CapRadio cuts 12% staff and cancels shows

[Paul]

BTW, I've seen this play before. Paul, how about coming clean and telling us why you have so much contempt for CapRadio. It can't only be the square footage of their lobby. Did you apply for a job and get rejected, or ignored?

Nope. Never applied there. I had friends who worked there, and I even assisted with some of their projects (no pay, just helping a friend) and saw a lot of behind the scenes.

Since you asked, and I believe your post deserves the respect of a response (unlike other attack posts here- Scrooooooo the rest of you):
I am strongly against any broadcaster who accepts taxpayer funds and spews leftist propaganda. In this particular case, as a Sac State alum, I am strongly against the operation as a whole for lots of reasons. Just one reason being that they are on the campus, yet don't have student run programming. I also went to UOP when UOP still had their own station, and Cap Radio bought it, moved it off the UOP campus, and programmed it out of Sacramento with the same violin music and leftist propaganda as was already on several other signals at the time, this effectively took away the voice of that school. That station once aired programs created by UOP students and was an integral part of that campus and that community. Cap Radio took it away for greed. No more student programs, just more Sacramento originated begging for bucks.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go "cling to my guns and religion" (as Obama would say) for a while and cool off.

 

[michael hagerty]

Nope. Never applied there. I had friends who worked there, and I even assisted with some of their projects (no pay, just helping a friend) and saw a lot of behind the scenes.

Since you asked, and I believe your post deserves the respect of a response (unlike other attack posts here- Scrooooooo the rest of you):
I am strongly against any broadcaster who accepts taxpayer funds and spews leftist propaganda. In this particular case, as a Sac State alum, I am strongly against the operation as a whole for lots of reasons. Just one reason being that they are on the campus, yet don't have student run programming. I also went to UOP when UOP still had their own station, and Cap Radio bought it, moved it off the UOP campus, and programmed it out of Sacramento with the same violin music and leftist propaganda as was already on several other signals at the time, this effectively took away the voice of that school. That station once aired programs created by UOP students and was an integral part of that campus and that community. Cap Radio took it away for greed. No more student programs, just more Sacramento originated begging for bucks.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go "cling to my guns and religion" (as Obama would say) for a while and cool off.

And if you had just said that in the first place, we'd know exactly where you were coming from.

Instead, you went with this (post #195, November 26):

I have heard the accusations and some of the verbal poop being thrown around. Until there is a trial and conviction, I'm not going to assume anyone is guilty of anything.

From the outside looking in, it just looks like more elites wasting money on worthless stuff. Then someone got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Before you jump on me for using the word "elites"- Look at the lobby at CPR and the lobby at my stations. If a wild chimpanzee busted into our lobby and broke everything there, we'd be out maybe a hundred bucks. Tops.

And as we saw in the photo of the CapRadio lobby, a large-breed dog can bust in there and not break much.

I doubt a wild chimp could do worse.

 

[TheBigA]

Just one reason being that they are on the campus, yet don't have student run programming.

That's a good point, and should be addressed separately. A lot of colleges have been selling or outsourcing their radio stations lately. One of the nearby examples is KUSF at the University of San Francisco. This was a student-run alternative station until 2011. Then it was sold to KUSC and became a classical station. There's a proposal that Sac State sell Cap Radio to the local public TV station. The university is opposed to that. The station's previous GM (the one embroiled in the current controversy) sought to move the station off campus. So there have been options proposed to the current situation.

Sacramento State DOES have a student-run station: KSSU.

KSSU Radio - Associated Students, Inc. - Sacramento State

KSSU radio is Sacramento State's only student-run radio station, which offers a range of different radio personalities as well as genres of music.

www.kssu.com

Regarding the UOP, the college also has KPAC, a student run LP station:

KPAC (89.7 FM) is an unlicensed, low wattage college radio station broadcasting on the University of the Pacific campus. The station is entirely student run and is primarily listened to from its internet stream or the on-campus television network. The weekday programming follows a blocked schedule and includes talk shows, hip-hop, house, rock, and some jazz/classical music, and house/dance is played on the weekend hours. KPAC has around 25+ student shows during both academic semesters.

