COMMENT ONE
This past Wednesday
(5/10) we reported on two new FM stations that broadcast from the residence of
the station’s founders [link]. One of these stations, 97.5 KBUU-LP a/k/a Radio Malibu, raised reader Aaron Read’s
eyebrows because of the opulence of the set-up.
Aaron wrote:
FWIW, I believe Radio Malibu
couldn't join NPR not because KPCC or KCRW, but because NPR requires a minimum
number of five full-time staff from an affiliate station.
Also, that's a studio in his spare bedroom???? WOW. Those wooden wall baffles are usually a sign of Russ Berger Design Group, and he's not cheap! It looks rilly, rilly nice but I wonder how an LPFM could afford that.
Also, that's a studio in his spare bedroom???? WOW. Those wooden wall baffles are usually a sign of Russ Berger Design Group, and he's not cheap! It looks rilly, rilly nice but I wonder how an LPFM could afford that.
KEN SAYS:
I am glad that
Aaron brought this up. It appears as if Radio
Malibu is more about personal vanity than public service. The founder, Hans
Laetz, obviously has plenty of money to spend on his hobby. But, I am not
certain if this is what the advocates of LPFM had in mind when they created it.
The non-profit
corporation that owns KBUU consists of Laetz and his family. Is this
arrangement sustainable? Probably not. Radio
Malibu doesn’t seem to have many ties to community it serves. So, when Laetz passes on, the fate of KBUU is
uncertain.
Aaron is correct
that NPR requires a five-person pay staff for affiliation but I have seens this
qualification waived if NPR rilly, rilly wants to be on in a specific area. It
is more likely that NPR did not want to “take away Malibu” from KCRW or KPCC.
COMMENT TWO
Reader Tim Campbell
shared his thoughts about our post last June entitled The Incredible True Story of NBC’S 24/7 Radio News Channel [link].
The story was about NBC’s failed attempt at a nationally syndicated news format
in the 1970s called NIS – the News & Information Service.
Campbell wrote:
I remember NIS in Norfolk over
WKLX 1350 (later rebranded WNIS migrated to 790 AM) and retained all news
format after demise of NIS. I was a teen who was obsessed with radio under the
hood stuff. Was always taken back why it failed to catch on ‘till I read this
article.
For its time, I thought it was
top notch NBC quality. The fact NBC O & O’s never bought in was definately
a bad omen from corporate. It needed some big powerhouses (WMAQ, WNBC, WRC,
KNBC, KPRC, KSD affiliates to help).
KEN SAYS:
I am glad we could
provide the full story. Campbell is correct when he points out that when NBC’s
own stations passed on NIS, it was a
sign of the lack of a market for NIS. it would prove to be a fatal flaw. If NIS had hung on for a while the outcome
could have been different. By the early
1980s satellite delivery was cheap, 24/7 networks like Transtar and Satellite
Music Network were gaining new affiliates everyday and NPR had yet embrace modern
programming techniques.
COMMENT THREE
Tammy Terwelp, GM of KRCC |
An anonymous reader
commented on recent programming changes KRCC, Colorado Springs [link]:
I used to love KRCC, tuned in
the other morning to almost surreal, monotone, NPR news-drivel, completely
encompassing the entire daytime format. Sorry but I’m just not into it.
AN ITEM FROM THE WAYBACK
MACHINE
Back
in the 1930s, Nielsen rolled out its first incarnation of an electronic radio
listening measurement device called The
Nielsen Audimeter.
The Audimeter differed from the current “Portable People
Meter” (PPM) system in several ways.
It wasn’t “portable,” it tabulated what
station the radio was tuned to, not what people were hearing, and required the
respondent to have another piece of furniture in their home.
Listening was
recorded on a ticker-tape that the respondent needed to change daily.
The Audimeter proved to be so cumbersome it
quickly faded away.