NEW KRCU GENERAL MANAGER CHOSEN

Greg Petrowich, operations director for KRCU-FM at Southeast Missouri State University, has been appointed general manager of the station.

The appointment was confirmed Wednesday by Martin Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Southeast.

"We ran a national search for the position and had people apply from all over the country," said Jones. "We interviewed three people, including Petrowich. By all accounts, he was the best of the three, and therefore the best of the national search."

KRCU is Southeast Missouri's public radio station. It serves a 30-mile radius from Cape Girardeau, reaching to Sikeston and Perryville.

Petrowich has served as interim general manager since Oct. 1. He also held that title during 1991-92 while the general manager was on sabbatical and during 1993-94 during the previous general manager search. Petrowich has been operations director since August 1991.

Ferrell Ervin, chairman of the department of mass communication at Southeast, said Petrowich has had a long track record of work with KRCU since graduating with a radio-television degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1991.

"During the years Greg has been with KRCU," Ervin said, "he has proven his excellence in programming and in his work with the local community. He has created shows with local talent that have been extremely popular."

Petrowich worked with professors Dennis Seyer and Peter Hirschburg to create "Broadway Melodies" and "Themes Familiar," two KRCU programs that highlight Broadway musicals and movie themes. Cape Girardeau resident Barbara Herbert and Petrowich created the KRCU program "Sunday Night at the Opera," which Herbert hosts.

Another new program Petrowich is working on is a political commentary show, hosted by professors Peter Bergerson, Tom Harte and Christopher Schnell. That show is scheduled to go on the air in the fall.

Petrowich was instrumental in bringing "Prairie Home Companion," with Garrison Keillor, to KRCU. He also added "Radio Reader" and "What Do You Know?" to the programming.

Ervin said that altogether the station spends about $40,000 a year for national programming, which includes "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

Petrowich, Ervin said, has worked hard to procure funding for KRCU. "During the past year," Ervin said, "Greg has been very actively involved in fund raising and has completed two successful pledge-week programs, one for $16,000 and one for $20,000. That's very good for a station of our size."