RETRO FRIDAY: TWO VIDEOS ABOUT PROGRESSIVE ROCK RADIO IN SAN FRANSISCO

Earlier this year, we posted a story [link] about the absence of Adult Alternative radio in the San Francisco bay area since the demise of commercial station KFOG. In that post we said that the city needs, and would support, a noncom AAA station.

Howard Hesseman in 1968 playing

"Don Sturdy" on Dragnet

First is a 2013 interview with Howard Hesseman and other folks who were involved in the “underground” radio scene in the late 1960.

Hesseman is best known for his role as Doctor Johnny Fever in WKRP. But Hesseman was known as an eclectic radio host long before his iconic TV show.

In this video you will see and hear Howard Hesseman and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb. They discuss legendary programmer Tom Donahue, one of the founders of KMPX and KSAN.

We produced the second video in 2014 when Spark News was just beginning. 

The video is based on the work Wesley “Scoop” Nisker.   

In the early 1970s, Nisker released a vinyl album called If You Don't  Like the News, Go Out and Make Some of Your Own. It contained many of his“greatest hits” from KSAN.

In many ways, Nisker was a mash-up of author Hunter S. Thompson, the comics Firesign Theater and audio journalist Tony Schwartz. 

His work was was created using two reel-to-reel tape decks and a couple of cart machines.  His techniques influenced a generation of audio journalists, editors and storytellers including many folks who later worked in public radio.

This is our video adaptation of one of Nisker’s Seven Days in May. It aired on KSAN in 1970 just after the killing of four college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University in May of that year.

In 2014, Nisker was still living in the Bay Area and was a Buddhist meditation instructor, teacher and author.

Please note that there is one mistake in the video: The Kent State shootings happened in 1970, not 1971.

JOSHUA JOHNSON IS LEAVING NPR • MORE ABOUT THE NEW MEMPHIS LOCAL NEWS STATION

Crowd at 1A Across America event in Wichita

Joshua Johnson, the host of 1A, has announced that he is leaving the job and is joining MSNBC. 

His last appearance as the host of 1A will be December 20^th.

1A is produced by WAMU and is distributed by NPR.

We said when Diane Rehm left in 2017 that replacing her would a challenge.

When Johnson and 1A entered the day-part, some stations were skeptical about 1A’s ability to repeat Rehm’s success. Soon it became apparent that 1A had even more appeal to station programmers and listeners than Rehm. 

Sine 1A started, carriage of the program on NPR member stations is up over 40%. Estimated weekly listeners also grew.

Joshua Johnson (courtesy NPR

Now the selection of a new host is underway. 

Sources say that Executive Producer Rupert Allman will continue with the show.

WAMU GM JJ Yore said in a press release:

“Joshua told us he has dreamed of hosting a national show since he was a young child. We are pleased that Joshua was able to achieve that dream at WAMU and NPR.” 

“The vision for 1A, the staff and the growing audience all came together to create the success we see today, and that magical mix creates a strong foundation for a new host to take 1A to even greater heights.”

ERIC BARNES RESPONDS TO OUR WUMR STORY

Yesterday we featured a new noncommercial station in Memphis that will reportedly air local news. We were disappointed to learn that NPR News will not be on the new station.

We received this comment from Eric Barnes, the founder and CEO of The Daily Memphian, one of three organizations involved in the new station:

Eric Barnes

“Hi Ken. Just to clarify – You’re definitely giving me, personally, too much credit for orchestrating this. It was a collaboration between Crosstown, U of M, and The Daily Memphian.”

“Also, to clarify the fate of the FCC license: A new non-profit 501c3 will be formed, with representatives from Crosstown, UofM and The Daily Memphian making up the board.”

“Once the 501c3 is established and assuming the UofM board of trustees approves this plan at their December meeting, then the new 501c3 and the UofM will begin the process of transferring the FCC license to the new 501c3. There won’t be a purchase of the license.”

KEN SAYS: If/when the station license is transferred to the new nonprofit organization, first the FCC must approve the transaction.  

WILL ERIC BARNES HELP BRING A NEW NPR NEWS STATION TO MEMPHIS? HE SAYS “NO”

Eric Barnes

Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian [link] is a media change agent that has disrupted news business in Memphis. 

Now Barnes has engineered a partnership with the University of Memphis to bring a new noncommercial radio news voice to the city.

Late last week the University of Memphis announced that their campus station, WUMR 91.7 [link[, is part of a new multi-media project led by Barnes.



