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| Image Courtesy of PRNDI |
If
you wonder why newscasts on your local NPR station have a certain sparkle
today, it might be because the station is competing in the annual PRNDI Awards
competition. The Public Radio News Directors, Incorporated (“PRNDI”) has added
a “Best Newscast” category. based on coverage on one of four specific
According
to a press release from PRNDI, stations participating in awards may enter newscasts
only from one of four specific dates. Today, February 19th is one of
those days.
Newscasts
are a staple of radio broadcasting, so PRNDI’s addition of a newscast category
is a somewhat contrarian move. For the past few years the focus for public radio
news has been long-form coverage such as investigative and enterprise
reporting. Public radio is known for its depth in stories. Now perhaps it will
become known for brevity and concise reports of the news of the day.
Almost
all NPR News/Talk stations air the NPR top-of-the-hour newscast but a number of
stations have quit doing local hourly headlines. Perhaps the new PRNDI Award
category will stimulate stations to add more newscast or improve the ones they
already air.
The
PRNDI Awards will be presented at the organization’s annual conference June 13
– 15 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. More information is
available at the PRNDI website [link].
STUNNING DEAL PUTS
NONCOMMERCIAL RADIO AT THE TOP OF MEDIA CHARTS
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It is all about the Benjamin’s for EMF &
Cumulus
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As
you may have heard, the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) turned heads last
week when it announced it had opened its wallet and put $103,500,000 in cash on
the table for three big commercial radio stations.
The
typically mellow and conservative Radio Business Report [link], a publication that specializes
in media business deals, gushed that EMF’s deal with Cumulus Media will change
the valuation of both commercial and noncommercial station properties.
One
of the stations that EMF purchased is a well-known icon of commercial radio.
All three are substantial players in their markets:
• WPLJ-FM, New York, is a heritage Album Rock and
Top 40 station that topped the NYC ratings with both formats. The call
letters stand for White Port and Lemon Juice, made
popular by musician Frank Zappa on his album Burnt Weeny Sandwich.
• WYAY-FM Atlanta, is a well-known
conservative talk station.
• WRQX-FM Washington, DC, known for many years as
“Mix 107.3” and before that “Q107.
EMF’s
purchase may signal more expansion opportunities for public radio because
commercial operator Cumulus Media is sheading valuable properties. Cumulus
recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and needs cash pronto. Look for
Cumulus to divest more more of its 500+ stations to increase its stock price.
EMF
operates three nationally syndicated Christian music formats, Christian
Contemporary (CCM) K-Love, Christian worship Air1 and a CCM “oldies channel.”
“THE SQUID” MAKES LAND IN
SANTA CRUZ
Longtime
readers of Spark News may remember
our coverage of the demise of KUSP, a community station in Santa Cruz that went
bankrupt in 2017 because of fiscal and governance incompetence.
On
Friday (2/15) a story in the Santa Cruz
Sentinel [link] reported that a new noncom station, KSQD 90.7 FM The Squid, debuted in Santa Cruz led by
people associated with KUSP.
The
debut of The Squid [link] was especially
sweet for Rachael Anne Goodman, who did much of the work to make it happen.
We
sincerely wish her and her associates good fortune with the new station.
She
told the Sentinel that she hopes The Squid “will heal a wound” after the loss
of KUSP.
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| KSQD's coverage area |
Ironically
the demise of KUSP was a key to the new station. Educational Media Foundation
(EMF) purchased KUSP’s FM channel from the bankruptcy court. Along with KUSP,
EMF also acquired a 320-watt station that KUSP used as a repeater to better
reach the downtown area of Santa Cruz.
Goodman
and her associates formed a nonprofit organization called Natural Bridges
Media. The organization bought 90.7 FM from EMF.
Fans
of KUSP will like the selection of programming on The Squid. Goodman hosts two of the programs on most days: the
morning program Deep Dive and Talk of the Bay.
Other
programs on the station include a simulcast of KALW’s Your Call, Democracy Now
and The Thom Hartmann Show.
The interesting thing about KSQD will be whether or not the smaller signal makes a difference, good or bad. The old KUSP (now KLVM) 88.9 was a pretty hefty signal, although oddly enough it was something of a rimshot into Santa Cruz proper. It's the only non-comm signal I've ever seen where the Community of License was actually outside of the service contour. Still, it covered all of Monterey Bay and then some.
ReplyDeleteKSQD 90.7 is much smaller, and almost certainly won't reach across the bay into Monterey due to the presence of KHDC 90.9 (who broadcasts in HD Radio, too). But it's geographically much closer to Santa Cruz and quite possibly puts a better signal into town.
Therefore, the question is: where were KUSP's listeners? The old signal was big, sure, but a lot of what it covered was mountains and scrub-brush land...not people. And if the listeners were all in Santa Cruz, then KSQD's "tiny" signal might actually be considered a *superior* signal for what they're trying to do. Especially if operating expenses are lower at the new site.