Friday, June 26, 2015

KUSP RECEIVES ANONYMOUS $100,000 DONATION (& READER COMMENTS)


 

Two members of KUSP, Santa Cruz sent me confidential information about new developments at the beleaguered debt-ridden station. In a message to members, KUSP said:

We are deeply gratified to have received a major gift in the amount of $100,000 from an anonymous donor whose express purpose in making the gift was to give the governing board and staff time to make the best decision possible for the future of KUSP.
The mystery donor appears to have an agenda.  To me, the words to make the best decision possible imply the donor prefers a certain outcome.  The last-minute entry of an interested person with a bag full of cash is odious and not worthy of an organization that seeks the public’s trust.
The message also says that Classical Public Radio Network (“CPRN”) has withdrawn their offer to buy KUSP’s license. According to the message KUSP’S Board will meet on July 13th to decide the future of the station.
(Scroll down to read a humorous item about KUSP.)
REGARDING THE LEGACY OF WEEKEND AMERICA
From Jim Russell, creator of Weekend America:
Ken, I think your comments are interesting and not far from the mark as I see it. But, I do take issue with one comment: “I’ve focused on Weekend America because no program I can recall reached so high and fell so far.” I think Day to Day’s failure was far bigger.

I also think you need to acknowledge that Weekend America was on the air for five years, and in addition to CPB’s money, it had major big-bucks sponsorship from Target Corporation. However, other funders were few and far between. Finally, Weekend America was intended to be a program service, more than just a single long weekend tentpole. But, local stations by and large failed to insert local material, especially in the style and tone of the program. They just didn’t have or want to commit the resources. I also think that stations, by and large, preferred the discrete program offerings available on weekends rather than an omnibus weekend magazine.

KEN: I appreciate Jim’s reply but I don’t agree with him about my reached so high, fell so far description. I know my words may have stung. But Weekend America is only one of many public media projects – most very successful – led by Jim. I am reminded that home run king Hank Aaron also frequently struck out. Like Aaron, Jim is a champion.  As I see it, Jim’s most lasting contribution to public media are the many people he hired, coached and encouraged.  Including me.  Thank you.
 
UNLIKELY ADVICE TO KUSP: THE PHILOSOPHY OF MATTHEW ARNOLD
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 
Michael Lazar from Radio Survivor recently published [link] his suggested program format for KUSP.  At first, I thought he was joking but maybe he isn’t. I can’t recall ever meeting him but I’ve been reading Lazar’s writing for years. I appreciate Radio Survivor’s coverage of LPFM and college radio, particularly reporting by Jennifer Waits.
Lazar’s solution to KUSP’s painful situation is based on the philosophy of English poet and social critic Matthew Arnold.
 
MATTHEW ARNOLD, SEEKER OF CULTURAL PERFECTION
Arnold is best known for his collection of essays published in 1869 called Culture and Anarchy. Arnold believed the world would be a better place if we all aspired to cultural perfection. Arnold wrote that perfection is achieved…
…by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world, and, through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and habits…
Lazar adapted Arnold’s notions into a programming format for KUSP: Hybrid Highbrow [“HH”]. Lazar describes HH as classical music ranging from Phillip Glass to Chinese opera and readings of fiction, poetry, plays and cultural reviews. And lots of sitar ragas …mixed with a coherent philosophy.
Lazar’s perfect format sounds a lot like Lorenzo Milam’s programming advice from the 1970s: Play harps, kazoos and Tibetan Bells.
Sustainable or narcissistic? You decide.


Thursday, June 25, 2015

MEET THE KING OF NONCOM RADIO: EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION – PART ONE



Recently Northpine.com [link] reported that nonprofit Educational Media Foundation (“EMF”) is partnering with for profit iHeartMedia to bring two new INSTANT FM STATIONS to Des Moines. This alliance between one of the nation’s largest religious broadcasters and the nation’s largest commercial radio company has/is responsible for new INSTANT FM STATIONS in more than two dozen markets.