The deal brings together WUMR, The Daily Memphian and Crosstown Concourse, a retail development located in the heart of Memphis.

When we heard about the partnership, we thought it might include a new full-time NPR News/Talk station that Memphis really needs.

The newsroom synergy between The Daily Memphian and the station could create a powerful news source.

But, in an email to Spark News, Barnes said  NPR will "definitely not" be heard on the new WUMR.  

According to a news report in The Daily Memphian [link], WUMR will relocate to a new facility in Crosstown Concourse, a retail and social meeting point located in the heart of Memphis. The story said the station call letters might change.

Beyond these facts, many details are not known. For instance, it isn't clear whether Barnes is buying the license for WUMR or just part of a three-way understanding. The deal has not been filed with the FCC.

Crosstown Concourse is in an old Sears building

Our expectations were high, perhaps too high. 

Barnes apparently does not feel that NPR News programming would fit with his plans for the station.

Instead, it appears that promises have been made about that could compromise the success of the new WUMR.

The U of Memphis anticipates that programing on new station will be provided by students. Anne Hogan, dean of the U of Memphis College of Communication and Fine Arts told The Daily Memphian:

“We will have the opportunity to have jazz, but also lots of other genres of music. We can really look at the cultural scene and what the Memphis community really wants to know and wants to hear. That being the case, the experience [for] our students going to improve.”

But, Barnes foresees something different. He said in a press release:

“The Daily Memphian looks forward to providing high-quality, locally focused news.”

Past experience has shown that combining "high quality news" and "student DJs" has not worked.

WKNO WILL REMAIN THE SOLE SOURCE OF NPR NEWS

We call WKNO The Weakest Link because of its track record of poor performance.

WKNO has no plans to change its dual-format. 

In the October PPM ratings, WKNO has a 1.4 AQH share and only 38,700 weekly listeners.

And now a moment of zen

 

PODCAST “MY FELLOW KANSANS” EXPANDS THE REACH OF PUBLIC MEDIA • MORE RATINGS FROM DIARY MARKETS

Since the fall of 201, the podcast My Fellow Kansans (MFK) has been tackling the tough issues that face the people of the Kansas.  

MFK concluded its first season with accolades. Now season two of MFK has started with a focus on rural life in the state.

Kansas was a bloody free state just prior to the Civil War. 

Then the state was at the center of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. 

For the past three decades Kansas has become known for its red-state conservative politicians. Then, in 2018, there was push-back.

Kansas News Service [link], in Topeka, produces MFK [link].  It is a collaborative project that includes the newsrooms of KCUR, Kansas City, KMUW in Wichita, Kansas Public Radio in Lawrence and High Plains Public Radio in Garden City. KCUR is the director and fiduciary for the collaboration.

The podcast is distributed by NPR Podcasts [link], the four collaborating stations and via commercial and noncom stations. A print version is also distributed at no cost to newspapers in Kansas.

In season one, MFK told stories about politics in Kansas. Season two, which started on October 18, 2019, looks at the reality of life in rural Kansas. There are troubling signs.

Once-thriving towns continue to shrink. Folks working in agriculture have been hit hard by tariffs and increasing consolidation of landowners. Health care providers are struggling to serve fewer people spread out over hundreds of miles from the closest city.

Jim McLean

To hear on of MFK at its best, check out the November 14^th episode, Even Remade, A Town Struggles [link]. 

Reporter Jim McLean, who is also the managing director of Kansas News Service, tells the story of Greensburg, Kansas, a town of fewer than 1,000 people located 90 minutes west of Wichita.

Greensburg has been struggling for many years. 

Then a tornado in 2007 devastated much ofthe town. 

For awhile new hope emerged. 

The leaders of Greensburg decided that the town should become a green, environmentally sustainable place. 

People were optimistic. But powerful forces drove even more people away despite its makeover.

Kansas News Service and MFK are supported by by the Kansas Health Foundation, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Sunflower Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation, the Health Forward Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

KMUW IN WICHITA SHOWS BIG GAINS IN NIELSEN RATINGS

As the rural parts of Kansas continue to loose residents, the states cities are booming. 

People move to places like Wichita for employment, healthcare and more opportunity. NPR News/Talk station KMUW [link] has been a big part of the growth.

KMUW had come a long way in the past two decades. We checked the Spark News’ retro ratings file and learned that 20 years ago, in the Fall 1999, Arbitron said that KMUW had a 2.2 AQH share and 23,300 estimated weekly listeners.

By October 2019, KMUW more than doubled their AQH share. KMUW had an estimated 51,400 weekly listeners.