The Save KBCS Blog!

Most current listeners are not on this blog because they do not know about it, except the few who got e-mails from friends or programmers. The hosts are NOT allowed to talk about this blog or the comments page on the air. I was mystified at first why they were not doing so, when this matter is so urgent. But when I asked one why he wasn’t speaking about these upcoming changes (but instead making references to the vague and misleading letter on the main website), he told me they were not allowed to say anything about the SaveKBCS web page or blog on air. If they did so, they have been told that would be their last show. So basically, they have been threatened.

Management seems determined to do this with as little knowledge of it, and input by the public as possible. This is hugely disrespectful to both the hosts and the listeners.

In the last paragraph, I should have said: “…seem to me to be likely to be a large proportion of the ***expected*** new listener core.” Whether they really will make the transition–largely from KUOW and KPLU, I guess, and maybe also from places like KPTK–remains to be seen, though I’m inclined to agree with Ginger that “those who turn to NPR will probably continue to turn to NPR”. It’s bland enough these days to be casually acceptable to pretty much anyone who’s not a political troglodyte, without making them question received wisdom too much. It’s Seattle, so the numbers will pick up some for Amy G. at better times, but although in some ways I’d be happy to be wrong about agreeing with Ginger I gotta wonder whether someone as sharp as Michael Eric Dyson competes well with NPR here outside the news-junkie niche (another narrow listener constituency like “jazz listener” or “rap+deathmetal aficionado”, but I digress).

Thanks to Iain for explaining the alternative perspective on how serving the community can be construed.

Can someone clarify what metric(s) the Community Service Grant is using to evaluate listenership — is it primarily “loyalty”? Why does KBCS management think it needs this grant?? Just keep expenses in line with revenues and you are OK. Of course membership is down in the middle of a recession; this is an unrealistic time to try to increase financial reserves. Naturally when choices increase (internet and satellite radio etc.) , listenership decreases across the spectrum of radio stations. Plan your budget accordingly. Put more efforts into marketing to attract new listeners. Don’t throw away the invaluable and irreplaceable resources of current volunteer hosts and their programs.

I agree with Ginger; 250 is the tip of the iceberg. If and when the programming changes are implemented, how many more people will be outraged when their favorite programs go off the air? I predict an upwelling of outcry in August.

Given that this website hasn’t been particularly well publicized, how many listeners know about it? How many assume change is inevitable and don’t bother to comment? How many are not so computer literate or have limited internet access? How many are not fluent in English? Are these not people part of the community that is supposed to be served by community public radio or is the only community that matters those with the deepest pockets who will listen all day? What about preserving and promoting the art and culture of diverse music genres and histories?

It’s also interesting how one-sided the comments have been. Where are the current listeners who will listen more if the format changes? Where are those clamoring for a slick unified programming style? For lots more public affairs? Why don’t they post here and tell us how great these changes would be and how they will be increasing their pledges accordingly?

I would mention I am currently a daily listener with high “loyalty” and am a college-educated professional. I enjoy the majority of current musical programs, but if it starts to sound all the same or too commercial I will be leaving. Currently the programs I’m most likely to turn off are all public affairs and the Grateful Dead Hour. Amy Goodman is excellent as what she does but I won’t be listening to her at 3pm, try 6pm.

Several people have brought up questions along the lines of “shouldn’t KBCS be responsible to the community?” Without rewinding any of my somewhat abstract rant about “community” at #35 on the first blog page, I think it’s now fairly clear that current station leadership (which includes the Bellevue College Dean who is Steve Ramsey’s boss) believes that making these changes **does** serve the community appropriately. Perhaps there’s a mismatch between what they’re saying and what they’re really thinking inside, but I’m disinclined to believe it. The point is that current station leadership simply has a vision of community service–and how KBCS should be part of it–that is in some key manner radically different from the vision that most posters here have.

The following will be very familiar to some, but may not be to others, so I’ll go ahead and post it in order to make my point as painfully clear as possible. Apologies, once again, if it’s too much. When I get emotionally worked up, I can sometimes babble a million words before calming down.

