CPB ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RADIO “URBAN ALTERNATIVE INITIATIVE”

Since 2015 the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been quietly developing a new music format for public radio called Urban Alternative. 

Now CPB is going public with the venture by announcing $1.3 million in grants for three public radio stations to implement the new format: KPVU, Houston; KUVO, Denver; and, WNSB, Norfolk.

According to CPB, the Urban Alternative format is Hip Hop, R&B and Urban Contemporary music combined with “public radio’s values” such as thoughtful lyricism and storytelling. The emphasis is on building locally customized formats that can be used by other stations. So, think of the three stations as  beta testers. 

None of the 3 stations is changing their format at this time. Programming decisions are made at the local level.

Mike Henry

Leading the effort is consultant Mike Henry from Paragon Media Strategies. Henry will work with each of the three stations during their transition to an Urban Alternative playlist. Paragon will conduct research to identify a music mix that has the greatest local market appeal. The project is expected to last two years.

Henry has already invested considerable time and effort to the development of the Urban Alternative format.  In 2016 CPB funded research by Paragon to examine a version of the Urban Alternative format at Vocalo (WEBW 91.1 FM) in Chicago.

Another likely reason Paragon was chosen for the project is Henry’s extensive experience consulting Triple A “music discovery” stations. Stations such as The Current, The Colorado Sound, WXPN and several others are or have used Henry’s strategy to be a convening point for local music, events and community engagement.

For additional information on this story we recommend Mike Janssen's excellent report in Current [link].

MEET THREE VERY DIFFERENT PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS

Each of the three stations will present unique challenges because they have different histories, resources and staff available.

• WNSB “HOT 91” NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

WNSB, serves the Norfolk area from Norfolk State University. 

According to the station’s website [link], Hot 91 airs mainstream Urban pop music and is staffed by students.

Douglas “Teddybear” Perry

Hot 91.1’s only full-time station employee is Program Director Douglas “Teddybear” Perry.  Perry has been on the job for over 24 years. According to his Linken In page, Perry is best known for giveing local artist a chance to have radio airplay and gain the attention in the music industry. Teddybear claims to have discovered Jay Pharaoh of NBC’s Saturday Night Live while a student at Norfolk State and rap recording artist Lyadonna.

WNSB is small shop. Audited financial statements found on the station’s website report in FY 2017 WNSB had total revenue around $450,000. Of this amount, $415,000 in cash and in-kind support comes from the Norfolk State, the licensee.

In FY 2017 support from members was just over $10,000 and underwriting brought in around $7,000.  In FY 2016, WNSB had $81,235 in funding from CPB.  The audit shows the station received no money from CPB in FY 2017.

• KPVU “WE PLAY JAZZ” HOUSTON, TEXAS

KPVU [link] has been serving metro Houston since 1980 from Prairie View A&M University. KPVU’s website says the station serves as an educational training facility for students interested in broadcasting careers.

The format has evolved over time and is now primarily Smooth Jazz and around 20 hours a week of Gospel music.  KPVU competes with KTSU, a full time Jazz station with a large listening and member base.

According to KPVU’s audited financial statement, in FY 2017 the reported total revenue of $456,000. Of that amount $163,000 came from the university; $129,000 came from CPB; $33,000 came from underwriting; and $18,000 came for members. KPVU also received $115,000 in concert ticket sales in FY 2017.

• KUVO “COMMUNITY CULTURE MUSIC” DENVER, COLORADO

We have reported extensively about KUVO including a detailed study of the station in January 2018 [link].

KUVO [link] has a vastly different profile than the other two stations involved in the Urban Alternative Initiative. KUVO is a well-established full-time Jazz station that is an integral part of life on the Front Range.

KUVO has a full-power signal atop one of the Rocky Mountains.  It puts a decent signal into the I-25 corridor from Fort Collins to the Monument pass near Colorado Springs. 

Carlos Lando

It is impossible to tell the story of KUVO without mentioning Carlos Lando, now GM of KUVO. Lando is a charter member of public radio’s Greatest Generation – the men and women who built today’s public media system.

During his 40+ years in the biz Lando has always followed the beat of the music. He is a former Armed Forces radio host who jumped on the radio bus in 1968. After his service to the country he landed at WOUR, an “underground” pioneer in central New York.

Lando came to Colorado in the mid-1980’s for an on-air gig at KBCO, perhaps the best rock station in the nation at the time. In 1987 he joined KUVO as Program Director. Carlos fell in love with jazz in the high country.

KUVO signed on in 1985 as the first Hispanic-led public radio station in the country. At the beginning, KUVO was a funky independent station serving the Latino community. CPB supported the birth of KUVO (God bless you, Rick Madden).

When Carlos became PD of KUVO, he brought in more and more Jazz programming. He focused the air sound bit by bit, keeping KUVO relevant with the community. KUVO has a sophisticated focused format. This may prove problematic for a pending Urban Alternative format.

In 2013, KUVO merged with Rocky Mountain Public Media, the licensee of PBS station KRMA in Denver. 

We generally don’t recommend that public radio stations jump in bed with Public TV stations, but In this case it has worked. KUVO continues to operate semi-autonomously and benefits from KRMA-TV’s large fundraising effort, statewide reach and ample cash flow.

KUVO does not rely on the licensee for operating funds and the revenue from CPB makes up a small piece of the pie. 

KUVO is also currently involved with a Capital Campaign – those numbers are not included in the chart on the left.