The issues you have are coming from the University. They own the station and have chosen to keep it on campus. As owners, they also have the option not to carry NPR programming. That's a choice they make, and one of the debts Cap Radio has is its membership dues to NPR. They could easily choose to drop the programming and replace it with something else. They don't see it as "leftist propaganda." They believe it's a quality alternative to the commercial radio available in Sacramento.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Nope. Never applied there. I had friends who worked there, and I even assisted with some of their projects (no pay, just helping a friend) and saw a lot of behind the scenes.

Since you asked, and I believe your post deserves the respect of a response (unlike other attack posts here- Scrooooooo the rest of you):
I am strongly against any broadcaster who accepts taxpayer funds and spews leftist propaganda. In this particular case, as a Sac State alum, I am strongly against the operation as a whole for lots of reasons. Just one reason being that they are on the campus, yet don't have student run programming. I also went to UOP when UOP still had their own station, and Cap Radio bought it, moved it off the UOP campus, and programmed it out of Sacramento with the same violin music and leftist propaganda as was already on several other signals at the time, this effectively took away the voice of that school. That station once aired programs created by UOP students and was an integral part of that campus and that community. Cap Radio took it away for greed. No more student programs, just more Sacramento originated begging for bucks.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go "cling to my guns and religion" (as Obama would say) for a while and cool off.

ok, to further put your comments into context, @Paul could you answer this.. WHAT news sources do you watch, read and listen to? Sicne you consider NPR/local public radio "leftist propaganda", I want to know what you consider to be fair and accurate media since you have issues with public radio

 

[Mark Roberts]

That's a good point, and should be addressed separately. A lot of colleges have been selling or outsourcing their radio stations lately. One of the nearby examples is KUSF at the University of San Francisco. This was a student-run alternative station until 2011. Then it was sold to KUSC and became a classical station.

That was part of the deal that allowed Entercom (as it was at the time) to offload the classical format that Bonneville had retained on 102.1 KDFC before Bonneville sold the station to Entercom. There were the usual Bay Area-style complaints about selling out to corporate interests when these moves played out. Also note that USF is not a public institution; it's a nonprofit affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church.

With the way 102.1 has performed after the sale, it might have been better off staying classical.

 

[TheBigA]

Also note that USF is not a public institution; it's a nonprofit affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church.

Which, as I recall, was a big part of why the school wanted to offload the "out of control" student-run radio station. A lot of the music they played didn't fit the image they wanted for the school.

With the way 102.1 has performed after the sale, it might have been better off staying classical.

I may be wrong, but I think KDFC was one of the last major market commercial classical stations, and a lot of it had to do with being owned by a church (LDS).

 

[Mark Roberts]

I simply don't get the "leftist propaganda" complaints. If you think NPR is leftist propaganda, then Pacifica should flat-out give you a cerebral hemorrhage. I can understand the complaints about elitism: I've made some of those complaints myself. Possibly that's unfair and based on some outdated perceptions. My main complaint about NPR all along has been that it focuses too much on the coasts and not enough on the rest of the country. They've gotten better at addressing that problem, but I feel they could still do more. In any event, I worked in public radio in the 1970s, when the typical station was classical music most of the time, often programmed to local elites (bankers, lawyers, etc.), with All Things Considered in the afternoon coming in on a conditioned phone line. ATC in those days did have a rarefied air. But Morning Edition came along - 1980? - and took a less leisurely approach, as would be appropriate for a morning news program. NPR's style of the time could have put some people off even after that. But it has changed and adapted over time, as have local public radio stations and networks. That's the annoying beauty of the American public radio system: its dependency on local individual contributions for the bulk of its support. CPR financial support is a tiny sliver of their budgets. So there's a mechanism for accountability to listeners. That's why classical music on public stations has been increasingly moved off to secondary signals; news and spoken-word programming gets more financial support from listeners. That's why some public stations also have AAA outlets, to reach out to a different public. NPR is essentially a cooperative of those stations and has to respond to their needs and to their feedback, much of which comes from their listeners. None of this is propaganda; it's all business. There is no BBC or CBC here; nor should there be the resentments that those forms of public broadcasting can cause, e.g. Edmonton probably doesn't think much of what comes out of a Toronto bureaucracy which in turn is probably not all that responsive to what Alberta listeners would be interested in. On the other hand, Colorado Public Radio is based locally, and is focused on covering local issues and concerns. The NPR national programming and CPR's local programming complement each other. Certainly editorial independence should be respected, but the tone and approach of news coverage of a professional news organization will adapt to public perceptions. Public radio doesn't exist in a vacuum, and doesn't act as if it does; in my opinion, it strikes a good balance between that and editorial integrity.

