CapRadio cuts 12% staff and cancels shows

[michael hagerty]

Today CapRadio's endowment asked Sacramento State to transfer the license to the local PBS station:

CapRadio Endowment Proposes TV Takeover Of Troubled Group - Radio Ink

Capital Public Radio Endowment has proposed that Sacramento State should transfer control of its radio operations to KVIE-TV.

radioink.com

The combination of radio & TV makes for a stronger foundation for these entities.

The article says Sac State opposes the proposal.

For those with a subscription, the Sac Bee article goes very in-depth. No surprise. Sam Stanton is one helluva reporter.

 

[TheBigA]

Here's a link to the letter from the endowment to the college:

CapRadio Endowment Letter 03-20-2024

www.documentcloud.org

Also a video interview with the head of the endowment:

MSN

The first line of the letter, saying all attempts at contacting the station management have been unsuccessful, is not a good sign. It would seem to me that transparency is almost required at this point.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

The first line of the letter, saying all attempts at contacting the station management have been unsuccessful, is not a good sign. It would seem to me that transparency is almost required at this point.

Looks like this refers Not to the station management, but to Cal State-Sacramento leadership.

 

[TheBigA]

Looks like this refers Not to the station management, but to Cal State-Sacramento leadership.

Correct, but I thought CSUS was put in charge of station management.

 

[michael hagerty]

Correct, but I thought CSUS was put in charge of station management.

It is. There is an interim General Manager (previously the Director of IT and Engineering) who is not a Sac State employee, but the university is calling all the shots.

 

[michael hagerty]

Another major development with unclear implications. This is SacBee's Sam Stanton, in an AOL repost, so no SacBee subscription is required:

Tension over control of CapRadio mounts with donation of transmission tower to KVIE-TV

“By accepting this gift we keep this in the hands of public media.”

www.aol.com

 

[michael hagerty]

CapRadio responded in an unusual second edition in one week of the CapRadio Insider...which is e-mailed to CapRadio members. It hit inboxes just before 3:00 p.m. on Friday (4/5):

To our members:

We’d like to provide clarity and accurate information in the wake of misleading communications and actions by the “CapRadio Endowment” (Endowment) Board of Directors. We want you to know that despite their recent misguided effort to dictate the future of our station, CapRadio will remain an auxiliary of Sacramento State and will continue serving our community as an independent public broadcasting entity.

The Endowment is a 501(c)(3) organization completely separate from CapRadio and Sac State. It has no authority over CapRadio. Over the past few weeks its board has overstepped in concerning ways, from attempting to publicly force an ill-conceived merger with PBS KVIE, to announcing a “donation” of assets that directly contradicts the Endowment’s stated mission to financially support CapRadio.

The Endowment board’s motivation for these actions is unclear, but it is certainly not in the best interest of CapRadio and the community at large as it claims. It is also shocking and disappointing that KVIE — part of this community’s public media family — has worked with the Endowment to the detriment of local public radio.

The bottom line: CapRadio remains committed to delivering essential services that create more informed, involved and educated communities. Sacramento State supports CapRadio in this commitment.

Additional details are provided below for those who seek a deeper understanding of this issue. We will update you as things progress.

As always, we greatly appreciate your support as listeners, members and friends.

Thank you,

CapRadio Management

That's some pretty strong language in the third paragraph, especially directed at KVIE.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

Weird that the letter is unsigned. I know CapRadio management isn't exactly on firm footing, but you'd normally expect this kind of thing to be signed "Jill T. Taylor, VP of administration, Sacramento State"

 

[TheBigA]

Seems to me as an outside observer that if anyone worked ''to the detriment of local public radio,'' it was the management of Cap Radio. They caused the problem in the first place. There is a credibility issue, and that will hurt the ability of the station to ensure its financial future. Yes the Endowment has no ownership rights. But they have more credibility than the management that drove the station to the brink.

 

[radiofan2023]

Why did the endowment own the tower, rather than Sac State or Cap Radio owning it?

 

[michael hagerty]

Why did the endowment own the tower, rather than Sac State or Cap Radio owning it?

Really good question. First i’d heard about it was in the past couple of weeks. It was never mentioned in the four years I worked there.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

CapRadio responded in an unusual second edition in one week of the CapRadio Insider...which is e-mailed to CapRadio members. It hit inboxes just before 3:00 p.m. on Friday (4/5):




That's some pretty strong language in the third paragraph, especially directed at KVIE.