Here is how it works: EMF files for FM translators and gets the Construction Permits. iHeart puts programming on their HD channels. EMF leases FM translators to iHeart and repeats iHearts HD channel. Presto!  They've created a new commercial INSTANT FM STATION. iHeart fills EMF’s collection plate. Sweet deal!

This process is legal because of a series of loopholes in FCC rules. You might be asking: Who is EMF?

EMF: GOD’S FAVORITE MONEY CHANGERS

EMF is perhaps of the fastest growing nonprofit media organization in the nation.

EMF’s IRS 990’s from 2003 to 2013 (the most recent available) show the amazing growth of the nonprofit broadcaster:


2003
2013
CHANGE
TOTAL REVENUE
40,887,000
141,031,000
+ 100,144,000
(+ 244.9%)
TOTAL EXPENSES
31,380,000
81,574,000
+ 50,184,000
(+ 159.9%)
OPERATING MARGIAN
+9,507,000
+59,467,000
+ 49,960,000
(+ 525.5%)
NET ASSETS
38,013,000
289,822,000
+ 251,809,000
(+ 662.4%)
Data sources: Guidestar.org & Propublca.org Rounded to the nearest 1,000

At a time when religion in general has declining in American society and most noncommercial broadcasters struggle for sustainability, EMF stands alone as a money machine.

EMF shares the bounty internally:


2003
2013
CHANGE
OFFICERS & KEY EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION
257,000
3,228,000
+ 2,971,000
(+ 1,560%)
STAFF SALARUES
8,045,000
30,238,000
+ 22,193,000
(+ 276%)
Data sources: Guidestar.org & Propublca.org Rounded to the nearest 1,000

Scroll down to see names and details of 2013 compensation to executives at EMF.

HISTORY OF EMF

In the late 1970s Bob Anthony [I don’t know if this was an on-air name] was a rock radio DJ at KFRC, San Francisco. Legend has it that one day he was playing Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones and decided he could no longer promote satanic music.  So he quit the station and became a born-again Christian.  

Anthony was aware of the rising popularity of Jesus Rock stimulated by albums like Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. He decided to create a 24/7 Christian rock station.

In 1982, Anthony and partner Dick Jenkins purchased a bankrupt noncommercial station near Santa Rosa for a reported $67,000. Their new station signed on as KCLB-FM The Positive Alternative, licensed to the new Educational Media Foundation. The company upgraded KCLB’s coverage area to include Sacramento.

Anthony sold his share of EMF in 1986 to start his own radio ministry in Portland. Jenkins put KCLB’s programming on a satellite feed and called it K-LOVE.  In 1990 the FCC began allowing noncommercial FM translators anywhere in the country to use programming fed by satellite. The translators needed no local presence. EMF began filing for FM translators and built hundreds of K-LOVE repeaters nationwide with programming originating from Sacramento.

In 1998 EMF hired Mike Novak, a commercial station manager from San Diego who had extensive ties within the Country music industry. These ties led him to the folks who ran the growing Contemporary Christian Music (”CCM”) scene. Novak commented in a 2002 interview:

I think it is a symbiotic relationship. They serve us and we, in turn, serve them. We have had some high-level discussions and when we laid it all out on the table we found that we had a lot of common ground.

As it has turned out, part of that common ground was the opportunity to generate A LOT of money.  The bond between CCM stations and music companies is so cozy it would make Alan Freed blush.

2010: THE YEAR HD RADIO WENT ON FM

In 2010 it had become clear that consumers were not embracing HD Radio.  In an effort to help HD, the FCC began to allow HD channels to be repeated on FM translators.  This was similar to what the FCC had done a few years earlier to boost AM stations.

Along the way EMF had hired CCM consultant Alan Mason – the smartest operator in the CCM world. I did a profile of Mason in November 2014 [link]. Mason has lots of contacts in the commercial radio and television world from his time running Paxson Communications.

EMF took advantage of this FCC rule regarding FM translators:

Changing the station rebroadcast by an FM translator station.  If the licensee of an FM translator station wants to change the primary station being rebroadcast, it may do so without prior authority from the Commission.  If the translator is owned by an entity other than the owner of the new primary FM station, the owner must secure the permission of the primary station to rebroadcast its programming before commencing operation. 

