We want to keep the “Community” in Community radio, so let us know just how you feel about the planned changes at KBCS.
Tell us what you think about the “new” KBCS!
25 Comments
Per Artex @ 43:
“What if you don’t have a great product or service?
“If I opened a store and no one ever came in, I could angrily demand I had the best store on the block until I was red in the face but academic arguments don’t put customers in the aisles. If they’re not there they’re not there.”
Hmmm. Where to begin? Well, I’m somewhat sympathetic to Ms./Mr. Sanko’s critique of guerilla marketing @ 46. The kind of stuff Kris suggests @ 45 might be effective *within* narrow communities of people already oriented to a particular musical constituency–say, hanging out at Jazz Alley to reach people who are already favorably disposed to jazz, but who might not be aware of KBCS. I actually kind of doubt that listenership could be drastically increased using such techniques, although these might be good ways to reach people who are listening but not holding up their end of the pledge drive.
But in the larger sense, I don’t think that part of the debate really matters so much, because the chief problem with Artex’s argument is that it assumes the station’s various performance metrics should be judged within the logic of a commercial framework. While I think there may be some hard discussions we can or should have along those lines (more on this later), it is neither obvious nor automatic that a “store” with “customers” is the right analogy for a station like KBCS. I’d suggest that a better (though still imperfect) analogy for the mission of KBCS to date is that of a museum.
Let’s look at something like the Nordic Heritage Museum (http://www.nordicmuseum.org/). There’s a connection to a segment of the larger community–a steadily decreasing segment, to be sure, especially in Ballard where the museum lives, but it’s a segment that still exists and has played an important role in the history of our area. You can do all kinds of things there that you can’t do much of anywhere else, like rosemaling classes. I barely know what rosemaling is, but I do know that if I wanted to know more about it, this is where I would go to get started. Conceivably, somebody could offer rosemaling classes in the larger marketplace and manage to survive, but it would be much harder. The Nordic Heritage Museum helps provide an institutional framework that helps keep alive aspects of our culture that would otherwise have difficulty competing for survival–much as conservation organizations help keep pandas and tigers alive in the wild, when various threats would otherwise tend to drive them to extinction. (A conservation organization like WWF, come to think of it, is probably an even better analogy for my opinion of what KBCS should be than a museum. It’s certainly better than a store.)
Now, it is possible to argue that that “niche” forms of music programming, like rosemaling in Ballard and tigers in the wild, should be allowed to go extinct because that is natural progression of things in our world. This is the logic of the marketplace, and as a general rule we allow it to weed out bad sitcoms, bland breakfast cereals, and substandard household appliances without a moment’s thought. But we look to institutions like colleges to shield certain portions of our world from the logic of marketplace–to collect certain kinds of obscure art, to foster research on dying languages, to investigate esoteric scientific issues that address ultimately philosophical matters only a few care about from day to day. So why couldn’t we expect them, when they, say, hold licenses of nonprofit radio stations, to use those resources in a similar way?*
The objection to this perspective might be: Well, but a “full-powered, fully-staffed” (as Artex took pains to continue reminding us) radio station is such a large-scale, capital-intensive resource, it is wrong to use it for the purposes you describe. And I would agree that that’s a debate we should not only have, but should continue to have. The world is full of necessary tradeoffs and nothing is sacrosanct, especially in the zero-sum frameworks that dominate American life; although I criticized the loyalty-metric-based notion of community service in a lengthy post above, I would nevertheless agree that it *is* an understandable way to construe how to do community service, and therefore we can’t write it off without consideration. In the current case, I feel convinced there is value in continuing the mission KBCS has engaged in up till now, namely, serving particular musical constituencies (especially the jazz and folk constituencies) in a relatively “unadulterated” manner–because those constituencies, in both listening terms and performance terms, continue to thrive in our area. But perhaps there would be a time in the future when this would not be so, and then maybe my opinion would be different. Continuing to re-evaluate these issues over time is itself a valuable (though frequently unpleasant) aspect of community service, and as I said above I really don’t believe current station/college leadership is fundamentally motivated by anything other than a different approach to this re-evaluation process than the one that I would prefer. (I’ll remain agnostic on the allegations of bad process, simply because I haven’t been orbiting the station closely enough to have a direct sense of this.)