First of all, some reading material. I strongly recommend reading each of these in detail, even though I’ll be quoting from each of them below.

http://www.samuelfreedman.com/articles/culture/nyt11112001.html (I’ll refer to this one as Freedman)

http://www.pubcap.org/news/index.php?id=57 (I’ll refer to this one as Pubcap)

http://jerrystarr.info/cipbonline/secondary_pages/community_radio.htm (I’ll refer to this one as Starr)

There was a volunteer meeting on 16 July to discuss the rationale for the upcoming programming changes. Central to this was the concept of “loyalty,” a metric formally computed from Arbitron ratings that hinges on the degree to which someone who is a listener to KBCS **at any time duuring the week** continues to be a listener **throughout the week**. Pretend, for the sake of argument, that there are a hundred listeners for Democracy Now in the morning, but only ten of them stick around for Drive Time Jazz and the 9am shows; the other ninety tune to something else. Then, at noon, only ten of *those* listeners stick around for Lunch with Folks, whereas ninety of the previous crew are outta there. Then there’s a similar turnover for Daily Planet, evening public affairs, and so forth. This is a familiar community radio listening dynamic. So anyway, the “loyalty” metric in itself doesn’t really care whether there are a hundred or a thousand or a million people listening to a particular show (though more about that in a minute); what it cares about is that there are lots of people who listen to the station at some *other* time who are *not* listening to that particular show. In the example above, although Lunch with Folks has a hundred person audience, there are many more people who aren’t there: ninety who bailed out after DN! was over, ninety who only dig jazz, ninety who only dig Daily Planet, and so forth, quickly adding up to far more than the hundred for LwF.

Now, these are obviously fictional numbers, and I think it’s possible that the audiences for jazz and folk shows at KBCS are undersampled by Arbitron (given that those audiences probably *tend* to be clustered tightly in particular demographics, whereas Arbitron is sampling across demographics to reflect the actual potential listening population), but that’s how the logic of the loyalty metric works.

Take a look at Freedman. The same kind of analysis is discussed here, and the discussion should help make clear a problem with relying so heavily on the loyalty metric. If the goal is to raise loyalty among listeners (i.e. make it so that they tune away less) as much as possible, then you’re going to need to figure out what sort of programming is going to have the greatest appeal, and focus on that. So why would you do that, as a community radio programmer? The answer is the nonprofit radio establishment has adopted the idea of high loyalty as preeminently reflective of the degree to which a given station is serving the community:

~~~~~~
Then is it a mistake, a third [listener] wanted to know, for the same station to have two kinds of listeners?
“That makes it harder,” Mr. Giovannoni said. “A radio station should be something for the same person all the time. You become less and you become better.”
…
“Your challenge,” Mr. Giovannoni said as the session concluded, “is to mine the existing audience. You want to support programming, right? It’s hard to do that when nobody’s listening. Or when nobody values what you do. The way to get more audience? The way to serve your public better? Lose what’s on the periphery. Focus on a single audience and serve that audience extremely, insanely well all the time.”
~~~~~~

“Lose what’s on the periphery.” Not “create a space for genres and traditions that don’t have a place anywhere else,” which is how community radio stations used to define their missions.

Not “preserve an organic connection with local musical constituencies that helps give recognition to those constituencies,” unless those constituencies are not “peripheral”.

So it would seem that some clear aesthetic and community judgments may have been made about you, listeners to daytime jazz and folk programs. Wanting to keep things the way they are suggests that your traditions and musical constituencies are, perhaps, “peripheral”, and must be “lost” in order for the station to serve the “community,” as this new notion of community has been defined.

