LAist staff cuts (5%)

[Karl]

LAist staff cuts

 

[davideduardo]

I still have a hard time "assimilating" that LAist name. It's so far from my personal lifestyle, culture, age, etc., that it is actually negative.

 

[TheBigA]

You're going to see more of this. These stations can't operate at a loss. The federal government not only wants to stop future funding, but is also looking to "claw back" millions of dollars that were previously distributed. They're also cutting the various federal endowments, foundations, and other educational sources that not only fund public radio, but also many other arts-related or public-related places. They includes libraries, museums, colleges, symphonies, community centers, and anything else you can think of. If I was budgeting at such a station, I'd be putting together a fund to handle the loss of funds.

 

[davideduardo]

You're going to see more of this. These stations can't operate at a loss. The federal government not only wants to stop future funding, but is also looking to "claw back" millions of dollars that were previously distributed. They're also cutting the various federal endowments, foundations, and other educational sources that not only fund public radio, but also many other arts-related or public-related places. That includes libraries, museums, symphonies, and anything else you can think of. If I was budgeting at such a station, I'd be putting together a fund to handle the loss of funds.

It's interesting to explore how recently the dependence on federal grants and funding has become core to the budgets of many types of things, including the ones you describe.

When the Cleveland Symphony was founded by a committee that included my father, there were no such funds available. When he went on to found the Garden Center at what is now the Severance Center after WW II, there were no such funds. All the monies in both cases came from individuals and local companies.

One of the issues today is whether the Federal Government should even be responsible for this kind of activity.

 

[TheBigA]

One of the issues today is whether the Federal Government should even be responsible for this kind of activity.

The basis for government funding was written in the public broadcasting act. We are the richest nation in the world. The richest nation deserves to have the best radio for its people. A lot of that kind of thinking came from living through the depression. Never again would our people suffer the way they did then. So we pool our resources for the common good. That's the basis of who we were. It's led to a lifestyle that is the envy of the world. We built great cultural centers and museums to celebrate who we are. Take a walk down the Mall in DC and visit the Smithsonian (while you still can). Today, senior citizens can expect free transportation to free community centers, all paid for by tax money. We still are the richest nation in the world. That hasn't changed. But we're being told that public service is woke and leftist. That's a very different point of view. So if public broadcasting is going to survive, it can only depend on itself.

 

[Ryan Williams]

The basis for government funding was written in the public broadcasting act. We are the richest nation in the world. The richest nation deserves to have the best radio for its people. A lot of that kind of thinking came from living through the depression. Never again would our people suffer the way they did then. So we pool our resources for the common good. That's the basis of who we were. It's led to a lifestyle that is the envy of the world. We built great cultural centers and museums to celebrate who we are. Take a walk down the Mall in DC and visit the Smithsonian (while you still can). Today, senior citizens can expect free transportation to free community centers, all paid for by tax money. We still are the richest nation in the world. That hasn't changed. But we're being told that public service is woke and leftist. That's a very different point of view. So if public broadcasting is going to survive, it can only depend on itself.

We may be the richest nation in absolute terms but we also have the largest debt in absolute terms as well.

You can’t keep spending more money than you bring in… forever. Not even if you are the US government.

Making any meaningful cut is going to negatively affect someone.

 

[Ryan Williams]

I still have a hard time "assimilating" that LAist name. It's so far from my personal lifestyle, culture, age, etc., that it is actually negative.

The name is just absolutely awful. Maybe it works as a blog name but as a radio brand that has to be verbally spoke constantly it is just dreadful and awkward. I don’t think it has grown on the station at all even after years of usage.

The sooner they dump it the better. I don’t think they should necessarily go back to KPCC. I’m sure some local branding agencies would be willing to do some pro bono work on their behalf and come up with something fresh, comfortable, and congruent.

 

[davideduardo]

The basis for government funding was written in the public broadcasting act. We are the richest nation in the world. The richest nation deserves to have the best radio for its people.

Did the founding fathers decide they should own newspapers? Actually, the Federalists felt quite the contrary.

A lot of that kind of thinking came from living through the depression. Never again would our people suffer the way they did then. So we pool our resources for the common good. That's the basis of who we were. It's led to a lifestyle that is the envy of the world.

That last statement is a total exaggeration. If you ask the better educated folks from any free country of Latin America if they think that, they will say "no" and stay in their own nation. Of course, many Europeans (if not most) have little or no desire to be like Americans and they believe that their nation and lifestyle is superior.

I could go on across the planet. We think we have a great nation, but that is by no means the consensus of the world.

We built great cultural centers and museums to celebrate who we are.

So has Mexico or Argentina or France or South Korea or Japan or Spain or...

Take a walk down the Mall in DC and visit the Smithsonian (while you still can). Today, senior citizens can expect free transportation to free community centers, all paid for by tax money. We still are the richest nation in the world.

And that is rapidly changing, particularly with tens of trillion in debt.

That hasn't changed. But we're being told that public service is woke and leftist. That's a very different point of view. So if public broadcasting is going to survive, it can only depend on itself.

Public broadcasting is not all that "public service" involves. My mother spent 50 years on the board of Cleveland's city public hospital system where "public service" is the total goal: why is public broadcasting above that kind of true public service?

 

[TheBigA]

We may be the richest nation in absolute terms but we also have the largest debt in absolute terms as well.

You can’t keep spending more money than you bring in… forever. Not even if you are the US government.

I agree with all of that. The problem is that these cuts aren't about saving the government money. It's about reappropriating money to other places. That's what the current budget blueprint says. In fact, the new budget, the one that has all these cuts, actually spends more money and adds more to the debt than the last budget.

 

[TheBigA]

Did the founding fathers decide they should own newspapers? Actually, the Federalists felt quite the contrary.