But none of these concessions really changes my mind. The station has over time forged an implicit contract with specific *living* listener/performer constituencies to help keep them alive–and until these constituencies are much less prominent in the community than they are now, it seems institutionally counterproductive, at the least, to abrogate that contract in such an abrupt manner.
________
* And maybe we could expect this **even if** there were only 100 listeners at any given time–although I simply cannot believe this, based on my pledge drive work and other direct contact with listeners to daytime programming. I won’t press the numerical points, since Artex has already declared these arguments to be pro forma without the possibility of resolution, something with which I’d agree, and since I’ve already argued it isn’t so much about the numbers anyway. Besides, as probably one of the few people who actually *have* played tympani solos on KBCS [Dunbar’s Delight by Robert Erickson], I’ll freely admit that I’m hardly in the strongest position to preach numbers anyway. OTOH, we’re essentially talking about daytimers here, not overnighters like me.
Looks like they are finally getting around to answering listener feedback that they received more than a week ago:
“Thanks for writing in, and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
Do know that we’re currently exploring ways to make these programs available through alternate channels (online), as well as considering other places on the KBCS schedule that they could reside. I understand your feelings about the shows, and I’d like to find a way to continue making them available to our listeners.
If you haven’t done so already, I’d invite you to read through our online FAQ (http://kbcs.fm/site/PageServer?pagename=programchanges) , which goes into greater detail about what we’re doing. I’m always happy to answer questions as well. In the end, I guess I’d just ask that you give our new programming a fair listen, then make up your mind.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Respectfully,
-pete”
I’m sad to see all the negativism and anger on this blog. What happened to all the comments posted weeks ago in support of KBCS and its efforts to save itself?
Do you guys seriously believe KBCS staff is trying to ruin the station? Commercial? Clearwire?! Do you think programmers who work there every day should not be compensated for their time?
My show is going away to — the one that I host, and all the ones I like to listen to. But if people aren’t listening…? I’d rather KBCS change things to stay around, rather than be as irrelevant on the airwaves as it is today.
Let’s at least get the facts straight, shall we? Read the changes and learn about the research. KBCS is trying to be as transparent as possible; there is nothing hidden here. Some of the changes (adding the Michael Eric Dyson Show!) are pretty exciting. Let’s give the station a chance to improve itself, and perhaps wait until we hear the changes before we criticize them.
(And to the blog owners: please consider deleting comments that personally attack staff and call them “fascist sleaze-balls.” It’s upsetting and outrageous, and completely takes down the credibility and tone of this forum.)
A few corrections are necessary.
Artex stated that there have been open meetings for the listening community. The fact is there have not been ANY open meetings for the listening community.
Artex stated that this site exists as an online survey of current listener demographics, preferences and suggestions. The fact is that KBCS management will not look at the blog because they find it counterproductive and offensive.
I would suggest you check out the latest news update here:
http://savekbcs.org/blog/?p=31#comments
Thanks for a very lively discussion.
“Develop volunteer committee to coordinate promotional activities.”
And we know there are volunteers who are qualified marketing professionals?
“Develop promotional hand outs and recruit volunteers to distribute at various local venues, festivals etc.”
A quaint idea to be sure. I’d suggest that if passing out photocopied handouts on the street corner was a very effective marketing tactic the Coca-Cola marketing department would be headed-up by PTA moms.
“Conduct an online survey of current listener demographics, preferences and suggestions. ”
Ummm … isn’t that the reason this site exists? The hobby club wasn’t happy with the survey results and the action programmed in reaction to those results?
(True – the survey in question was done scientifically by statisticians, not an online checkbox from surveymonkey.com … maybe that’s the difference? I guess if we take enough surveys eventually we’ll get the results we want, right?)
How to increase marketing in a tight economy?
In this case as the station is non-profit, I would engage volunteers to assist with expanded marketing efforts at minimal expense.