EMF and iHeartMedia realized EMF’s FM translators and iHeart’s failing HD channels were a perfect match for new INSTANT FM STATIONS.  Today, this is a lucrative public/private partnership that is gobbling up the FM spectrum.

NEXT: EMF’s revenue growth since 2010 shows the iHeartMedia BUMP!

EMF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION IN TAX YEAR 2013:





Wednesday, June 24, 2015

MORE “WEEKEND AMERICA” – REALITY HAS A WAY OF GETTING YOUR ATTENTION



Yesterday’s column about weekly programs past and present, particularly Weekend America, got a lot of reader attention and several comments. One anonymous comment caught my attention because the person who sent it seems to know what he/she is talking about. [See the full comment at the end of yesterday’s post.]

BTW, I have no problem with anonymous comments.  I know that some SPARK! readers are movers and shakers in public media and are not authorized to speak on certain issues. I have been in this situation myself. Confidential comments can be sent to me at publicradio@hotmail.com -- I will always protect my sources.  I am taking my new career as a journalist seriously.

To let readers know who is speaking, the anonymous comments below are in BLUE ITALICS.

SOME 2001 PROGRAMS ARE STILL AROUND

FYI Ken, some of those shows you list as not being in distribution anymore are, in fact, still available: I know TechNation, 51% and Inside Europe are, for example. But admittedly keeping track of all these shows could be exceedingly difficult.

KEN: Yesterday’s column included a list of weekly programs being carried on 100 sample public radio stations aurveyed in late 2000. I highlighted programs I knew were still in distribution in bold in the chart.  I knew I’d miss some.  I also heard from readers that New Dimensions, Alternative Radio and The Jefferson Hour are in current production.  Some other programs listed on the chart exist today as podcasts.  Please let me know if you see others that are now active.  I will post an updated chart with corrections soon.

As I look at the list from 2001 I amazed how many worthy programs are gone, many by independent producers.  MIA’s that I miss include The Savvy Traveller, Rewind, Schickele Mix, Sound & Spirit, Common Ground [a former consulting client] and Justice Talking [another former client].

BTW, is "Weekly Edition" representing WESAT/WESUN? Or was that "Weekend Radio"? Either way, I had no idea that carriage of those particular shows was so low. Certainly it seems like all the major stations in the top 100 markets carry WESAT/WESUN...

KEN: As I recall Weekly Edition was a weekly one-hour “best of NPR News” program. It is not to be confused with Weekend Edition Saturday and Sunday.  I didn’t include WESAT or WESUN in the chart because I addressed them separately in another parts the 2001 CARRIAGE METRICS report.

I wonder if, as valuable as this list is, it could stand to be weighted in favor of larger markets, and further weighted based on when it airs relative to more valuable dayparts? Annnnnnd before you know it, you're tumbling down a rabbit hole of statistical weighting! Oh well...

KEN: Exactly.  I abandoned CARRIAGE METRICS because it was not sustainable.  I had five paying clients who valued the info but I moved on to projects with great financial potential.

LOUSY TIMING OR THE FAILURE TO ADJUST TO NEW REALITIES?

FWIW, I think lousy timing is overlooked in how important a factor it was in these shows' demises. You can succeed quickly with a single-issue show. You can't do that with a generalist show. But you can ULTIMATELY succeed BETTER with a generalist show...it just takes a lot more time to build up an audience. And the Great Recession wasn't going to give those shows the time.

KEN: Maybe I am being a Monday Morning Quarterback, but prudent leadership should adjust program budgets to meet the economic realities of their customers. Weekend America was too big to succeed. APM’s decision-making process was cumbersome and out of touch. Weekend America was crushed by it’s own weight and the fact that few people actually cared about it.

I wonder if you introduced Weekend America again today if it wouldn't do a lot better than it did back then? Given the similarities between WA and Here & Now, I suppose you could divine some analysis from that...although H&N had the huge advantage of an established program (TOTN) being killed off and H&N explicitly being touted as a replacement.