Take a look at Pubcap.

~~~~~~
An element of self-delusion sometimes protects the status quo, according to panelist Peggy Berryhill, a former community radio programmer who is now director of services and planning for Native Public Media. ‘A lot of us came from stations where we presumed we knew our audience,” Berryhill said. “We talked amongst ourselves and with our friends, and we thought we were doing a great job, but we weren’t looking at the numbers.’
~~~~~~

I don’t know exactly what numbers would be required in order to make a convincing case that continuing to embrace an ongoing musical mission would be a good thing. But since many here are arguing for preservation of the status quo–well, I guess there must be an element of self-delusion involved in supporting that, as well.

~~~~~~
‘Whatever you’re doing is a community service, but isn’t it better to do it for as many people as you can?’ asked Hacker. ‘By raising the bar in programming to attract more people, you’re more able to do what you want to do.’
~~~~~~

As long as what you really want to do is boost that loyalty metric, anyway.

~~~~~~
KDHX began its renewal project by working with a media values researcher, not an audience researcher, to identify its core service. The consultant, Oregon State University Associate Professor William Loges, conducted surveys and focus groups and worked with the station’s board and staff to define the values that characterize KDHX’s community service. They are: localism, community, entertainment, independence, creative expression and diversity.
‘Our goal is to be a significant community resource for our region that’s financially sound and professionally managed,’ Hacker said. ‘We’re going to do that with a larger audience.’
~~~~~~

And that larger audience, this new notion of service, comes by “losing” the “periphery”. If you are reading this, chances are good that that means you.

~~~~~~
In March, WUMB, the University of Massachusetts’ professionally staffed folk-music station, broadened its music mix, shuffled its lineup and dropped ‘folk radio’ from its branding, according to Pat Monteith, g.m. Apart from complaints from a few dozen Celtic music fans, the schedule changes have been well received, she said, adding, ‘If you listen to the flow of the station, it makes so much more sense now.’
~~~~~~

It makes more sense as long as what you want is the “mix” aesthetic, the little-bit-of-this-little-bit-of-that approach that constitutes a genre unto itself. (Fair disclosure: I sometimes enjoy that approach, myself. But there’s a difference between dabbling in it alongside access to unadulterated forms of particular genres, and throwing those unadulterated forms overboard, when they’re so poorly represented as it is.)

Let’s take a look at Starr, and dig into that aesthetic a little more by looking at one key example of it:

~~~~~~
Community radio has become the last outpost of resistance against the assault on localism… The latest incursion is called ‘Triple-A’ (Adult Album Alternative) music… [described as] ‘neo-traditional, mostly acoustic, literate and sophisticated country-tinged folk rock’ …’Triple A’ is decidedly not a genre recognized by those who create the music, but a formula invented by programmers to appeal to the affluent middle-aged listener who comprise the most desirable demographic for public radio… One force behind the ‘Triple-A’ format is frequently used public radio consultant David Giovannoni, promising stations higher cumulative ratings and income per broadcast hour if they just ‘lose what’s on the periphery’ and ‘focus on a single audience.’ Giovannoni celebrates homogeneity and predictability: ‘A radio station should be something for the same person all the time.’ Those target persons, he explains, are middle-aged and college-educated. However, by catering to the affluent, who already are blessed with many choices, this course effectively expropriates a public resource for the benefit of a privileged few.
~~~~~~

OK, so there’s a particular audience that tends to match up with a preference for the “mix” aesthetic. But why care about them? Where in the world did all this come from?

~~~~~~
The context for this latest move should be familiar by now. Placed in a survival mode by the Reagan Administration and, later, Gingrich-led Congress, NPR stations began to pursue corporate underwriting more aggressively. This led to a preoccupation with ratings, polls and focus groups, and more and longer commercials.
~~~~~~

Ah, I should have known that son of a bitch Reagan was involved somehow…

~~~~~~
There also has been a shift to more national programming featuring a more establishment point of view and NPR branded sound… NPR rejected Prairie Home Companion as ‘offensive to the middle class.’
~~~~~~

I’m imagining Garrison Keillor’s face on the famous Che Guevara poster. Well, as long as we’re talking revolutionaries, let’s ask with Lenin: What is to be done?

~~~~~~
Giovannoni’s advice to station managers is to expect it, ignore it and ride it out. Protestors typically are marginalized as kooks or radicals who do not appreciate the economics of public radio. In turn, critics charge that such station managers ignore their educational mission, failing to distinguish between superficial audiences and committed publics. In the process, they do a disservice to the distinct traditions that comprise the rich diversity of our musical heritage.
~~~~~~

Expect it. Ignore it. Ride it out.

