NPR To Assist Station Funding

[TheBigA]

NPR's CEO has announced the creation of a fund to help small rural stations following the loss of federal funding:

NPR Makes $8M Change To Protect Endangered Stations - Radio Ink

NPR is shifting its own budget to shield member stations from the fallout of Congress’s CPB funding rescission.

radioink.com

NPR's board of directors is made up largely of local radio GMs. In that way, NPR is managed by its stations, not the other way around.

Speaking with Texas Public Radio News Director Dan Katz, NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher said NPR’s board made the decision to cut the organization’s own operating budget by $8 million and redirect that money to assist stations, particularly those in rural areas, facing major shortfalls.

NPR's by-laws prevent it from fundraising directly from the public. But it could use its platform to assist their stations to raise money. In fact, when NPR had a financial crisis in the 80s, it did exactly that.

 

[TheBigA]

I just saw this today:

An Open Letter To Public Radio

Dear public radio leaders, The impending loss of all funding to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting will hurt. But it

radioinsight.com

So perhaps I'm wrong, but what Lance is saying is he wants public radio to learn from iHeart and Audacy, and consolidate operations rather than continue as locally based stations with local staff. But I thought that's what people hated about corporate radio. That it wasn't local, and it was run ay some centralized office to save money.

Public radio by design is decentralized. The assumption that it's all run by NPR is wrong. The power is with the stations. It's been that way for 40 years. So if change is going to come, it will come from them. The problem is that the stations have many different ownership structures. The biggest stations are the community licensees: WNYC, KQED, WGBH, WHYY, and WETA. Then you have the university licensees: KUSC, WBUR, WAMU, WOSU, and WXTU. The third group is state-owned authorities: Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and a few more. They each have different funding structures. Obviously the community licensees have the most independence, and the state licensees have the least.

The way this worked the last time public radio was under assault, a number of independent companies popped up. Perhaps one of the first was the Radio Research Consortium founded by Tom Church. Then there was Guidestar, a consulting group built on fundraising strategies. What Lance is talking about is outsourcing back-office operations such as personnel and accounting. Some community stations are already doing that. The university and state stations are constrained by the various laws and rules that govern their operations. That could change as the loss of government funding changes the way universities and states view radio ownership.

This isn't going to change quickly, partly because of the diverse ownership, and partly because of a lack of centralization in the public radio system. So how much centralization does the system want? We'll start to find out in the coming months. The fact that NPR itself wants to be a player in the funding area is one indication of where things might go. We'll see what remains of CPB, and if that's something that gets retained.

 

[ted chittenden]

I just saw this today:

An Open Letter To Public Radio

Dear public radio leaders, The impending loss of all funding to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting will hurt. But it

radioinsight.com

So perhaps I'm wrong, but what Lance is saying is he wants public radio to learn from iHeart and Audacy, and consolidate operations rather than continue as locally based stations with local staff. But I thought that's what people hated about corporate radio. That it wasn't local, and it was run ay some centralized office to save money.

Public radio by design is decentralized. The assumption that it's all run by NPR is wrong. The power is with the stations. It's been that way for 40 years. So if change is going to come, it will come from them. The problem is that the stations have many different ownership structures. The biggest stations are the community licensees: WNYC, KQED, WGBH, WHYY, and WETA. Then you have the university licensees: KUSC, WBUR, WAMU, WOSU, and WXTU. The third group is state-owned authorities: Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and a few more. They each have different funding structures. Obviously the community licensees have the most independence, and the state licensees have the least.

The way this worked the last time public radio was under assault, a number of independent companies popped up. Perhaps one of the first was the Radio Research Consortium founded by Tom Church. Then there was Guidestar, a consulting group built on fundraising strategies. What Lance is talking about is outsourcing back-office operations such as personnel and accounting. Some community stations are already doing that. The university and state stations are constrained by the various laws and rules that govern their operations. That could change as the loss of government funding changes the way universities and states view radio ownership.

This isn't going to change quickly, partly because of the diverse ownership, and partly because of a lack of centralization in the public radio system. So how much centralization does the system want? We'll start to find out in the coming months. The fact that NPR itself wants to be a player in the funding area is one indication of where things might go. We'll see what remains of CPB, and if that's something that gets retained.

