END OF THE WEEK UPDATES

“CLASSICAL MUSIC RISING” DEBUTS EXCELLENT NEWSLETTER 

Classical Music Rising (CMR), the SRG-sponsored initiative to promote new listening to Classical stations, sent out their first newsletter and I recommend it. 

Not only does it cover the latest news about CMR, it provides station news, interesting links and commentary.

CMR’s Managing Editor Wende Persons deserves kudos for the clean look and newsy style. If you want to be on the CMR mailing list, contact Wende at wende@classicalmusicrising.org.

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RACHEL OSIER LINDLEY NAMED COORDINATING EDITOR FOR TEXAS STATION COLLABORATIVE

Rachel Osier Lindley

Don’t you love it when good things happen to kind and talented people? One of the best audio journalists, Rachel Osier Lindley has been chosen to be Statewide Coordinating Editor for the Texas Station Collaborative. Rachel had been News Director of WBHM in Birmingham.

The Texas Collaborative is a first-of-its-kind public radio initiative designed to enhance the coverage of news and issues in Texas. The founding partner stations are KERA in Dallas, KSTX in San Antonio and KUHF in Houston. CPB provided a two-year startup grant of $750,000.

As Statewide Coordinating Editor, Lindley will be the primary contact for public radio newsrooms across Texas. The initiative is planning news coverage, daily statewide newscasts, additional content for the daily newsmagazine Texas Standard and national coverage for NPR News. Lindley will be based in Dallas.

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WXPN CONVERTS MORE THAN 1-IN-10 LISTENERS INTO MEMBERS

Roger LaMay

TripleARadio.com [link] reports that WXPN, Philadelphia has reached the milestone of 30,000 supporting members.   

GM Roger LaMay says Thirty Thousand Music Listeners Can’t Be Wrong! 

Common wisdom is that 10% of a station’s estimated weekly cumulative listeners are members.  

Most stations seldom break a 6% conversation ratio. In the just released June Nielsen Audio PPM ratings for Philadelphia, WXPN has 273,100 weekly listeners. So, 30,000 members means WXPN’s conversion ration is close to 12%. Sweet.

 LaMay says that WXPN will recognize the milestone and thank station members with a special art installation at the annual XPoNential Music Festival [link] July 22^nd, 23^rd  & 24^th.  

READER COMMENTS

RE: PRNDI IS STILL “PRNDI”

Article ran on Tuesday 7/5/16

Martha Foley

Martha Foley, News Director of North Country Public Radio in far upstate New York, writes:

Hi Ken - It's true the discussion was lively, and the final vote was to not adopt the name change as proposed at this meeting. But, having been there, my sense of the room was that PRNDI members -- voting and non-voting -- are already embracing media beyond broadcast radio.

The name change goes back to the board for a more inclusive discussion about the exact wording. The conference itself was proof that we are public media journalists, not just old time radio sentimentalists.

RE: WHAT GIVES WITH WERS & WUMB IN BOSTON?

Article ran on Friday 7/1/16 [link]

Another Tuesday stuck on a Boston freeway

An anonymous reader writes:

Hi Ken, the WUMB map is misleading. Like I said, the move to that new tower added a bunch of height, which really helped in-car listening. But their ERP is still a miniscule 160-watts. As in, 0.16kW!

[WUMB’s signal] doesn’t penetrate buildings worth a damn. There are two major highways that Boston stations must blanket: I-495, the outer beltway, and I-95 through the city.

Any dependable FM station needs to push 70dBu (not 60dBu) to ensure it can be heard.  WUMB’s 160-watts doesn’t do it.