If you’ve lived in Juneau for more than a minute, you know the sound of 800 AM. It’s the static-laced backdrop of morning coffee and the dashboard companion for drives out to Echo Cove. For nearly a century, kiny radio juneau news has been the heartbeat of the Panhandle. But honestly, if you haven’t tuned in lately, things look—and sound—a little different than they used to.
Juneau isn't a big place. We rely on the "moccasin telegraph" and the local airwaves to know why the Thane Road is closed or if the ferry is actually running. KINY has always been that anchor. Lately, though, the station has been caught in a whirlwind of corporate bankruptcies, AI controversies, and a massive shift in how local stories get told. It’s a lot to keep track of, especially when you just want to know if there's an avalanche advisory.
The Chaos Behind the Scenes: Bankruptcy and Ownership
Most people don't think about who owns their radio station until the signal starts flickering. In May 2025, KINY’s parent company, Local First Media Group, hit a massive wall. They entered Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings. Why does that matter? Well, it usually means a messy cross-border legal fight.
The trouble started with a defaulted loan of nearly $8.2 million from a Canadian lender, ATB Financial. Because the ownership web is so tangled—involving companies like Frontier Media and BTC USA Holdings—the station found itself in the middle of a receivership battle.
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Cliff Dumas, the president of Frontier Media, has been pretty vocal about the whole thing. He basically said the station’s operations are fine and that they shouldn't even be part of the bankruptcy mess. According to him, the U.S. licenses are protected from foreign legal actions. For now, the music keeps playing and the news keeps rolling, but the corporate drama is definitely the "elephant in the room" for local media junkies.
The AI Experiment: High Tech or Just Weird?
Here is where things get kinda controversial. Back in 2024, KINY started using generative AI to write some of its online news stories. If you spent any time on their website that year, you might have noticed some... interesting prose.
One Memorial Day story talked about Juneau being a "crucial logistical hub" with "flowery adjectives" that sounded more like a textbook than a local reporter. Experts analyzed the text and found it was almost entirely AI-generated. This happened right around the time the station laid off its two full-time news reporters in May 2024.
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Local news is hard. It’s expensive to pay people to sit in assembly meetings until 11:00 PM. But replacing them with algorithms didn't exactly sit well with everyone. The Juneau Empire even ran a piece questioning how well a computer could "get the scoop" on Southeast Alaska. It was a bold experiment, sure, but it felt a bit hollow to a community used to hearing real voices.
The Resurrection of Problem Corner
You can't talk about kiny radio juneau news without mentioning Problem Corner. It is, quite literally, the longest-running live radio show in Alaska. It’s been on the air for about 70 years. People call in to sell tires, find lost kittens, or complain about the price of heating oil. It is Juneau's original social media.
When the new ownership tried to kill the show in early 2024 to focus on a "stronger musical identity," the town basically revolted. They tried to move it to a weekly podcast, but it wasn't the same.
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The good news? They listened. In October 2024, Problem Corner came back as a weekday show. Longtime host Wade Bryson had to step down due to health issues, so Mike Lane took the reins. It’s a bit different now, airing at a new time, but it’s still the place where local news and local gripes meet.
What’s Actually Happening in Juneau Right Now?
If you're looking for the latest headlines from the station today, the focus is heavily on the winter safety and local government. As of mid-January 2026, the big stories hitting the airwaves include:
- The New Fire Chief: The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) just named Thomas Hatley as the new chief for Capital City Fire/Rescue.
- Avalanche Hazards: After some heavy rain and warming temperatures, residents in avalanche zones were finally able to return home this week after the city cleared the last evacuation notices.
- The Olympic Connection: Everyone is talking about Maxime Germain, the Juneau-born biathlete who is headed to the 2026 Winter Games.
- School Board Budgeting: There's a heated debate over $1 million in city funding and whether it should go back to the city or stay with the school district for after-school care.
How to Get Your News Without the Static
While KINY remains a staple at 800 AM and 94.9 FM, the landscape has shifted. If you want a more traditional, reporter-heavy experience, many of the old KINY and Juneau Empire staff have migrated to other outlets.
The "Juneau Independent" launched recently with a bunch of familiar faces like Mark Sabbatini and Jasz Garrett. Meanwhile, KTOO continues to provide heavy-duty public media coverage with a large staff of dedicated beat reporters.
Actionable Ways to Stay Informed:
- Check the Source: When reading kiny radio juneau news online, look at the byline. If it doesn’t have a name, or if the language feels "off," it might be a wire story or AI-assisted.
- Tune in to Capital Chat: This remains one of the best ways to hear local leaders talk about what’s actually happening in the city.
- Stream Online: If you’re out of town, use the TuneIn app or the KINY website. They’ve upgraded their digital presence significantly to keep the signal clear even when you’re south of the 49th parallel.
- Support Local Reporters: Whether it’s through a subscription or a donation to public radio, local journalism in Juneau only survives if we pay for it.
The reality is that KINY is in a state of flux. It’s trying to balance a 90-year legacy with the brutal economics of modern broadcasting. It’s still the station of "Hometown Radio," but the home is definitely undergoing some renovations.