I had read Lance's letter previously and considered responding to it but decided against it out of fear of being terminated from this Board. Beyond your points, I think Mr. Venta basically ignores how many public stations may actually be involved. He cites Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY, as places that could have their engineering staffs combined. The thing is, Buffalo has two CPB outlets (an NPR news one and a classical one) , plus each of these stations has satellites (two for the news outlet, one for the classical outlet). Rochester is served by three CPB outlets and there is a fourth station in Haughton, NY, that partially simulcasts the news station and partly simulcasts the classical station. And in Syracuse, there are two different public radio news services; one based out of Oswego with (if I'm counting correctly) four satellite outlets, including the one in Syracuse. There is a separate Syracuse-only news/alternative outlet run by one of the local colleges and a classical outlet that has satellites in Watertown and Utica.

And, of course, the point you make about different ownerships is a valid one. Using an analogy, in some ways it would be like asking Cumulus and IHeart to hire one engineer to serve all of their stations in a given market. I'm not sure that would work out very well.

Anyway, we'll see what happens.

 

[TheBigA]

There is a separate Syracuse-only news/alternative outlet run by one of the local colleges and a classical outlet that has satellites in Watertown and Utica.

I'm most familiar with the Syracuse situation, although I can speak about Buffalo.

Syracuse has two groups: The University-owned WAER and the community owned WCNY. WAER is news, WCNY is classical. They also own the PBS station. Any changes at WAER will have to be decided by the University, the Newhouse School, and an alumni advisory board. It'll take a while to get through all that. The university also owns the student run CHR WJPZ. I can tell you that the university is very territorial about its media. I doubt they'd agree to any combining of service with WCNY.

In Buffalo, WNYPM or whatever they call it now owns two radio stations and a TV. They are a community licensee. They seem to be also focused on Toronto. Could they combine some services with WXXI Rochester? This gets back to serving one's community. That phrase has perhaps become a joke today in the world of consolidated media. But it's still taken seriously in public radio. What I'm reading in the public radio media is that they're seeking a rededication to the mission that created public radio 55 years ago. The message is as relevant now as it was then because of the changes in commercial radio. We'll see which direction they take.

 

[ted chittenden]

I'm most familiar with the Syracuse situation, although I can speak about Buffalo.

Syracuse has two groups: The University-owned WAER and the community owned WCNY. WAER is news, WCNY is classical. They also own the PBS station. Any changes at WAER will have to be decided by the University, the Newhouse School, and an alumni advisory board. It'll take a while to get through all that. The university also owns the student run CHR WJPZ. I can tell you that the university is very territorial about its media. I doubt they'd agree to any combining of service with WCNY.

In Buffalo, WNYPM or whatever they call it now owns two radio stations and a TV. They are a community licensee. They seem to be also focused on Toronto. Could they combine some services with WXXI Rochester? This gets back to serving one's community. That phrase has perhaps become a joke today in the world of consolidated media. But it's still taken seriously in public radio. What I'm reading in the public radio media is that they're seeking a rededication to the mission that created public radio 55 years ago. The message is as relevant now as it was then because of the changes in commercial radio. We'll see which direction they take.

The Oswego station that has a Syracuse satellite is WRVO (89.5 mHz) with the satellite being WRVD at 90.3 mHz. Both are owned by the State University of New York.

 

[radiofan2023]

Using an analogy, in some ways it would be like asking Cumulus and IHeart to hire one engineer to serve all of their stations in a given market. I'm not sure that would work out very well.

There are some engineers that serve multiple stations in a market.

 

[TheBigA]

The Oswego station that has a Syracuse satellite is WRVO (89.5 mHz) with the satellite being WRVD at 90.3 mHz. Both are owned by the State University of New York.

So you have competing universities, SU and SUNY. When talking about finances, you need to talk about ownership. This isn't a programming discussion.

Take a look at what's going on in Miami. The public radio station is owned by the Miami Board of Ed, and it's operated by a community group. That community group just bought an FM in West Palm. The school board is challenging the purchase. That's one example of what happens with station that has outside operators.

 

[TheBigA]

There are some engineers that serve multiple stations in a market.

Correct, and that's been the case since the FCC changed the rules 40 years ago.

 

[ted chittenden]

So you have competing universities, SU and SUNY. When talking about finances, you need to talk about ownership. This isn't a programming discussion.

Take a look at what's going on in Miami. The public radio station is owned by the Miami Board of Ed, and it's operated by a community group. That community group just bought an FM in West Palm. The school board is challenging the purchase. That's one example of what happens with station that has outside operators.

Thanks for the update on the WFLM situation. I wasn't aware of that.

