There
has been a lot of reader interest in Tuesday’s story about Western Illinois
University’s (WIU) decision to stop funding WIUM a/k/a Tri-States Public Radio (TSPR).
But for TSPR’s listeners and staff, the uncertainty about what happens next
must be unbearable.
WIU
took a precautionary step by providing six months notice to all of TSPR’s employees that WIU funds will not
be used after February 29, 2019 to pay their salaries. Darcie Shinberger,
WIU’s Assistant VP for Advancement, told Spark
News in an email:
Six months notice was
provided in regard to the change in funding was provided for staff to plan
accordingly in the coming months. Non-appropriated fund sources available to
TSPR may be used for personnel and other expenditures after March 1.
This
means it is up to WIUM’s management to decide if they can pay the staff with money that is not from WIU. Simple math shows that this will be difficult. In FY 2017, WIUM's budget was around $1 million. Of
that amount, Western Illinois University provided a little under $500,000. CPB
provided $181,000. Pledging and underwriting brought in $285,000.
Given
that some of WIUM’s non-WIU funds are mandated for specific types of
expenditures, there is a chance that WIUM will not have the cash available to
pay the staff. No one is talking about what might happen if the staff can’t be
paid. The most obvious scenario is that TSPR would cease broadcasting.
Meanwhile,
Spark News heard from a usually reliable
broadcast property broker (who asked not to be identified) that there is a
rumor circulating that WIU is considering selling WIUM and its two repeater
stations for a quick fix of cash. The broker said the three stations might
bring as much as $2 million in cash for an motivated buyer such as Educational
Media Foundation (EMF).
Shinberger
told Spark News that there have been
no discussions regarding selling the stations.
The
two constituencies that are not being addressed are TSPR’s listeners and donors. WIU has not said if they want TSPR to
continue as a NPR News station after March 1. Without this kind of assurance by
the licensee, it will be very difficult to ask listeners to pledge money as
usual.
TSPR has not yet started a Save Tri-States Public Radio campaign because
there is no existing organization, other than WIU, to be the fiduciary. TSPR does have a Friends organization,
but it is an informal group, not a separate 501c3 organization that is necessary
to receive donations.
There
is another noncommercial station in Macomb, WTND-LP [link], a community station,
has few resources. The closest NPR News station is WVIK in the Quad Cities, a
small station that is unlikely to have the ability to help TSPR.
PUBLIC MEDIA CONTINUES TO
DOMINATE PODCAST RANKINGS
Podtrac’s
July rankings of the Top 20, Podcasts confirms that publishers with ties to
public radio are reaching the most podcast listeners. Of the 20 top shows on
the July chart, 15 (75%) contain the DNA of public media.
Eight
of the Top 20 (40%) come from NPR and 3 (15%) are published by PRX.
Ultra-conservative
talker Ben Shapiro [link[ debuts at number eight on the Podtrac chart. Shapiro
is the first right-wing pundit to make the Top 20.
If the FM/TV licenses are owned by Western Illinois University, doesn't that mean politically the decision to sell has to be made in the state legislature? Given the paralysis there, that doesn't seem too likely...?
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