Do something somewhat analogous to a pledge drive, in using air time to communicate and promote the campaign explaining situation of the station to all listeners and recruiting additional volunteers. Develop volunteer committee to coordinate promotional activities. Explain listenership is down and the station can get more grant funding if listenerShip goes up. That more listeners will mean more potential member$. Email “tell a friend” promotional material to members/friends of the station to and ask them to forward to friends both local and all over the world. Plan parallel strategies using online social networking tools. Develop promotional hand outs and recruit volunteers to distribute at various local venues, festivals etc. Conduct an online survey of current listener demographics, preferences and suggestions. Costs would be minimal, essentially just to cover printed materials distribution, as work would be done by volunteers. Well that’s what I wish they had done that instead of the latest extra pledge drive.
Further I would prioritize allocating any available extra funds into a marketing / promotional budget before hiring consultants, paid DJs or programming staff, or programming subscription fees for additional public affairs offerings.
I see a lesson in the recent management of KBCS; there is a reason why most well-run nonprofits have a board of directors.
PS I am so sick of the non informative electronic ad about electric typewriters…
er, that should read “don’t believe KBCS commands a radically different listening habit …” (a unique listening habit, perhaps, but not the earth-shattering, paradigm-busting listening habit that would be necessary to prop the argument that KBCS has become anything more than subscriber/underwriter/CPB donations to a radio hobbyist club)
Kris – thanks much for the note. I was assuming, and didn’t well clarify, 10 hours by the minimum segmentation of 5 minutes per hour as I don’t believe KBCS which = roughly 100-120 listeners at any one moment.
I think the arguments that Arbitron data is somehow inherently flawed are ones we hear often from low-rated stations (i.e. “our listeners are more loyal”, “we have a big online audience”, “Arbitron statisticians did poorly in school”, etc.) while the counter argument we often hear from highly-rated stations. Surely they’re arguments as old as time itself.
“If you believe you have a great product or service (here volunteer-programmed radio music shows) and you want to increase your customers, what is the first thing you do? Put more resources into marketing/ promoting your unique product? Or try to imitate the competition?”
What if you don’t have a great product or service?
If I opened a store and no one ever came in, I could angrily demand I had the best store on the block until I was red in the face but academic arguments don’t put customers in the aisles. If they’re not there they’re not there.
Without customers buying my products, how do I pay to “just increase” marketing my store?
I remember when KRAB FM went ‘away’ through what seemed suspicious circumstances. It was however
Similarly challeged financially. I came to realize just
how ‘organic’ the life of the station(s) are. The stories
abound of the rich reward that comes from listening to
community radio. KBCS will change, life goes on, the rich memories will keep the listeners hearts alive to discover a new experience ‘on the radio’. Keep the
faith that the spontanaity of the ‘live radio’ listening
experience, will with all of those many talented sincere independant programers rise up, rise up again.
Where is Stu Witmer when you need him ?
Our deepest loss may be that there will be no more
Dave Gardner , Programer extrordinaire.
Artex, there is an error in your arithmetic. If as you assume 20,000 people listen for 10 hours per week, the average listeners per show = (20,000 * 10)/(7*24) = 1190, not 100 as you claim.
However given that Arbitron data reflect the hours of 6am-midnight, we should use 18 hours per day not 24. Naturally listenership would be lower during the middle of the night, and higher during peak hours. So If as you assume 20,000 people listen for 10 hours per week between 6am and midnight, the average listeners per show during those hours= (20,000 * 10)/(7*18) = 1587.
I assume these numbers are underestimates for reasons discussed above regarding sampling errors and also do not include people listening online to the live stream or archives from locations outside radio reception area. Further I suspect KBCS may have a larger percentage of current members who live outside the Seattle area, compared with other publicly funded stations.
Thanks for the link to the arbitron data. There was an error in the URL so here it is corrected: http://www.radio-info.com/site/markets/grid/seattle-tacoma
If KBCS looses the support of the current listenership who are financially supporting the station and the current underwriters contributing to same, they will have a problem.
If you believe you have a great product or service (here volunteer-programmed radio music shows) and you want to increase your customers, what is the first thing you do? Put more resources into marketing/ promoting your unique product? Or try to imitate the competition?
I posted before I finished …
– Even if the Arbitron data is off by as much as half (which I doubt), KBCS’ numbers are still absolutely and catastrophically abysmal. Even for a (mostly) volunteer-manned station with donor and corporate remittances it – from an outsider’s perspective – appears totally untenable and, frankly, DOA.