 

[TheBigA]

The other issue Lance brings up is executive compensation. Sure, these stations would save a lot of money if they replaced the local CEO with a group CEO. Just pay the one person instead of three. How has that worked in corporate radio? iHeart has market managers, regional managers, format captains, and multiple layers of management. Does that make them more efficient? I don't think so. Does it save money? I don't know. Do they serve their local community? Depends on who asks. The reason it wouldn't happen in New York State is because each station has its own local board, and the local board hires the CEO. It really changes the way these stations are managed. What it would require is something bigger than the local board or the university coming in and replacing the local board. That takes money and power. Who has that money & power? That's where this discussion begins.

 

[TheBigA]

In the meantime, CPB, the agency whose funding was rescinded by congress, says it will cease operations:

Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it will shut down after Congress cut money

Currently, the CPB helps support more than 1,500 locally owned NPR and PBS member stations.

www.nbcnews.com

This leaves a vacuum in the public broadcasting system. The question is do the stations create a replacement organization, or do PBS and NPR fill the void. My guess is it will be a combination of both. Legally, CPB will still exist, since the public broadcasting act hasn't been repealed or amended.

 

[kevtronics]

When Chris Christie shut down New Jersey's state-funded public radio and TV network (NJN), WNYC in New York and WHYY in Philadelphia gobbled up the former NJN radio stations and turned them into simulcasts of these neighboring big city stations. We'll probably see more of that as rural/exurban stations cease local operations and turn into simulcasts of larger operations.

 

[TheBigA]

When Chris Christie shut down New Jersey's state-funded public radio and TV network (NJN), WNYC in New York and WHYY in Philadelphia gobbled up the former NJN radio stations and turned them into simulcasts of these neighboring big city stations. We'll probably see more of that as rural/exurban stations cease local operations and turn into simulcasts of larger operations.

Actually the state of NJ sold those stations, they weren't "gobbled up." There will be less of an interest in those rural stations.

 

[Don CT]

So can PBS/NPR survive. Even in the bigger cities where they have more private donors.

 

[TheBigA]

So can PBS/NPR survive. Even in the bigger cities where they have more private donors.

The stations are all locally owned and operated. They're a different situation.

NPR & PBS are independent companies. NPR gets very little CPB funding. As we said in the OP, they have enough money that they can create a fund for some of their poorer affiliates.

The local stations are all rebudgeting based on this loss of funding. They will lay off staff and cut whatever needs to be cut. This is what I call the iHeartization of public broadcasting. They will likely replace local programming with more from NPR, APM, and PRX.

The bigger problem is replacing CPB in the leadership structure. Public broadcasting is decentralized. It was set up that way. That's the fallacy of this whole defunding thing. Defunding CPB damages only one thing: CPB. The rest of the system just has to reinvent itself with less money.

 

[Don CT]

The stations are all locally owned and operated. They're a different situation.

NPR & PBS are independent companies. NPR gets very little CPB funding. As we said in the OP, they have enough money that they can create a fund for some of their poorer affiliates.

The local stations are all rebudgeting based on this loss of funding. They will lay off staff and cut whatever needs to be cut. This is what I call the iHeartization of public broadcasting.

Where does the programming come from. Doesn’t CPB fund most of it.

 

[TheBigA]

Where does the programming come from. Doesn’t CPB fund most of it.

No. The funding for the national programming comes from corporate funders and membership fees from the stations that carry it.

PBS is a different animal. They don't produce any programming. But once again, a big part of the programming money comes from corporate grants.

 

[Don CT]

No. The funding for the national programming comes from corporate funders and membership fees from the stations that carry it.

PBS is a different animal. They don't produce any programming. But once again, a big part of the programming money comes from corporate grants.

So what really changes with CPB going away?

 

[TheBigA]

So what really changes with CPB going away?

Anybody who received CPB funding won't receive it anymore. They have to either cut costs or find replacement money.

CPB negotiated and paid for all public broadcasting music royalties. That situation will need to be addressed.

CPB paid for the satellite interconnection system for radio. That will need to be addressed.

There's also the legal issue about retaining a government entity, created by congress, that has no money. That's up to congress to fix.

Like any organization that's been around for 60 years, they did a lot of things that people may not know about. Over the next few weeks, those things will need to be identified and addressed.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

PBS is a different animal. They don't produce any programming. But once again, a big part of the programming money comes from corporate grants.

Yes and the programming money via corporate grants goes through the donations to local PBS affiliates like WGBH-TV, KQED-TV and WETA-TV first and PBS is the national distributor of the shows. Anytime I watch PBS Newshour and PBS Frontline during the funding credits the donors are sending their funds to the local stations like WGBH-TV and WETA-TV.