After a while, everyone posting here at this blog will go away.

From the randomville link a few posts above:

~~~~~~
On the contrary, Graff points out the many hours spent conducting research surveys of what the people really want. At the end of the day he says that the goal at KBCS is to be the best Public Service Institution that it can be. Regardless, they can’t make everyone happy, and there is always someone upset when big changes occur in life… Graff stated that by all means they hope that not only will those 250 people give the new format a shot, but also stay with the station. But he understands that there are a lot of different tastes and even if those 250 people would choose to not donate anymore, it would be a shame but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that high of a number.
~~~~~~

Remember, this is about a reoriented notion of *service*. The more people are listening, the more you’re serving them. Think loyalty metric. If you get on board with the changes, great, but if you end up being replaced by a greater number of other people who pump up that metric, that means greater community service is being done. Right?

The conclusion is clear. For many posters here, the central idea of serving the “community” involves supporting and preserving particular musical constituencies first; everything else is secondary. For what has become the mainstream of nonprofit radio station leadership–not just at KBCS, but apparently damn near everywhere–the central idea of serving the “community” includes maximizing station listenership (as long as the genres used to achieve such maximization are not those represented on *purely* commercial radio, meaning, a tilt toward “mix” genres and left-er-than-mainstream news/public affairs); everything else is secondary.

The notions of community involved, and what constitutes service to it, are simply different now. So if you don’t like these programming changes, don’t expect that simply appealing to the value of “community” is likely to make that much of a dent, because there’s an apples and oranges problem. Maybe appealing to tradition, or preservation, or the idea of community radio as a forum for coalition between disparate musical constituencies would work better, but either way, unless you challenge what the idea of “community” really means–and why–you’re not getting anywhere.

======================
Cards on the table: Some of the programming changes will probably attract me. I am in many ways the kind of demographic Giovannoni’s talking about. Left-er than mainstream is just fine for me, I sometimes dig an “adulterated” mix, blah blah blah. Given that my primary musical tastes and a fair chunk of my talk/news/public affairs tastes lie outside KBCS’s orbit, if I just pick up Dyson and Hard Knock a couple of times a week I’ll be contributing my bit to the loyalty metric boost. (And–to be fair–I’m not blind to the idea that at least some of the programming changes, like the ones I just mentioned, have the goal of changing the demographic mix of KBCS’s listenership–something that seems good, all other things being equal.) On top of that, I also appreciate that there is a financial and social realpolitik in America that made a lot of all this (remember that SOB Reagan) a fairly foregone evolution as far back as the 80s. So even though I’ve spoken fairly caustically above, I don’t want to paint myself as some revolutionary, or the folks who run the station now as “the enemy”. Pointing out the differences in where we’re all coming from–and the degree to which those differences piss me off–isn’t that same thing as creating hard/fast lines between us. At the end of the day I genuinely believe everyone involved means well, or at least as well as they can within the horizon of their own presumptions and worldview (something that goes for me too, considering I’m as specifically positioned as anyone else).

But becoming a volunteer at KBCS for me wasn’t completely about the fact that it was nearly the only place in the area where I could do a show like the one I did for six years. I treasured the fact that it ran shows that I couldn’t find anywhere else, if I cared to listen to them–that it was a haven for musical constituencies that were too noncommercial to find a berth anywhere else locally. That was an important value to me that I supported with donations, labor, camaraderie, process, and a good deal of money spent feeding a show that it didn’t make sense for the station to fund, because it was so far outside the primary missions of the station. That meant a lot to me, and that’s why I’m bothering to post my million words here yet again–because I feel like the mission and ethos I fell in love with are slipping away (and likely to be unrecoverable once lost), being replaced by something else that certainly has a number of positive elements, but nonetheless just doesn’t seem quite the same.

FYI, here’s some information I received about what is going on with Lunch with Folks:

From: Peter Graff
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Subject: KBCS: Call for Weekday Afternoon Hosts
To:

________________________________

Just the facts

What you need to know from this email

Afternoon Show Host ? I?m accepting applications for
host
positions on the new 12 noon to 3 pm weekday program (which
begins Monday, 8/24). The application deadline is 7 a.m. on
Wednesday, August 5th. All details are below, in FAQ
format.