KEN: I see very, very little in common between Weekend America and Here & Now. One of the keys to H&N’s success is that NPR leveraged OPM – Other People’s Money (in this case WBUR’s dough) – to offset production costs.  Eric Nuzum wisely used this model when he was VP for Programming at NPR. This is a way to do sustainable programs.

LESSONS FROM THE LAUNCH OF THE TAKEAWAY

The Takeaway's first incarnation also comes to mind. [I]t was starting to get a decent toehold as a good morning outlet for the #2 public radio station in each town, as a good way to compete with the #1 station and them airing Morning Edition. But the market dropped out and the time needed to gradually convince affiliates to pick it up wasn't there anymore.

KEN: You touched a nerve by mentioning The Takeaway. It is my favorite daily public radio news program.  To me, John Hockenberry is THE voice of middays.  Hockenberry was the best host of Talk of the Nation and he excels on The Takeaway.

PRI’s plan to have The Takeaway be an alternative to Morning Edition was a stupid idea.  Reason Number One: Very few #2 public radio news stations exist and most of those are bottom feeders. Because of format focusing, it was impossible for Classical, Jazz and Triple A stations to use The Takeaway.  Few Community stations were interested because it didn’t meet their political correctness mantras.

Fortunately, the owners of The Takeaway changed the strategy from morning drive to middays and saved the program.  As a fan of The Takeaway I am grateful this wise stewardship.


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

PUBLIC RADIO NEEDS NEW HIT SHOWS BUT PAST FAILURES HAUNT THEIR DEVELOPMENT



Last week Current published an Op-Ed by Michael Arnold, Director of Content at Wisconsin Public Radio titled Public radio needs more weekend hits, and fast [link]. In this excellent article Arnold says [paraphrasing] public radio is over relying on programs created decades ago without investing in new signature weekend programs. He argues when hits like Wait, Wait, Best of Car Talk and A Prairie Home Companion fade away, stations that now count of them for listener support won’t have replacements.

Arnold clearly identifies the problems but doesn’t provide important background context about why this has happened. (Some observers also criticized Arnold’s omission of more recent hits like The Moth, Snap Judgment, Ask Me Another and Reveal.)

However, several program failures a decade ago, including APM’s Weekend America, caused investors, potential sponsors and program producers to become highly skeptical of new big budget projects.

[Disclosure: I was a paid consultant for Weekend America in 2004 and 2005. Since 2011 I have been a consultant for American Routes. From time to time I have worked with other weekly public radio programs.]

WEEKEND AMERICA’S GOAL: BECOME A PUBLIC RADIO SATURDAY TENTPOLE PROGRAM

In the early 2000s Jim Russell and other successful programming creators, cited one-hour, narrow topic, theme oriented weekly programs as a reason listeners tuned away after Car Talk. They recommended public radio invest in a new, wide focus magazine show designed for midday Saturday.

[Scroll down to see of list of 94 weekly programs carried by CPB-funded stations in 2001.]

An early believer was Rick Madden, then head of CPB’s Radio Dic\vision.  Madden was considered by many in the industry to be a smart – even visionary – steward of CPB funding.  The late, beloved Madden embraced the concept that eventually became Weekend America.  In 2001 Madden invested $200,000 for APM to develop the program.

FIRST DRAFT: PUBLIC RADIO WEEKEND

Russell’s team released the first pilot shows in fall 2002 on six beta stations. Public Radio Weekend (“PRW”) had a casual tone, lifestyle topics, news updates and opportunities for stations to insert local coverage.  The hosts were David Brown, then host of Marketplace, now at KUT, Austin and Merrill Markoe, then a writer for Late Night With David Letterman.

The brainstorming phase continued until 2004 when it reemerged as Weekend America.  Broadcasts began in October 2004. Weekend America originated from Marketplace’s studios in LA. The hosts were Bill Radke and Barbara Bogavey.  CPB invested $1,600,000 for the launch of Weekend America.  [I was unable to determine CPB’s total investment in the project.]