– The public interest is in diverse programming that informs and entertains. The public interest is not in providing recreational opportunities for radio hobbyists. If the public is not listening to KBCS (as all [non-anecdotal] indications are they are not), their interest is not being served.
– Wouldn’t the majority of hosts who are keeping their shows rather enjoy the carry-over effect of an increased daypart listenership that means they might, in 2-3 years, have 500 or 1,000 people listening to them on the air rather than 75? If you have a 2AM Thursday show on the KBCS of 2009 you’d just be better off inviting people into your living room once a week and turning on your home stereo the way things are.
“some of the programmers who are being “retired” are among the best of the best I have encountered”
The Christian Science-Monitor is, arguably, the finest newspaper (now newsweekly) in existence. And yet it has a tiny circulation of 75,000. It’s not commercially viable. However, it does have the benefit of a sugar daddy, namely the Church of Christ Scientist.
KBCS does not have a deep-pocketed religion to support its operations. It does have a listenership that indicates the volunteers may very well be the only people listening (I exaggerate for emphasis, but not too much).
If they’re truly the finest programmers in existence there will be ample opportunities – more than ample opportunities – for them to continue to program in any number of other ways outside of KBCS. If you’re the best at something – whatever it is – you’ll never want for a creative (or financial) outlet.
Artex, I think you are way off base suggesting that the some sort of “group of friends” club. In my experience with the music community, I run into people all the time who listen and rely on the station so I can’t help thinking that the Arbitron numbers do not accurately reflect this audience. So I was pretty shocked to hear the numbers were that low. The declining membership numbers are also disturbing, so I don’t argue that some changes may be necessary. Change is inevitable.
But as someone who has been a careful public/community radio listener for many years in various parts of the country, I have to say that some of the programmers who are being “retired” are among the best of the best I have encountered. If you need to make changes, why get rid of your best people? Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!
I can’t claim to have ever listened to KBCS as much as many of the commenters here, however, I am generally interested in radio and note some of the comments from those pondering that KBCS will “lose listeners.”
I really wonder what listeners KBCS has to lose? According to the new Arbitron (*gasp*) market data, the station has less than 30,000 who tune in per week (http://www.radio-info.com/site/markets/grid/seattle-tacoma).
Thirty-thousand people.
Assuming 2/3 of those aren’t just people flipping the dial in their car, and that – of the remaining 20K – the average one listens for 10 hours a week, the average KBCS show has just over 100 people listening.
One hundred … at any time of day, on average, out of 3.5 million people in the Seattle metropolitan area, 100 of them are listening to KBCS.
With numbers this dismal KBCS could turn into a station that played only timpani solos 24/7 and still increase the number of listeners. It could feature the greatest highlights of Dan Quayle speeches from 9-5 each day and increase the number of listeners. KBCS is rock bottom. It is quite possible – nay, likely – that the *entire* listening audience has posted on this blog … there are 84 comments. In short, there is really nothing that KBCS can do to result in a “net loss” of listeners. They may lose current listeners. They probably will lose current listeners. But, a net loss? That idea stretches the imagination.
KBCS has always served a niche and that’s wonderful. But there’s a difference between having a radio station to serve a niche and having a radio station to serve a large group of friends.
The public interest is not served by maintaining a full-powered, fully-staffed radio station to which 100 people listen.
My thanks and gratitude go to the DJ who, along with extolling the new KBCS, mentioned savekbcs.org. I live in an area of Seattle where KBCS comes in with very poor reception. Despite my tight financial state, I recently bought a Wave radio partly for sound quality but mainly to be able to hear my favorite radio station without static. I had no idea of the kind of static I’d be hearing soon.
I lament the demise of “my station” which I first turned to to hear Democracy Now and avoid insanity in 2001. I stayed tuned because I loved the music format, especially Daily Planet and some of the Drive Time Jazz DJs. Someone like Bernie Goldberg could be teaching jazz at UW and he gave his services to us free, for the love of jazz. The same could be said about Barbie DeCarlo, Gater Boy and other excellent people who have dedicated years to a mission that is apparently being trashed for the almighty dollar.
