WHY PACIFICA IS LIKE THE TITANIC • REMEMBER DICK STANLEY • NPR NEWS/TALK STATIONS HAVE FEWER WEEKLY LISTENERS

Screen shot from the movie Titanic

We all know the story of the end of the Titanic, how the band played on as the giant ship slipped under the cold waves of the Atlantic Ocean.   

A similar scene is happening now as the Pacifica Foundation dithers while a storm of debts prepares to destroy the once vital public broadcaster.

In a somber Wednesday (1/3) memo to Pacifica’s employees, Pacifica’s interim Executive Director Bill Crosier says the Board of Directors is hopelessly paralyzed about how to proceed. 

The last remaining way out – voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect Pacifica’s assets – is being ignored by the Board.

The Empire State Building with a bad moon rising

As of next Monday (1/8), the Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT), winner of a two million dollar judgment against Pacifica can file a lien on the organization’s assets in California, New York, Texas and Washington, DC. This means that all of Pacifica’s bank accounts and property may be seized at any moment.

When/if this happens, Pacifica will loose the ability to operate and may be forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. This will sink not only Pacifica’s WBAI in New York, it could also mean the end of KPFA in the Bay Area as well as stations in Los Angeles, Houston and Washington, DC.

The potential end of KPFA caught the attention of the national news media. On Tuesday (1/2) the Wall Street Journal published an excellent piece on the situation [link].

RICHARD STANLEY, LEADER OF THE STANLEY FOUNDATION, DIES AT AGE 84

Since I left Public Radio International (PRI) in September 1997 to open my own consulting business, I’ve been pleased to have many excellent clients. Perhaps my favorite client in the past twenty years is The Stanley Foundation based in Muscatine, Iowa.

Dick Stanley

Yesterday I heard about the death of the leader of the foundation during the twelve years I worked with the organization: Richard H. (“Dick”) Stanley. He passed away in November 2017.

Dick Stanley embodied the Stanley Foundation’s visions of global citizenship, secure peace and an informed participation in governance. Dick was also a believer in public radio’s fact-based journalism.

Under Dick Stanley’s leadership, the foundation created remarkable independent programs for public radio dealing with topics such as the legacy of the war in Vietnam, Russia after the fall of communism and the new power of emerging countries such as India and Brazil.

Stanley Foundation programs were hosted and reported by Walter Cronkite, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, David Brancaccio, David Brown and Simon Marks. Programs were designed and directed by Kristin McHugh and Keith Porter, now the President and CEO of the foundation.

Dick Stanley was a quiet person who let others have the headlines. There was not a cynical bone in his body. Perhaps that was a reason that world leaders, diplomats and business people so often sought his behind-the-scenes advice. I am thankful that I knew and worked with Dick Stanley.

By the way, the Stanley Foundation is still active in public media. They host the International Reporting Project (IJR) which sends journalists to place around the world. You can learn more about IJR here. 

NPR NEWS/TALK STATIONS SEE A DECLINE IN WEEKLY LISTENERS, PREPARE FOR 2018 MID-TERM ELECTIONS

As you know, NPR News/Talk stations have had a remarkable two years increasing audience, revenue and impact through the 2016 election cycle. Now the number of weekly listeners is falling at some stations. The focus now is preparation for the 2018 mid-term elections.

Much was accomplished during the time of growth.  Perhaps the most important (and hopeful) development for journalism is the growing respect for fact-based reporting. Folks in the news/talk business are paying attention.

In the December Nielsen Audio ratings, the number of weekly listeners to NPR News/Talk stations declined in all four markets we are featuring today compared to the prior month.

In the nation’s capital, WAMU had its third straight month of declining estimated weekly listeners. WAMU now trails commercial radio WTOP in both average-quarter hour share and weekly cume.

In the San Francisco Bay Area KQED had its biggest drop of estimated weekly listeners in two years.

NPR News/Talk KERA also has lost estimated weekly listeners for three consecutive monthly Nielsen Audio sweeps.

In Houston, KUHF also had a dramatic downturn.