WEEKEND AMERICA: BIG BUDGET & BIG FAILURE

Out of respect to my former client I will let others provide the details of why Weekend America failed.

News reports from the time say the cost to produce Weekend America was between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000 a year. CPB’s money was due to eventually run out, so it had to become self-sustaining to continue. 

Weekend America went through several host changes.  In 2008 production was moved to APM in St. Paul to save money.  The economy turned sour. Weekend America was cancelled at the end of 2008.

IMPACT OF WEEKEND AMERICA’S FAILURE

Weekend America wasn’t the only big budget public radio program that failed.  NPR’s Anthem, Bryant Park and Day to Day also worked in the lab but not in the real world. Investment in potential new blockbuster hit programs ceased at that point. Since then, new national programs have followed a strategy Niemen Labs described in 2012 as agile, cheap reversions of already existing material. [link]

I’ve focused on Weekend America because no program I can recall reached so high and fell so far.

There is also a human side that can’t be ignored.  Jim Russell summed it up on Transom.org in 2007 after he left APM:

A good example of how "opportunity" can get out in front of program was the case of Weekend America. The research made it absolutely clear that public radio was experiencing a striking dip in listening in the middle of Saturdays. And also that there were over 100 single-subject, hour long programs being distributed nationally — a pattern of programming that appeared to create a kind of "jerky" unconnected listening experience for the audience. What was needed, we believed, was programming that provided a constant public radio magazine sound, but with a weekend sensibility. And if it could provide stations an easy way to insert local material, all the better. This was the opportunity.
But, where was the show? What was it about? What was its center? What did it do uniquely well? What was its consistent sound? Despite years of planning and piloting, in the early days of Weekend America, it was a huge burden to just get the two-hour live program on the air every week. To their credit, the staff persistently demanded a clearer, deeper definition of the program, but the distractions of producing the show, funding it, marketing it, defending it and keeping partners and stations as happy as possible — all of these delayed the program's full conceptual definition. In retrospect, it is clear that in the early days, the opportunity outpaced the program. The sad irony is that I could "hear" a very particular program in my head, loud and clear as a bell!
But, because I was the Admiral commanding a fleet, I was not on deck frequently enough to do daily proselytizing of the staff, teaching and reminding them of what show they were producing.
WEEKLY PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAM MENU FROM 2OO1

Back in 2001 I introduced research called CARRIAGE METRICS that charted the performance of 94 public radio programs. The methodology was simple.  I choose 100 representative CPB-funded stations and tabulated the programs they carried.  Programs shown in bold are still in distribution.

+CARRIAGE METRICS+™

#2.3    CLEARANCE SHARE

LISTED BY PERCENTAGE OF STATIONS CLEARED
94 WEEKLY PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAMS
100 SAMPLE STATIONS