I am an example of what the “loyalty” metric looks like. I’m a black womam from L.A. I would never have come to appreciate country and actually seek it out before hearing Walkin’ the Floor. I get to hear Mexican music and straight out of East L.A. songs on Musica de la Raza. I get turned on to music I never knew I’d like from places like eastern Europe, Tuva the U.S. along with the west and southern African, Brazilian, Celtic and Indian music I’ve loved for years. I wonder if breaking down barriers and prejudice is a metric the management considered. That is the power of (global) community radio. That is what the decision makers are abandoning.
I’ve been a member since 2002. The current situation certainly puts my desire to support in jeopardy. La Raza, Hawaii Radio, Riesis and music of Africa are my line in the sand. I can hear Democracy and the BBC elsewhere. Otherwise, I don’t like talk radio—progressive, liberal or conservative. Beyond my own selfish desires, I can’t imagine supporting an organization that would reward dedicated, talented volunteer programmers who’ve made money for the station for years with a boot and the old “we had to make tough choices” crap.
If a public hearing were arranged, I’d participate.
I have several anecdotes I wish to share regarding KBCS. These anecdotes touch on how the station has played a very important role in my life and the lives of those I love over the past two years. I hope the telling of these few stories will add weight to the arguments against the impending changes.
First, I have recently reentered the workforce after over fifteen months of forced unemployment. I tried during that period to be as useful around our home as possible. Al Barnes has entertained me while installing sheetrock in a remodeled bathroom. Joanie Nelson was with me when I installed the tile floor. Matrayi kept me company while I pulled electrical cable. All in all, KBCS djs have been my companions while installing a new furnace, rebuilding two bathrooms, insulating the attic, repainting a bedroom, hanging several ceiling fans, reseeding a lawn, two plantings of a garden (yes, I haul a radio out to the deck as several djs have advised), and much, much more. To say nothing about their presence during countless trips to Home Depot! During my search for employment, KBCS was turned on before I brewed my first cup of coffee in the morning until Democracy Now came on at 5 pm.
You see, I use KBCS for its music programming. I find it difficult to concentrate on projects with talk in the background. I get all my news coverage over the internet, from sources such as CommonDreams.org, the New York Times, and others.
Pandora and other web-based music sources didn’t work for me… I have one computer, a tower, and couldn’t move it from room to room to follow the flow of work around the house. I did, however, have a radio in almost every room, and all of them stayed perpetually on KBCS. When I needed a news break, I sat down at the computer, read up, then returned to the task at hand. Similarly, my cable provider, Comcast, does not have a music channel that can match the diversity nor the folk focus that I love so much.
Another anecdote I’d like to share involves my parents, 87 and 89, living in Erie, PA. They are amazingly computer savvy for their age. One day I called them and talked them through how to find Al’s archived Vintage Jazz program. They became addicts of Al’s and Joanie’s programming. My Mom called one day, nearly in tears, to tell me that for her and Dad, those two shows transported them back to their days as kids, back to the days when they were dating. As more and more of their dear friends depart this world, the chance to touch their youth in this way has proved very therapeutic.
I’d also like to relate that I’ve passed on the link to The Gospel Highway to a dear friend in Maine who loves gospel, whose husband is an ordained pastor… both of them have used the archive repeatedly since I told them about the service.
KBCS has provided my wife and I with new artists to research, new CDs to request at the library; I seriously fear the loss of this source of new ideas, new inspiration in our lives.
Now that I’m gainfully employed again, my opportunities to listen to KBCS are seriously impacted. My employer has a rather small server and has asked us not to stream music. I am left to absorb as much music as possible over the weekend. My greatest fear? That the changes identified are only the beginning, and in the future I will find my weekend listening impacted, too. I can only hope that those fears are never realized!
They are also on twitter: http://twitter.com/KBCS
I’m happy I found this blog – but it wasn’t easy. This is why there’s not more buzz. Ramsey, et al have a lot of explaining to do: if these changes will make KBCS stronger, why all the secrecy? Why gag the dj’s ( I received the same letter Susan Helf got) If the new programming will better serve the public, why wait till after the emergency fund drive? If better programming is on the way wouldn’t Mr. Ramsey want to let everyone know before the fund drive to increase donations? I tried to send Megan Sullivan a consolation e-mail at the station – her e-mail account has been deleted.
