WILL KUMD, DULUTH BE THE NEXT UNIVERSITY STATION TO EXIT PUBLIC BROADCASTING?

Concerns have arisen that KUMD [link] in Duluth may loose CPB support because the licensee, the University of Minnesota – Duluth (UMD), is considering not hiring a new station manager. 

If the position is not filled KUMD will fall below CPB’s minimum criteria on staff size.

According to a report in the May 31 edition of the Duluth News Tribune [link], UMD has not made a decision about hiring a new manager. UMD spokesperson Lynne Williams told the News Tribune that the expense of operating the station is a concern at the University.

Maija Jenson

KUMD has had three interim managers since 2016. 

Maija Jenson, the most recent interim manager, will be leaving the station in August to join the Journalism faculty at UMD. 

She has been at the station since 2008. Jenson remains a strong supporter of KUMD. 

When asked about the future of KUMD after she leaves, Johnson said:

“We won't know what we've lost until we've lost it."

KUMD’s budget overruns have been a continuing source of concern for the university. In fiscal year 2018, KUMD needed $256,000 in cash from UMN to pay expenses. According to transparency documents on KUMD’s website [link], the university provided 29.4% of the station’s $868,000 budget.

Other funding sources for KUMD in FY 2017 included $146,000 (16.8%) from CPB, $133,000 (15.2%) from the State of Minnesota, $124,000 (14.2%) from underwriters, $114,000 (13.1%) from members and $87,000 (10.1%) from fees paid by UMD students.

The fact that only $238,000 (27.5%) of KUMD’s revenue came from private sources shows that the station is currently not self-sustaining. Typically CPB supported stations get 50% or more of their revenue from members and underwriters.

Yet, besides the budget overruns and uncertainty about future management, KUMD is not broken. 

KUMD has a fiercely loyal audience for its homebrewed mixture of AAA music and focus on the local music and arts scenes.

KUMD positions itself as the alternative to all other alternatives, and local neo-hippies like that a lot.

But are there enough of them to make KUMD sustainable?

In the Fall 2018 Nielsen Audio ratings, KUMD had a 1.9 AQH share and 11,900 estimated weekly listeners.   

This is not too bad for the nation’s #210 radio market.

Minnesota Public Radio doesn’t subscribe to the Nielsen ratings for their three repeater stations in the market. 

Common sense dictates that The Current must be taking some listening from KUMD, likely in the younger demographics.

Duluth-Superior is one of the most competitive small markets in the U.S.  Because of the presence of the three MPR stations an two Wisconsin Public Radio repeaters, there are few options for KUMD other than to keep doing what they are doing but do it better.