Essential Public Media, the new owner of WDUQ-FM 90.5, announced that the station's mix of jazz and National Public Radio programming will switch to an all-news format in July.

To placate fans of the current mix, EPM said it will air jazz for six hours on Saturdays and 24/7 on HD radio and online streaming. It will also offer vouchers to the public that can be used toward the purchase of an HD radio.

Judging by the reaction in Post-Gazette letters to the editor and in casual conversations, Pittsburgh jazz fans haven't exactly embraced this gesture as a step forward for either the music or the community that once coalesced around the station and its knowledgeable hosts.

It isn't likely that the station's new owners really thought they would satisfy jazz fans by moving the music online or onto its HD channel. Accessing the music shouldn't require an Internet connection or new equipment. The beauty of a public radio station devoted to jazz was that people who were curious about this great American art form could tune to 90.5 to hear it and appreciate it. But limiting radio airtime to six hours a week is, at best, an indication that music with such deep roots in the community is an afterthought to EPM.

Pushing jazz into a tiny corner is the kind of short-term thinking that will alienate thousands of loyal listeners. Essential Public Media, no doubt, is betting that supporters of its all-news format will fill the vacuum created by the loss of jazz fans.

If WDUQ were a commercial station without a storied jazz legacy, there wouldn't be a peep of controversy about its decision to abandon the format. But it is a public station with a distinct history and a community of listeners, many of whom have contributed financially to its success over decades.

For years, jazz fans have been encouraged to think of DUQ as their station. You can't blame them for taking that to heart. Even with a new format heavier on news, these listeners expected a greater commitment to jazz than six hours on Saturday night.

Perhaps they can eventually be won over by the new 90.5, but the disappointment is too raw right now to expect all to be forgiven by the next on-air fundraiser.