(statement removed due to gratuitous and excessive personal attack – Admin)
Here is another thought: Did not the fund raising problems begin after they discontinued afternoon Drive Time Jazz three years ago?
I pony’d up some extra donation money during the emergency fund drive. To be fair, I sadly listened to Megan on a jazz show while she practically begged for donations – they weren’t pouring in. So this change, while sad, isn’t unexpected.
At least one brave volunteer DJ has mentioned the Save KBCS website on the air, which is the only way I heard about it.
I too received the previously mentioned letter from KBCS management via email last week. I past it below for those who have not yet seen this.
________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:18:19 -0500 (CDT)
From: KBCS 91.3 FM
To:
Subject: KBCS Program Changes
KBCS 91.3fm a world of music & ideas
At KBCS, we’re continually working to better serve our listening community. This ongoing effort has helped us understand how our listeners use KBCS as well as other radio stations, and it’s helped us determine what we believe a thriving community-service and listener-focused station should look and sound like.
KBCS is and will remain a station that prides itself on being a place for community volunteers to learn broadcasting and to be radio programmers. For more than two decades, there have been countless volunteers who have put immense amounts of energy, time, and passion into the radio shows they create at KBCS. And, as we move ahead, there will be countless others who will join current KBCS volunteer
programmers and continue this important tradition. As KBCS staff, we have the deepest gratitude for the commitment and dedication of all station volunteers, past, present, and future.
The reality KBCS faces is, quite frankly, one of declining membership and listening. To us, this has been a clear indicator that we’re not serving our audience as well as we could. Most importantly, we also see this as an opportunity to do just that.
Over the last three years, KBCS has undergone a rigorous process to better understand our audience and to formulate a cohesive strategic plan. This has involved hours of interviews, volunteer and community meetings, street corner surveys, as well as extensive consideration of when and how KBCS listeners currently listen to us. This work has led
us to the new programming we’ll present next month, programming we believe will offer deeper service to our listeners.
So, beginning August 24th, 2009, KBCS will:
* Expand weekday public affairs programming from 5 to 9 a.m., offering Public Radio International’s The Takeaway from 5 to 8 a.m., followed by Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now! from 8 to 9 a.m. Both shows will be hosted by local community members trained in the KBCS public affairs department.
* Bring on longtime KBCS host John Gilbreath every weekday from 9 a.m. to noon. John’s show, The Caravan, will be a daily musical journey touching on many genres, and focusing on his extensive knowledge of jazz, world, and Americana.
* Feature current veteran KBCS hosts weekdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m., who will present programming spanning the breadth of the American music tradition, from the early days of country, folk, blues, and beyond, to today’s singer-songwriters and local artists crafting new music not heard anywhere else.
* Expand weekday public affairs programming by offering a
re-broadcast of Democracy Now! at 3 p.m., followed by The
Michael Eric Dyson Show at 4 p.m.
* Air locally produced programs Listen Up Northwest, Voices of Diversity, and One World Report weekdays at 5 p.m., as well as syndicated programs Counterspin, Grit Radio, and Sound of Young America.
* Round out evening weekday public affairs with Hard Knock Radio from 6 to 7 p.m., with 6 p.m. headlines from Free Speech Radio News. As in the morning, the entire afternoon lineup of public affairs programming will be hosted by local community members.
As with any growth and change, we’ve had to make some tough choices. The programming plan discontinues Drive Time Jazz weekday mornings, Daily Planet weekday afternoons, The Bud & Don Show Monday mornings, BeBop Spoken Here Tuesday mornings, and 20th Century Jazz:
The First Half and Vintage Jazz Wednesday and Thursday mornings. While Lunch With Folks is technically being discontinued, its format will form the core of the new music programming we’ll be offering every weekday from noon to 3 pm. Additionally, KBCS is currently exploring ways in which some of these programs can continue to be offered through our streaming audio archive.
These have been exceedingly difficult decisions to reach, decisions which we do not take lightly, and which were made only after extensive consideration of how we can best serve our audience. We acknowledge and pay tribute to these many talented and dedicated programmers who have added tremendously to the KBCS community for many years, and hope that they continue to be a part of KBCS and its future.