Sorry, no jokes this time.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Which, as I recall, was a big part of why the school wanted to offload the "out of control" student-run radio station. A lot of the music they played didn't fit the image they wanted for the school.

What I recall was that they were just tired of it and didn't see it as part of their educational mission.

 

[TheBigA]

What I recall was that they were just tired of it and didn't see it as part of their educational mission.

That may be right, but I recall the students at the station didn't let it go quietly. Some even posted here about it.

 

[Paul]

WHAT news sources do you watch, read and listen to?

None of your business.

I will tell you that it is not Fox News, as I suspect you are expecting. In fact, very little of the broadcast news finds its way into my daily routine.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I may be wrong, but I think KDFC was one of the last major market commercial classical stations, and a lot of it had to do with being owned by a church (LDS).

It was one of the last, and tried a more popular approach, which, naturally, came in for criticism, because it seems you can never satisfy classical-music listeners. But it survived for more than a decade after KKHI didn't. I'm not sure LDS ownership had much to do with the decision to try to make a go of it; Bonneville, after all, runs lots of mainstream formats. Bonneville may simply have seen a niche in the market that they thought they could profit from; KQED-FM had dropped classical years earlier and KALW wasn't about to adopt that kind of format (in fact, KALW was an NPR member station before KQED was), so the field was open. Plus there was San Francisco's status as a cultural center and, now, all those institutions are suffering as their audiences age out. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Entercom was harder-nosed than Bonneville about what the future was likely to bring, I believe.

 

[Mark Roberts]

That may be right, but I recall the students at the station didn't let it go quietly. Some even posted here about it.

Oh, yes, there was a lot of protest about it, not just from students, and that's how KXSF-LP ultimately came into being.

Also plenty of stories in the SF Bay Guardian, which was widely distributed and which, naturally, deplored the move. You want leftist propaganda, now that was what the Bay Guardian specialized in.

 

[TheBigA]

Public radio doesn't exist in a vacuum, and doesn't act as if it does; in my opinion, it strikes a good balance between that and editorial integrity.

I agree with a lot of your post, and certainly public radio gets lumped in with a lot of the anti-elitism that's popular today. As you say, at one time public radio began as educational radio. It's in the NCE part of the dial. The view then was that the stations should play educational music, which was mainly classical, jazz, and folk. Then the news programming came in, and as you say, it was modeled after the BBC and CBC. With that as the model, it's obvious why some assume public radio is "leftist." I usually ask for examples, and the only ones they can name are the ones publicized earlier this year. None of them are really "leftist." But they are a bit "snooty" and a bit "elitist," which is exactly what you expect from an educational institution. I'm one of those who believes public radio needs to get out of the northeast a bit more.