Why would they rant about that one especially KVIE in this. How is this detrimental to public radio. The proposed deal if approved would make Sacramento one of many examples where the Public Radio outlet is co-owned with the Public TV outlet. Example Sac State's sister station, San Diego State University managed KPBS is an example where the Public TV Outlet is co-owned with Public radio outlet and yes Next door in the Bay Area where KQED Inc owns both Public TV and Radio outlet. This could get Cap Radio out of the situation they are in.

 

[radiofan2023]

Really good question. First i’d heard about it was in the past couple of weeks. It was never mentioned in the four years I worked there.

Someone who knows how should look up the antenna registration and see if the Endowment has always owned it:

ASR Registration Search

I wish it allowed searching by station call letters, that would be a lot easier.

 

[michael hagerty]

Someone who knows how should look up the antenna registration and see if the Endowment has always owned it:

ASR Registration Search

I wish it allowed searching by station call letters, that would be a lot easier.

Got it to work using the coordinates:

ASR Application A0017810

It shows the owner as Sac State, with no updates to the record since 1999.

 

[radiofan2023]

Got it to work using the coordinates:

ASR Application A0017810

It shows the owner as Sac State, with no updates to the record since 1999.

Thanks for the info. Could Sac State argue against a new/reassignment to the endowment or KVIE, since the FCC has Sac State listed as the registered owner?

 

[michael hagerty]

Thanks for the info. Could Sac State argue against a new/reassignment to the endowment or KVIE, since the FCC has Sac State listed as the registered owner?

Bigger question: Since Sac State does not dispute that the Endowment owned the tower, when was the transfer made and was the FCC notified? If not, this could be a further legal headache.

 

[TheBigA]

It shows the owner as Sac State, with no updates to the record since 1999.

Bigger question: Since Sac State does not dispute that the Endowment owned the tower, when was the transfer made and was the FCC notified? If not, this could be a further legal headache.

The article says the endowment owns 'a transmission tower.' Not THE transmission tower. There are usually multiple towers, such as the transmission of the signal from the studio to the main transmission tower, or STL.

 

[michael hagerty]

From a 2013 audit of CapRadio:

• Tower 91, Inc. is a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a board of directors separate from the Station. Tower 91, Inc. holds title to the property where a transmitting tower is located. During 2013, Tower 91, Inc. was dissolved and all assets were transferred to Capital Public Radio Endowment, Inc.

Link to full audit: https://www.capradio.org/media/2478577/13 CPR Audit - Final.pdf

 

[michael hagerty]

The article says the endowment owns 'a transmission tower.' Not THE transmission tower. There are usually multiple towers, such as the transmission of the signal from the studio to the main transmission tower, or STL.

No, this is THE tower.

CapRadio Broadcast Tower in Elverta Found to be in Poor Condition - Rio Linda Online News

If you’ve not been following the Capitol Public Radio financial debacle over the past year, I congratulate you, because it’s a huge mess that’s taken up way too much headspace, airtime, and legal billing hours within the Sacramento Valley public radio listening community. For those behind the...

www.riolindaonline.com

 

[michael hagerty]

So here's the clause explaining the transfer from Tower 91, Inc. to the Endowment from the 2013 audit:

FASB ASC 958-810 requires consolidation of nonprofit organizations related to one another by means of ownership, control and/or economic interest. Through February 2013, the Station exercised control of both Tower 91, Inc. ("Tower 91") and Capital Public Radio Endowment, Inc. (the "Endowment") through common members and the ability to appointment members of the boards of directors of these entities and had an economic interest as the sole beneficiary of their assets and resources
In February 2013, deconsolidation was determined to be necessary as a result of the following:

• - Tower 91 was dissolved by Board action at the end of February 2013, and all remaining assets were transferred to the Endowment.
• - The Endowment voted to change its bylaws, allowing for financial support to any organization meeting the Endowment's mission. Prior to the change, the bylaws only allowed for support to the Station.
• - The Endowment's Board entered into a professional services agreement with the Station to provide financial management, furthering their stated intention for a distinct separation between the two entities.
  FASB ASC 958-810 requires that when deconsolidation occurs, a gain or loss should be recorded on the consolidated statement of activities for the difference between the carrying amount of the assets and liabilities of the former consolidated entity. At the time of deconsolidation, there were no liabilities carried on the Station's financial statements, and the loss is accounted for as the total assets carried for Tower 91, Inc., and Capital Public Radio Endowment, Inc., totaling $67,589 and $1,251,776, respectively.
  
  

So my questions are:

• When did tower ownership go from simply Sac State to Tower 91?
• Did either change in ownership (University to Tower 91/Tower 91 to Endowment) get filed with the FCC?