The end finally
arrived at KUSP in Santa Cruz, California.
On July 31, 2016 KUSP signed off the air, ending months of angst-filled
speculation and years of mismanagement.
According to a
press release posted on KUSP’s website, KUSP Board President Matt Farrell,
summed it up this way:
“This decision reflects the
reality of the station's financial situation; we simply cannot afford to
broadcast any longer…"
[You can see the
entire press release at link.]
The shutdown came
despite a last-minute effort to convert KUSP to a Triple A “music discovery”
format. There simply was not enough time
for the new format to establish itself.
According to a
recent report by the Public Media Company (PMC), KUSP’s debts are over $860,000
and continue to grow every day. KUSP has
run out of money [quoting from the PMC report]:
KUSP is financially broke. As
of September 28, 2015, the unrestricted cash was zero. This is despite two
substantial donations in the last fiscal year that totaled over $250,000.
To pay off the station’s
debts, KUSP needs to raise $1.1 million over the next three years, including
$350,000 as soon as possible.
That didn’t happen
and now KUSP sits silent, waiting for a new owner.
In the 23 months I
have been publishing this blog I have written about KUSP over 40 times. I saw the end coming a long time ago but I
will not gloat about KUSP’s demise. When
I heard the news, my first reaction was sadness because I really, really hoped
KUSP would find a way to exist as an independent voice.
Now it is timely to
look at lessons learned with hope other stations don’t follow the same path to
oblivion.
WHAT WENT WRONG AT KUSP?
1. KUSP USED THE “PACIFICA METHOD” OF
GOVERNANCE
KUSP was started by
the Pataphysical Broadcasting Foundation, a 501c3 charity set up to create the
station. KUSP signed on in 1972. Pataphysical
Broadcasting Foundation and KUSP were products of Lorenzo Milam and engineer
Jeremy Landsman. The founders of KUSP made certain that “the people ran the
station.”
Pataphysical’s bylaws
stipulated that in addition to Board members and management key volunteers and
employees could nix any changes at the station. Operating the station became a
nightmare because even “honorary members” had the right approve or deny
changes. Instead of moving forward, KUSP was divided into factions playing out
personal agendas. It was death by committee.
It was never clear
when a vote required. Under California law, corporate bylaws determine the
rules of the road, so KUSP was stuck in the mud. To the best of my knowledge,
these bylaws are still in effect today.
2. THE LEADERSHIP OF KUSP DITHERED AWAY
CHANCES TO TURN THE STATION AROUND
 |
| KUSP IN HAPPIER DAYS (KION-TV) |
For most of its
life, KUSP aired the major NPR News magazines, Pacifica shows such as Democracy Now!, plus a variety of local
music and opinion programs. In 2000, a competing station – KAZU, Pacific Grove
– emerged and soon began airing NPR News 24/7. From that point on, KUSP played
second fiddle to KAZU.
After the rise of
KAZU, KUSP became increasingly unsustainable. The red ink slowly increased and
the station existed because of cash flow. Debts began to go unpaid. Management
at KUSP got worried and decided to act.
In early 2015,
Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN), the owners of KUSC, Los Angeles, and
KDFC, San Francisco offered to buy KUSP for $1,000,000. Because of the
governance system, CPRN turned down CPRN’s offer.
Board members came
up with a new scheme to save KUSP. To
get the concurrence of the many people who could vote, ideas were solicited for
future programming based on tree names. The Board set up scenarios named Pine,
Maple, Plum, Fig, Walnut and Elm. The
choice would make an Arbor Day speaker proud. But no solution was found. The
“tree game” was a waste of precious time and money.
In summer 2015 KUSP
seemed to get a lifeline. The Board announced it had received a gift of
$100,000 from an anonymous donor. Soon the $100k was gone and KUSP still faced
bankruptcy.
On September 3rd,
2015 the Board hired Public Media Company (PMC) to assess the dire situation at
the station and make recommendations for the future. PMC’s conclusion was “Get real or go out of business.”
In October 2015
KUSP switched to a fulltime Triple A “music discovery” format. It didn’t work. KUSP ended on July 31, 2016.
3. KUSP WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT “POLITICAL
AND CULTURAL PURITY” THAN SERVING LISTENERS
 |
| LORENZO MILAM IN 1972 |
Credit or blame
KUSP’s co-founder Lorenzo Milam for the death of KUSP. Milam has been called
the Johnny Appleseed of Community Radio
because he inspired dozens, maybe hundreds, of independent community stations.
In 1972, Milam published Sex and
Broadcasting, a primer about how to file with the FCC for a new
noncommercial FM license. At the time
there were many unclaimed frequencies.
Milam was at the right place at the right time.
[I wrote in March 2015
about the day I purchased my copy of Sex
and Broadcasting. I got it at a headshop on a shelf next to High Times. near the bongs.]
Milam walked the
walk. He worked at Pacifica’s KPFA and
founded KRAB-FM in Seattle in 1962. He also played a role in the founding of
KBOO in Portland, KDNA in St. Louis, WYEP in Pittsburgh and many more.
 |
| My copy of Sex and Broadcasting |
Sex and Broadcasting became a bible of sorts for community
stations. Many still have a copy on the
manager’s desk next to the FCC Rules. Milam was one the creators of what I call
The Pacifica Method of governance and
programming.
Milam was a
visionary who exceled in concepts and theories.
But, he was NOT good at running things.
Folks say he has poor people skills.
Milam is now in his
mid 80s. He is still a prolific writer
and blogger where he talks about the many things on his mind. His stuff reads like a combination of Hunter
S. Thompson and Grumpy Old Men.
Here is a sample of
Milam’s programming advice for KUSP:
KUSP is the sound of this life
around us, in and around Santa Cruz, whatever is joyous, creative, dramatic --
that we want to find with our microphone, and by means of RadioMagick, send
back to you, amplified and intense. The
sound of dulcimers, flutes, bagpipes, guitars -- electric and acoustic, horns,
violins, tom-toms... the sound of our musicians.
Milam’s advice was
sort of profound but in the end it was totally useless. The ultimate problem at KUSP is that most of the people who ran it never grew up.