________________________________

Hi everyone,

I?m now accepting applications for weekday afternoon
hosts,
to begin on August 24th. I like the FAQ format, so here
are
all the details:

What?s the (as of yet unnamed) weekday afternoon show
supposed to be?

The new weekday afternoon (12 noon to 3 p.m.) program will
be roughly based on the format established by Lunch With
Folks and other KBCS Americana programs. It will showcase
music spanning Americana tradition(s), and will include (but
not be limited to) folk, blues, country, western swing,
honky tonk, bluegrass, and also feature artists not
typically associated with such genres, but whose work is
strongly influenced by them. The show will have a strong
emphasis on new music, independent artists, live in-studio
performances by touring artists, and music not getting
airplay elsewhere.

The show?s ?sound? will be a continual work in
progress,
involving regular collaboration amongst fellow hosts and key
staff members. As it evolves, regular attention will be
paid to key music resources such as the Americana Music
Association, the Roots Music Report, College Music Journal
(CMJ), as well as relevant magazines, websites, and blogs to
ensure listeners are continually discovering quality new
music that shares links to roots based sounds. As a
co-host
, you will be integrally involved in creating the show?s
overall sound.

If I?m a host, what?s expected of me?

All afternoon show hosts will work collaboratively (with
each other and the music and program directors) on a regular
basis to continually shape and define the overall sound of
the show, as well as expose each other to new music that may
not be on some hosts? radar. Emphasis will be placed on
musical direction, consistency of presentation from day to
day, as well as musical flow and continuity from the 9-noon
programming. Hosts will be encouraged to explore genres
that appeal to them personally as well as links between
various genres, but there should be continual attention paid
to the show?s overall sound from day to day, thereby
creating a unified program that celebrates consistently
excellent music and hosting.

As a host, you?ll have regular ?air checks? to work on
continually improving your mic and presentation skills.
And
like other programming on KBCS, the show?s service to the
KBCS audience will be continually assessed, primarily
through listener loyalty, total listening, and pledge drive
revenue.

Oh, and if selected to be a host, one of your first
collaborative tasks will be to come up with a new show name.

Why are you asking for programmer applications now?

Originally, I asked three current KBCS hosts (Christine
Linde, Sean Donovan, and Iaan Hughes) to collaboratively
host and guide the creation of this new show. This was a
subjective decision on my part, based on their overall
musical vision, dedication to continually improving their
skills as hosts, as well as their current presentation style
(along with the fact that Sean and Iaan were already
familiar voices on Lunch With Folks).

The original intention was to pay them for this effort, but
the level of compensation we could offer did not make
hosting more than one day a week feasible for any of
them.
Faced with that reality, I?ve decided to open each of the
show?s five weekday shifts to current KBCS hosts who are
interested in applying.

Will I be paid?

At this time, because we expect to fill each day with a
different host, these will be volunteer positions. If a
single host is doing more than one day of regular hosting
each week (not counting subbing), and if the funding is
available, we will work toward paying for additional days.

Ultimately, like the mid-morning show, we feel that this
show should be hosted by a single person throughout the week
, and that she or he should be compensated. As more
funding
becomes available, we would like to move in that direction,
and will make the host selection process clear to all KBCS
volunteers when we do.

I?m interested. How do I apply?

By Wednesday, August 5th at 7 a.m., please send me
(electronically please) an application with the following:

A brief bio and synopsis of your hosting experience.
A detailed description of your musical vision for the show,
and why you think you should be a host.
An example playlist for a single 3-hour show.
A 30-minute audio demo. This can be something you produce
with the new show in mind, or a show you?ve previously
done
on KBCS. If it?s a previous show that?s aired within
the
last two months, just give me the date and time and I?ll
pull the skim.

Again, please have your application to me no later than 7
a.m. on Wednesday, August 5th.

How will the final decision be made?

