's provided from them is probably at least the most accurate it's going to get.

Due to its market share, due to its vast acquisition of other companies and other data analytical places, it has become very dominant.

There's not a lot of data or analytics that are being shared with broadcasters, media companies, radio stations, things of that nature, and you kind of have to deal with it.

And you kind of got to take what Nielsen gives you, right?

And that places you know what you can sell time for and then that obviously affects your bottom line, that affects the profits that you bring in.

You know, so there's a lot of convoluted information in there and that's one of the reasons that we're talking about the PPM and the rating system.

- Obviously the rating system goes back to the 1950s, but I think what most folks are interested in is the transition from the diary, whereby an individual kept a diary and recorded what they listened to every 15 minutes, ideally.

In reality, they may have recorded what they listened to in one setting for the whole week.

- So what Nielsen, as it evolved, they tried to find a better way to be able to collect the information from its diary keepers, right?

The meter piece was one of those simpler ways to do that.

- And then eventually, I believe 2009 was when they switched to the personal people meter.

- PPM meter was to revolutionize the way that that Nielsen would gather its information from its listeners.

It's just that one piece.

I mean, there is no other rating company.

- PPM system is terrible.

I think that the way that the meters work are inaccurate, the way they do it is inaccurate.

I mean, and think about today, what does PPM?

They got the little meters, right?

What does it not pick up?

Earbuds.

- And a lot of radio stations were concerned about that because they were concerned about how many meters would be out in their respective communities and counties.

- It's supposed to represent the demographic of what Kansas City actually is.

So let's say that there's a certain amount of Black women that are supposed to be in this 18 to 34 range.

Sometimes that quota gets met, sometimes it doesn't.

Regardless, that's still the statistic of Kansas City, but sometimes it's not fairly represented in the PPM world.

I had my suspicions that those PPM meters are not being distributed fairly throughout the African American community for sure.

- It's crazy to think that we're still fighting this racial divide, if you will.

- When you're trying to convince people to put ads on your station and you're not meeting the numbers that they're requiring because you don't have enough of these meters where our listeners are, it affects us immediately, it affects the bottom line monthly.

- But it's amazing how many people, if this office have stayed and have been fighting this fight.

- We know that they're listening, we feel that they're listening, but it's not being represented fairly.

- Why wouldn't I carry a meter?

I don't want somebody knowing where I go, what I do.

And why do you expect to think that the African American community is gonna carry meters?

That's what we have.

That's what's out there.

And we have to learn to live with it.

So we have to stay consistent from a programming standpoint and play the hits, bottom line play the hits.

- 'Cause my grandmother used to say, "Shut up and play your music."

- You can look up to them as role models and saying that they can do it, you can do it too.

And so many others who are watching across the nation, because it was the oldest Black-owned radio station in the country, and knowing that there's so many other people that were looking up to them as well.

- So for me, the focus moving forward in the future is what steps have to be taken in order to set up the next generation of my siblings and my offspring, and what has to be done in order for them to have a clearer path for where they're going in the future.

- Don't worry about trying to feel those shoes.

Be honored to walk in those footsteps.

Don't see that as a weight.

See it as someone who is protected.

They are guiding those footsteps.

And to be able to draw the inspiration and the knowledge that he's gained from seeing how business is done and conducted and use that as you move forward.

- You know, the station is changing.

We're getting new talent in.

- And they bring a new energy, one that's needed.

They bring a new creativity, and they bring a fresh set of eyes that's gonna lead this station to 75 more years.

- You know, it's for them.

I know Robinson just loves working at the radio station.

He wants to keep it going, just like Mike wanted to keep it going for his grandfather.

Mike loves it.

- The Bible says, train them up in the way that they should go and they won't depart from it.

So when you change, when you bring them up running this station, then you know you can guarantee that it's going to live on past you.

That to me is the important thing.

- The same way my dad goes out and people know, "Oh, that's Mike Carter from Hot 103 Jamz."

I always knew it had to be the same way with me.

People had to be like, "Oh, that's Little Mike.

That's Little Mike's son."

- Mike, we've all known the media landscape, the way people consume media is way different than it was 10, 20 years ago.

- The key is what can you do to outlast the brand new shiny thing?

Both can coexist, but that doesn't mean you just diminish.

- In the age of the internet now, it's so weird because you have so many options and a lot of people that you're trying to get to engage in a lot of activities don't really listen to the radio anymore, because radio has become a place where you hear the same song, you know, every hour.

So if you can be entertaining and engaging and keep them there while the music's jumping around from different genre, different genre, then that'll show your strength as a DJ.

- Because now we're not only competing against other stations, but we competing against the internet.

We are trying to get people's time.

- It makes it kind of rough when you might get the tune out factor because they said, "Well, I'm kind of tired of listening.

I'm gonna go to my phone."

- There was a period of time where the radio station wasn't playing the newest current music, right, that they could have.

With Myron not being stuck in a certain way and not being stubborn and wanting to win, he's been taking more risks with playing newer music quicker.

- And if it's reacting in the market and I wasn't on it, I better get on it.

- As soon as it drops on the internet, drop it on air immediately.