We’re always astounded by the generosity and dedication of our programmers, volunteers, and all of the people who are working together to build KBCS as a community resource. We believe the changes outlined here will have a profoundly positive effect on KBCS, and will deepen our service to the community through the programming we offer.
We look forward with great optimism to KBCS’s future, and we hope you’ll share it with us.
For more details on these changes, please visit our website at
http://kbcs.fm/site/R?i=mwASkOIt8Wjd_G2XP4O_cA.. .
http://kbcs.fm/site/R?i=N53PhR-u9uKbu3YvByJ7Eg..
With respect,
Steve Ramsey, General Manager
Peter Graff, Program Director
Joaquin Uy, Public Affairs Director
Sabrina Roach, Development and Outreach Director
Uli Johnson, Membership and Web Director
If KBCS does disappear as we have known it (for the past 30 years for me!) – please tell me where you’re going to hear similar music – streaming live with diversity, lack of interruptions, and educated community soul. Please keep the community connected. I just wish it were on the regular radio – in my car & on my stereo – rather than on the computer.
As for all the comments, thank you!
I agree with Steve Saunders when he says “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 would like to know how Peter Graff defines “consistency” when he says – “consistency of musical vision with other hosts”. That sounds like homogenization to me.
And how do we get the variety of musicians today – germinating from the PNW like hikers and cars on the road – but from the extra-ordinary. Where else on the radio station can I find KBCS music in the traditional sense: folk, blues, country, western swing, honky tonk, bluegrass, and jazz, jazz, jazz and jazz in all its history on a regular basis?
To say that the new LWF show will have “a strong
emphasis on new music, independent artists, live in-studio
performances by touring artists, and music not getting
airplay elsewhere”, sounds like a church trying to gather new, young members for revenue, but forgets about the message, the suffering, (and the suffering) and the hope. What type of “new music” will be aired – music influenced by what KBCS used to be? Then what?
Doug French eloquently described what KBCS means to me: “The excitement is from the hope and promise of a new [or old] song that will resound within me– awaken memories, create awareness, tickle my funny bone, or just be approachable and well executed. The reassurance is in recognizing that someone else thinks like I do, cares about what I care about; is making music that, for those brief moments when the notes are shimmering in the air, has magic, presence, and power.”
Please stay away from the numbers hype that fed the housing bubble (and the many other hyped bubbles that preceded it). Keep the individual in mind when thinking about “a radio station” and “loyalty” and those unique characters: KBCS as a radio station, listeners, and it’s variety of hosts who make our world a more diverse, accessible and humane place to inhabit.
The variety of hosts and listeners IS what makes KBCS “the cool individual” on the air; maybe not always with the best delivery, but certainly and uniquely reassuring in its content, intention and complexity.
My husband and I received a form letter from the KBCS management today informing me of the upcoming changes. Did anybody else get a copy?
Ramsey, et.a. cited falling revenues and and a diminished listener base as among the reasons justifying sweeping program changes. They wrote that these changes would allow the station to “better serve” the community. The management claimed they had conducted surveys, consulted listeners, done research, etc, and determined that a different program mix would be more successful.
This research was evidently all secret, because the news about the odious program changes only came out in early July. Were ANY DJs or members called or emailed or otherwise consulted? Who were they talking to, themselves?
SaveKBCS.org needs to reach as many KBCS members as possible and mobilize them to save the station. KBCS managers are using threats to muzzle the DJs. They guard the list of members How would most members know about this issue unless they were acquainted with DJs or friends of DJs?
Somebody must get a copy of the membership list and write or email every member with information about the other side – our objections to these changes. Every member has a right to know what is happening to our station!
I suggest that a member of the SaveKBCS committee file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the FCC and ask for the list of members, the station’s financial reports, etc. These documents should be available to the public. Anybody can file an FOIA request.
See http://www.fcc.gov/foia/ for more information and
forms for filing such a request.
I agree with the person who wrote that decreased contributions during a recession are to be expected. People are out of work and broke, but they are still listening to the great programs on KBCS.
Susan Helf
Seattle