MOZART AND MONK
WRTI'S RADIO HYBRID IS GETTING MIXED REVIEWS.
SOON, HOWEVER, THERE MAY BE A HIGH-TECH ANSWER.

Section: EDITORIAL

Page: E06

Thousands of Philadelphia radios sounded ``funny in the morning'' this past week - and not because they were tuned to shock-jock Don Imus, who uses that slogan to hype his New York-import talk show.

What jarred some listeners, and pleased others, was the sound of strings, woodwinds and brass on Temple's formerly all-jazz station, WRTI-FM (90.1). Meanwhile, over on the frequency once home to Bach and Beethoven, WFLN-FM (now WXXM 95.7), there was the insistent beat of pop music.

But change happens . . . especially in the super-heated buy-sell-and-swap market for radio stations spawned by recent federal deregulation. And the response wasn't pure static, by any means, because many folks heralded the return of classical radio after its bottom-line-driven ouster Sept. 6 by WFLN's new owners.

Seeking perhaps to nudge a grumpy market into acceptance, the first pop song the de-classified WFLN played was the ubiquitous Sheryl Crow's ``A Change is Gonna Do You Good.''

Audiences for both jazz and classical music, though, have good reason to be skeptical about that. There's been plenty of grumbling about the loss of this major city's only commercial classical station and the squeeze put on jazz by WRTI's rescue of Mozart and friends.

In one sense, it's good that jazz loyalists and classical fans alike are refusing to accept that the hybrid 'RTI is the best Philadelphia can do.

But some of the grousing is counterproductive; for instance, the theories that Temple University looks to classical music to bleach its image or somehow escape its North Philadelphia roots. Temple embarked on a mission of mercy in taking up the 'FLN programming - one that, gasp, might even help boost its anemic paid-membership numbers and sustain jazz.

The future of jazz on 'RTI can best be assured by vocal listeners. At the same time, jazz and classical fans - and all those who care about the region's cultural life - should be aggressive and creative in looking for ideas to supplant the WRTI arrangement.

Ideas have percolated on the Internet. Area classical music fans should pool funds to buy radio time, suggested one posting. ``Where are the cultural movers and shakers of yesteryear who were willing to create and invest in enterprises like classical music radio?'' asked another.

And so, bravo to grassroots efforts like this week's public forum on ways to reestablish a stand-alone classical music station, scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Art Alliance on Rittenhouse Square.

Make no mistake, though, there's a race to the bottom-line in commercial radio that leaves little room for the high arts. WFLN's owners, Greater Media Inc., expect to double or triple revenue by scrubbing high brow and going low brow.

The answer may not be a stand-alone radio station for either Mozart or Monk. It may take shape in emerging technologies that can deliver programming nationwide. When the Federal Communications Commission chairman Reed Hundt is asked about preserving culture on the radio, he points with some optimism to Internet broadcasts and, more practically, to satellite radio (now under development), which would be beamed to button-sized receivers on the roof of your car.

For now, classical music and jazz need to learn to live together at the same button on the car radio. But stay tuned. High tech may yet save high brow.