Broadcast Buzz

Stephen Butler, owner of KXNA 104.9FM The X, owns 6 acres at the intersection of Tiger Boulevard and N.E. J Street in Bentonville.

Guess what Whispers heard he wants to build there? Yep, you’re right: A nuclear power plant that can light the entire Northwest Arkansas grid.

Just kidding, of course.

He wants to build an office/production studio there to complement the one he has in the Today’s Bank building in Fayetteville. Butler, a career radio guy, owns three stations in this region and a fourth in the Florida Keys, where he entertains his top friends and clients.

That Butler wants to build a new facility shouldn’t come as a surprise. But what might catch you off-guard is that another radio station, KUAF-FM 91.3, an affiliate of National Public Radio and a Fayetteville institution, is thinking about building a satellite production studio up in Benton County. From what Whispers understands, the KUAF thing is far from a done deal, but it’s at least near the oven, if not yet on the back burner.

For those of you about to freak out, don’t. KUAF plans to remain headquartered in its shiny new digs at the Carver Center for Public Radio deep in the heart of Fayetteville.

As they say in the radio industry, stay tuned.