Little Rock Public Radio is new brand name for Arkansas capital city’s two stations

Little Rock Public Radio is the new brand identity for the National Public Radio affiliate in Arkansas’ capital city, according to a Monday announcement.

The rebranding includes both KUAR, the NPR affiliate, and KLRE, a classical music station. The stations retain their call letters, but the new names strives to represent the coverage area, station leaders said on its website.

The name change represents “the heart and soul of our community,” according to the website.

In an interview broadcast Monday morning, General Manager Jonathan Seaborn said the name change predates his hiring in January.

“During my interview process and throughout the onboarding process, it was one thing that kept coming up — that we’re all very aware that we need to update the logo, that we need to go through a little bit of a rebrand, but we’re not sure what direction we should take,” he told News Director Daniel Breen.

“Our core identity isn’t changing,” Seaborn said. “We’re still a service of UA Little Rock and couldn’t be more appreciative of our relationship with the university, but as we look to broaden our horizons beyond just what we’ve been for the past 50 years, it felt like the right time to make the change.”

The station is also looking to broaden its audience and reach younger listeners, he said.

Breen, a veteran anchor and reporter, was promoted to news director in June, and Ryan Gregory, formerly operations manager, was promoted to program director.