All applicants will be considered on the following criteria:

Overall mic and presentation skill
Consistency of musical vision with other hosts
General willingness to work collaboratively with co-hosts
and staff

This decision will ultimately be made by me, with feedback
from the PAG and key staff members.

Thanks. Any questions, feel free to call or email me.

-pete

Peter Graff

Program Director | KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio

As an avid listener to the diverse range of jazz, folk and world music shows expertly hosted by the wonderful volunteer programmers at KBCS, I was dismayed to learn of all the upcoming program changes proposed for the station. However, the demise of Drivetime Jazz, which consistently starts my mornings, is the greatest loss for me, as it will be impossible to find a comparable musical equivalent for morning radio listening.

This longtime supporter urges the KBCS management to please reconsider these changes. Real community radio should not be about “growth,” more money, bigger CPB grants, the latest technology, or managerial control—rather it is about respecting your listeners by providing us with a variety of music we can’t hear on other radio stations, valuing your volunteer programmers for their commitment to and knowledge of this music, and honoring musicians by providing them an outlet for their talents. Thank you.

I’ve been a paying member of KBCS for several years and I vow to never contribute a dime to the station if any of the 9-12 jazz programs are cut. It’s because of the exceptional good taste and charisma of hosts like Joni Nelson, Bernie Goldberg, Bud, and Al Barnes that I’ve felt compelled to donate money during each fund drive. Many of the more obscure recordings heard on these shows can be found nowhere else on the radio. While there are a few other KBCS programs I enjoy, any station whose management would even consider taking these DJs off the air has no soul and is unworthy of my financial support. I have no doubt that most if not all of my friends who contribute to the station feel exactly the same as myself and will act according during pledge drive time. I’ve found this to be true to those I’ve spoken to since I heard about the proposed changes. If the changes do take place I expect KBCS to have much more trouble raising funds in the future.

Here’s something I’m having trouble understanding.

KBCS has increased its support from donations and underwriting very significantly over the years, meeting their goals consistently. Yet, expenses, such as health care and other benefits to employees, are going up faster than revenues. So, they address this by HIRING MORE EMPLOYEES, and getting rid of their volunteer programmers? Something seems fishy here.

So far, I have admired and appreciated KBCS management for doing a very good job in difficult situations, sticking with this tiny station because they believed in it, what it stood for, and what it brought to the community. I don’t think they’d wreck it on purpose; but it sure seems as though that’s what’s happening.

I work with a nonprofit which began to underwrite KBCS in the past year, at my recommendation. However, should the proposed programming changes go through, I anticipate we will not renew our sponsorship. It’s a basic business /marketing decision: if you lose your audience, we will not have reason to “advertise” via KBCS.

By the way, I love hearing eclectic music while I’m working. It’s now 3:43 pm. If some talk or public affairs program came on to KBCS now instead of Daily Planet, I would switch to another station to find some MUSIC. Ideally I would listen to excellent diverse music played by interesting local DJs. When KBCS is no longer an option, we’ll likely have to remove the local bit and settle for streaming a non-local station

After doing a little research, and with the help of the new FAQ posting (now on the KBCS site) that Steve Ramsey kindly forwarded to me, I found the answers to the questions in my earlier post. Steve reports directly to Mike Talbot, the Bellevue College Dean of Information Resources. His email is mtalbott@bellevuecollege.edu. Dean Talbot, I assume, reports to the college president, B. Jean Floten, who I assume reports to the college board of trustees. I do not think it would hurt to make them aware of any concerns we may have.

I appreciate the fact that being general manager of a public radio station with declining listenership presents some difficult challenges, and that changes may be necessary, but getting rid of some of your best people and alienating a good chunk of your existing loyal base baffles me.

I gave a substantial contribution to KBCS around the time of the most recent pledge drive. I only wish I could still stop payment on the check.

Shame!

As an underwriter, I have to ask: are these changes about money, politics, or leadership with big egos and dreams of becoming a typical Clear Channel station? Is KBCS going to go the direction of KPFK in the Bay Area (with on-air hosts dragged from the booth, beaten by police, and arrested at the request of station management, for example)? I hope not.