RANK
PROGRAM
CLEARANCE SHARE

1
CAR TALK
71.0
2
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
65.0
3
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
61.0
4
THISTLE & SHAMROCK
44.0
5
LIVING ON EARTH (60) & (30)
43.0
6
WHAD’ YA KNOW?
40.0
7
MUSIC FROM THE HEARTS OF SPACE
38.0
8
WAIT, WAIT…DON’T TELL ME
37.0
9
SAVVY TRAVELER, THE
31.0
10
ST. PAUL SUNDAY
29.0
11
PIANO JAZZ
27.0
12 (tie)
AMERICAN ROUTES
20.0
12 (tie)
LATINO USA
20.0
14 (tie)
PIPEDREAMS
19.0
14 (tie)
SELECTED SHORTS
19.0
16
SOUND MONEY
18.0
17
FROM THE TOP
17.0
18
ONLY A GAME
16.0
19 (tie)
RIVERWALK
15.0
19 (tie)
SCHICKELE MIX
15.0
21 (tie)
FRESH AIR WEEKEND
14.0
21 (tie)
ON THE MEDIA
14.0
21 (tie)
REWIND
14.0
24 (tie)
JAZZ PROFILES WITH NANCY WILSON
13.0
24 (tie)
NEW DIMENSIONS
13.0
24 (tie)
WEEKLY EDITION
13.0
27 (tie)
ALTERNATIVE RADIO
12.0
27 (tie)
HARMONIA
12.0
27 (tie)
JAZZ SET
12.0
27 (tie)
SAYS YOU
12.0
27 (tie)
SATELLITE SISTERS
12.0
27 (tie)
SOUND & SPIRIT
12.0
27 (tie)
SPLENDID TABLE, THE
12.0
34
JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER
11.0
35 (tie)
SUNDAY BAROQUE
10.0
36 (tie)
WITH HEART & VOICE
10.0
37 (tie)
BEYOND COMPUTERS (60) & (30)
10.0
38
E TOWN
9.0
39 (tie)
AFROPOP
8.0
39 (tie)
BEALE STREET CARAVAN
8.0
39 (tie)
CHINWAG THEATRE
8.0
39 (tie)
COUNTERSPIN
8.0
39 (tie)
RECORD SHELF, THE
8.0
44 (tie)
INFINITE MIND
7.0
44 (tie)
PEOPLE’S PHARMACY
7.0
44 (tie)
THIS WAY OUT
7.0
47 (tie)
COMMON GROUND
6.0
47 (tie)
FIRST ART
6.0
47 (tie)
LOOSE LEAF BOOK COMPANY
6.0
47 (tie)
MILLENIUM OF MUSIC
6.0
47 (tie)
MY WORD/ MY MUSIC
6.0
47 (tie)
SUNDAY ROUNDS
6.0
53 (tie)
GRATEFUL DEAD HOUR
5.0
53 (tie)
MAKING CONTACT
5.0
53 (tie)
MOUNTAIN STAGE
5.0
53 (tie)
RADIO NATION
5.0
53 (tie)
SOUNDPRINT (60) & (30)
5.0
53 (tie)
TO THE BEST OUR KNOWLEDGE
5.0
53 (tie)
ZORBA PASTER ON YOUR HEALTH
5.0
60 (tie)
CELTIC CONNECTIONS
4.0
60 (tie)
FASCINATIN’ RHYTHM
4.0
60 (tie)
LE SHOW
4.0
60 (tie)
NEW LETTERS
4.0
60 (tie)
RIVER CITY FOLK
4.0
60 (tie)
TECH NATION
4.0
60 (tie)
WEEKEND RADIO
4.0
60 (tie)
INSIDE EUROPE (60) & (30)
4.0
68 (tie)
A CHEF’S TABLE
3.0
68 (tie)
BILLY TAYLOR/KENNEDY CENTER
3.0
68 (tie)
CALLING ALL PETS
3.0
68 (tie)
CAMBRIDGE FORUM
3.0
68 (tie)
EARTHSONGS
3.0
68 (tie)
JUSTICE TALKING
3.0
68 (tie)
PORTRAITS IN BLUE
3.0
68 (tie)
WEST COAST LIVE
3.0
68 (tie)
WOMEN IN MUSIC
3.0
77 (tie)
PARENT’S JOURNAL
2.0
77 (tie)
PUTAMAYO WORLD MUSIC
2.0
77 (tie)
RIDERS RADIO THEATRE
2.0
77 (tie)
STUDIO 360
2.0
81 (tie)
BOOK GUYS, THE
1.0
81 (tie)
ENVIRONMENT SHOW, THE
1.0
81 (tie)
FIFTY ONE PERCENT (51%)
1.0
81 (tie)
FOLKSTAGE
1.0
81 (tie)
JEFFERSON HOUR
1.0
81 (tie)
LUTHERAN VESPERS
1.0
81 (tie)
ME & MARIO
1.0
81 (tie)
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, THE
1.0
81 (tie)
NEWSWEEK ON THE AIR
1.0
81 (tie)
POWERPOINT
1.0
81 (tie)
PRIME TIME RADIO
1.0
81 (tie)
REAL COMPUTING
1.0
81 (tie)
WINGS
1.0
81 (tie)
WORLD MUSIC JOURNAL
1.0