- I look at streaming data, I look at Shazam, I look at the trending music on YouTube, what's happening nationwide.

And then I look at the top 50 TikTok, because that's a whole different audience.

You know, artists are not spending those big budgets on, videos like they used to do in the day.

- You have to prove to these people that the radio is still here, right?

- There's certain people, they going to just follow the charts, always say the charts.

That's your barometer, but that's not your absolute.

- To be independent in that business is a testament to what they do because it's hard with new technology and everything.

You know what I'm saying?

- I've tried to stick out in different ways, try to bring something new to the table, bring a new sound or bring a new energy.

And I'm thankful to that radio station for allowing me to use my creativity in a way that will last and inspire.

- Brian B. Shynin' and Deona Hustle are just masters at dealing with the high schools and young kids.

When you are a local and particularly independently Black-owned station, you have the freedom to show up how you wanna show up.

- Still finding ways to connect differently, because, I mean, media and people were forever changing.

- I think Hot 103 Jamz and KPRS could be a hub for creators.

- I have a lot of hope for the future with our station and with just our business.

- I don't know where we're going from here.

I don't know what's next.

Hip hop is still very much a part of a culture, that's part of our culture, American culture today.

- But we try to make things relevant to what's going on.

Every single thing that we do, we try to find a way to connect with our listeners and our community.

- I would see the Carter Broadcasting family as legendary.

If someone was interesting in finding a template, a formula for success, go back and look at what the Carter family has done.

- And we should appreciate that now, not after the legacy status.

75 years, you got regular businesses that don't last 10 or 15 years.

So a Black-owned radio station that has had to go through changes, - Even as small as they are as a group, they're touching all the bases.

They're embracing the young.

I think when you follow the young, you're gonna do okay.

If you keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening and you embrace the new technology, it's so important to be aware of that and do what you can to be a part of it.

For them to have survived all this time, it has to be a testimony to them paying attention, them having a commitment to the community.

Not just a commitment to survive, but a commitment to serve the community.

And it always goes.

If you give the people what the people want, they're going to loyal to you.

- I want the people of Kansas City to know about the Carter family and Carter Media that nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed from day one up until where we are right now today.

And nothing is gonna change in the future.

We will always be Kansas City's number one community station and we will always represent the Kansas City community first and foremost.

- I think that KPRS will forever go down in history.

All the talents will go down in history.

The staff, of course, the Carter family.

It was no easy thing for them to take that leap of faith and for them to do that.

- So that's kind of where my grandparents and how I kind of evolved from eight years old to where I am today.

Ever since, even before when my grandfather died and after my grandmother died, the passion that I had and the drive that I had and have still is that these people built a radio station in 1950.

- 75 years, one family, one group.

I mean ABC is, I mean that's like ABC, NBC, CBS.

I mean, that's incredible.

Just the longevity and the loyalty and the dedication, not only of the community, but of the family to the ideal.

They could have sold out numerous times.

I am sure they've been offered more money than one could imagine for their resources.

But no, they chose to forego the big bucks and stay with the ideal: serve community.

We're doing fine as we are.

- I think the Carter family legacy will be that of a successful African American family that has survived through so many struggles and is still thriving in whatever year we're going to be in, whether that's 2025 or it's 2075.

- To do anything for 75 years, one, you gotta be doing it right.

Two, people have to like you and everybody has to agree that you're good.

- Those who have been listening for years, they feel a part of us.

You know, they feel like they are family.

They feel like they were a part of the historical moments that we've had and a historical station.

- To be able to be part of something that's so historical as Carter Broadcast Group and that you have an intricate part of the success of that radio station, it means a lot.

- It's a big thing for Black culture to have some ownership.

I think that it's easy for everybody to sell off to iHeart and whatever else, but I think it's inspiring to other entrepreneurs that you can own this big company like Carter Broadcast Group, man.

So it is a huge inspiration to me, and I'm sure other Black folks in the city feel the same way.

- It's more than just the radio station.

It is a community resource that can be tapped into, that influences, that impacts, that educates, I think to some degree inspire.

- You know, and I think their legacy is that we've been there for the community, even through the bad times, even when we struggle, we're still there.

- [Person] I think their legacy is built around community.

The spirit of community.

The radio station, again, was the nucleus to everything that was Black in Kansas City.

But it's very important to understand where we came from, what we're doing, how we got where we are, and why KPRS is so important to the Black community.

- That's that extra boost that pushes them forward.

They're not just doing it for four or five... Wow, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

They have a purpose bigger than themselves And that's what they're working for.

- The impact that it has had and will continue to have in advancing, in empowering, in educating, in protecting those who may not be able to do that for themselves.

- [Person] I mean, to still be standing and standing strong, not only in our community, but to be an example that we are here, we're gonna stay here and be able to just help those, not only in Kansas City, but to be an inspiration to those around the world, that you know what, a lot of radio companies have gone, but we are still here.

- I would like to see us display more of our history to let people know that we've been here, we gonna stay here.

And this is what you have built.

Because this isn't just us.

It's Kansas City.

This is Kansas City Station.

Always have been and always will be.

- 75 years is something to try to reach.

Congratulations, KPRS.

75 strong years, baby.

Wow.

How many more?

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