The government doesn't "own" public radio or NPR. They are independent companies completely separate from the government. They just receive funding in the way SpaceX receives federal funding. They have to deliver certain services, and CPB is responsible to see that they do.

Public broadcasting is not all that "public service" involves. My mother spent 50 years on the board of Cleveland's city public hospital system where "public service" is the total goal: why is public broadcasting above that kind of true public service?

That's a fair question, and it has to do with the kind of systems we're talking about.

 

[davideduardo]

I agree with all of that. The problem is that these cuts aren't about saving the government money. It's about reappropriating money to other places. That's what the current budget blueprint says. In fact, the new budget, the one that has all these cuts, actually spends more money and adds more to the debt than the last budget.

One of the key budget increases is in defense. The Chinese are at a regional superiority and close to international superiority in aircraft, weapons and troop force size.

Of course, part of that strategy is taking over world markets and marginalizing the United States to the point that it is no different than France or England.

I've told this before, but a couple of years ago my daughter was working on a legal case in Chile and visited the larges Mall there. They had "all the new cars" on display in the public areas. out of just under 90 cars, 80 were Chinese. There were no American cars and just a couple of European ones.

In my other daughter's home in Ecuador, there is no appliance or utensil that is not made in China. Nothing is American or even European. Even their iPhones were made in China, as are all of the ones not coming to the U.S.

 

[TheBigA]

One of the key budget increases is in defense.

The public needs to know this. They need to know why they pay taxes and where that money goes. They have a right to this information. LAist is a multi-platform news service that is free to everyone regardless of income because of public funding. That's what I mean by public service.

 

[davideduardo]

The public needs to know this. They need to know why they pay taxes and where that money goes. They have a right to this information. LAist is a multi-platform news service that is free to everyone regardless of income because of public funding. That's what I mean by public service.

But if you listen, it has a style that is only tailored for a certain group or class of listener. It is not an easy listen for me, as I don't talk and think with that style of using the language. My family, all Hispanic now, finds it "too gringo" and it uses English in a different way than they do, even if all who live here are 100% bilingual

 

[TheBigA]

My family, all Hispanic now, finds it "too gringo" and it uses English in a different way than they do, even if all who live here are 100% bilingual

The president signed an EO designating English as the official language. He invited everyone to learn English HIS way so they can enjoy the benefits of being here.

The point of public funding is access. You aren't required to be a member. You get immediate free access. If it's not your taste, you don't have to use it.

 

[davideduardo]

The president signed an EO designating English as the official language. He invited everyone to learn English HIS way so they can enjoy the benefits of being here.

He did not say "his way". He simply focused on English being the lingua franca of the nation. However, if I am with a group of people speaking in "Academia English" just to impress, they lose me. Similarly, if I am with a group speaking "street" I am not going to be able to follow them.

The point of public funding is access. You aren't required to be a member. You get immediate free access. If it's not your taste, you don't have to use it.

And that is my point: it is NOT everyone's taste and is limited in its appeal.

I don't find the style of SoCal public radio listenable. But I pay for an expensive subscription to The Economist and get much of my world news from INFOBAE. Figure that one out.

 

[TheBigA]

And that is my point: it is NOT everyone's taste and is limited in its appeal.

That's radio. I pay taxes for my local public library. The last time I went in was 4 years ago when my wifi went out. That was it. Yet I pay for it every day, whether I use it or not. That's the basis for public funding. The main thing is that it's available. It's about access, not usage. There are multiple publicly funded radio options for people in LA. I'm pretty sure there is a percentage for whom NONE of the options are acceptable. That's fine. That's built into the system.

 

[davideduardo]

That's radio. I pay taxes for my local public library. The last time I went in was 4 years ago when my wifi went out. That was it. Yet I pay for it every day, whether I use it or not.

But the library does nothing I disagree with. Many people distrust NPR. Or don't even know it exists

What Survey Results About Future of NPR and PBS Should Mean for Federal Support of Public Media

If public broadcasting loses federal funding, results like these will explain a great deal.

barrettmedia.com

That's the basis for public funding. The main thing is that it's available. It's about access, not usage. There are multiple publicly funded radio options for people in LA. I'm pretty sure there is a percentage for whom NONE of the options are acceptable. That's fine. That's built into the system.

The best option on anything that is polarizing that is not an essential service is to let it remain in the private sector.

 

[TheBigA]

But the library does nothing I disagree with. Many people distrust NPR. Or don't even know it exists

Many people distrust a lot of things. I can show you polls that say other things. That's not a factor. The congress voted this system and appropriated money for it. Half of the country didn't vote for this government. Yet we all pay for it. My views aren't even considered. I don't get a tax rebate for that. Once again, that's the basis of public funding. It's the job of CPB to oversee recipients of its funding. Not the president. Just because he says it's biased does not make it so. The founding fathers were familiar with biased governments telling them what to do. They wrote the first amendment so the government could not abridge the freedom of the press.

The best option on anything that is polarizing that is not an essential service is to let it remain in the private sector.

Once again that's not a decision made by the president. Broadcasting for the most part IS in fact in the private sector, and the people aren't happy with it either. They don't like that decisions are made by advertisers rather than listeners. This system provides an alternative to the private model. The people deserve to have an alternative that doesn't require a username and password and is accessible to all for free. They are supposed to be the PUBLIC airwaves, not the private airwaves. That's why congress created public broadcasting.

 

[RayydioLA]

LAist staff cuts

Who are they? The article doesn't name who was laid off.

 

[TheBigA]

Who are they? The article doesn't name who was laid off.

It says what they did:

The employees who lost their jobs worked in LAist’s podcast division, social media and photography. According to the newsroom's leadership, no reporters or newscast staff were affected.

Companies usually don't announce names, in deference to employee privacy. The employees can announce if they choose.