The owner of three popular radio stations in the Tri-Counties has died in a paragliding accident.
Shawn Knight died Wednesday night in a crash in Ventura County.
Knight was one of the few independent radio station owners in the region, with most local commercial stations owned by large groups.
His company, Knight Broadcasting owns country radio station KRAZ-FM Santa Ynez, soft rock KSYV-FM in Solvang, and News/Talk KUHL in Santa Maria. The stations announced Knight's death in a Facebook post.
Knight was well known for his community involvement. While many radio stations have relied on national programs, he invested heavily in live and local shows. His stations are among the few commercial stations in the region to offer local news coverage.
Because of his concern for as much local community radio coverage as possible, he helped encourage KCLU to expand to the Central Coast several years ago.