 

[tbolt909]

I agree with a lot of your post, and certainly public radio gets lumped in with a lot of the anti-elitism that's popular today. As you say, at one time public radio began as educational radio. It's in the NCE part of the dial. The view then was that the stations should play educational music, which was mainly classical, jazz, and folk. Then the news programming came in, and as you say, it was modeled after the BBC and CBC. With that as the model, it's obvious why some assume public radio is "leftist." I usually ask for examples, and the only ones they can name are the ones publicized earlier this year. None of them are really "leftist." But they are a bit "snooty" and a bit "elitist," which is exactly what you expect from an educational institution. I'm one of those who believes public radio needs to get out of the northeast a bit more.

It's a sad commentary on America when ignorance is considered to be noble. The idea that college educated people are "Book Smart" and can't be trusted is quite frankly whacked. I guess Americans will enjoy getting Polio again. Can't trust those pesky vaccines...

 

[TheBigA]

The aspect of using taxpayer money is another thing that gets brought up a lot with regards to public radio. The incoming administration talks a lot about returning power to the states. They want to abolish the education department, for example, and give all decisions to the states. What they'll learn as they start to run things is that in fact the states already run education. Same with public broadcasting. The main job of CPB is to distribute federal dollars to the states. This was a system that was designed by republicans during Reagan. They wanted to get the government out of broadcasting, so they set up the current funding structure. All programming decisions are made locally, and the NPR board is run by the local stations. It is exactly what the republicans want. That's why they keep funding it. This new crew just needs to be educated about how the system works, and what they can do in their local communities to make public radio more local.

 

[Paul]

Pacifica should flat-out give you a cerebral hemorrhage.

Haha! Actually, I have helped their former CE Steve Hawes with projects before. I don't listen to it, but Steve is a good friend, so I was there if needed.

Regarding the UOP, the college also has KPAC, a student run LP station

I'm the one who put KPAC on the air. I bet I know more about it than you.

I guess Americans will enjoy getting Polio again. Can't trust those pesky vaccines...

Since when is someone deciding they do not want an experimental vaccine for something considered "ignorance"? Free people have choice. Sometimes they choose to not follow the sheep or believe the government. They choose what is best for them, and they have the right to live by their decisions. "One size fits all" healthcare should be appalling to the NPR fans, but a few years ago, they all turned into lemmings for some weird reason. The US Navy gave me vaccines, and I was a willing recipient because I wanted to do anything necessary to go fight for this country. No hippies told me to do it, that was a choice. But if I choose to opt out of a vaccine (not saying I did or did not, it's none of your business), then I'm ignorant? Check yourself, man (or whatever gender you identify as).

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

None of your business.

I will tell you that it is not Fox News, as I suspect you are expecting. In fact, very little of the broadcast news finds its way into my daily routine.

lol i find that kinda funny.. youll slam public radio but won't mention what your sources all. it'd put into perspective your comments and be interesting what you find truthful/factual.

youre going to slam public radio and air their supposed dirty laundry but won't share anything from your side. thats kinda a one sided argument

 

[Paul]

And if you had just said that in the first place, we'd know exactly where you were coming from.

Well, you never asked directly before now. I'm glad we got that settled.

 

[Paul]

youre going to slam public radio and air their supposed dirty laundry but won't share anything from your side. thats kinda a one sided argument

No. It's called sharing an opinion. I am under no obligation to share how I formed that opinion. No leftist (nor right-wing) web forum bully is going to dictate to me otherwise.

It is truly none of your business what new sources I prefer. You can ask, but I am under no obligation to answer. You were setting up a trap, I jumped over it. Just move on.

 

[TheBigA]

I'm the one who put KPAC on the air. I bet I know more about it than you.

I'm sure you do. That's great! My point is I agree with the idea that colleges SHOULD provide students with ways to participate in their radio stations. Especially state colleges. I know in my own case that I wouldn't have had the career I've had were it not for college radio. I've had a lot of conversations with colleges about that very thing. In the specific case you brought up about Sac State, my understanding is there is a student internship program with Cap Radio, and the aforementioned KSSU. So I think Sac State has done what most colleges do with regards to student radio.