My apologies for not replying sooner...I've been traveling all week, but I did intend to respond to your questions:
iyiyi said:
You state many instances above how the FCC generally handles cases similar to WJMF/WGBH and I agree with you. I still believe that the FCC would give weight to the arguments of the RI Attorney General (who has oversight of WRNI), were he to object to WJMF/WGBH.
I continue to disagree with that premise. The RI AG's oversight of WRNI is limited, dealing mainly with the issue of charitable contributions to RIPR and the entity's tax-exempt status. The AG has no oversight over WRNI's actual broadcast operations, and the FCC has long maintained a very strict hands-off policy with respect to the non-broadcast operations of its licensees. Unless a licensee is convicted of a felony-level offense, the FCC considers any other contractual or legal matters the purview of the courts, not of the FCC. The FCC never got involved in the WBUR/WRNI/RI AG fracas, for instance.
Do you feel that the WJMF/WGBH deal is beneficial to RI Public Radio? Why?
Do you feel that the WJMF/WGBH deal is potentially adverse to RIPR? Why?
I don't think it really affects RIPR either way, honestly. What will be programmed on WJMF is WGBH's classical service, and there's surprisingly little audience crossover between public radio news/talk and public radio classical listenership. Most NPR news-talk stations actually share much more of their audience with commercial classic rock and even country stations than with classical.
Have you ever written an LMA that could adversely affect a state or local public radio network? Why?
I'm not a lawyer, so I don't write LMAs, just consult on what should be in them. When I have my consultant hat on, my responsibility is to my client, and I'll help them structure whatever deal is in their own best interest.
The nature of the US public broadcasting system is that it's highly decentralized. That was a conscious decision made decades ago by politicians trying to prevent the creation of a truly national public radio and TV system like the BBC or CBC. As a result of those long-ago political and regulatory choices, public broadcasting in the US is made up of hundreds of independent entities, each of which looks out first and foremost for its own interests. WGBH's interests have always been regional; it was providing public broadcasting to Rhode Island for decades before WSBE and RIPR entered the picture.
That said, most public broadcasters understand the need to work together, especially in times like these when budgets are tight. There's not the kind of cutthroat in-format competition, generally, that one would see in commercial radio.
Do you feel the scenarios or possible solutions I've attempted to describe in the last few posts have any merit whatsoever? Why?
Honestly, I don't. I don't think WGBH did the WJMF deal with any intent of harming RIPR. WGBH had a long history of providing radio service to northern RI via the huge 89.7 signal, and it's my understanding that WGBH had many loyal classical listeners in RI who lost classical service when WGBH took 89.7 all-news in 2009 and moved the classical service to WCRB 99.5, which is a Lowell-licensed signal that doesn't reach RI. The WJMF deal appears to me to have been not much more than an effort to restore some of that lost service.
As I've noted, WRNI, WGBH and WJMF are all private entities with the ability, and the right, to enter into whatever legal contractual relationships they want. You don't know, and neither do I, whether WRNI and WJMF negotiated and were unable to agree on a deal - and of course this week's news suggests that WRNI was busy negotiating with other players instead.
I understand that WKLB has ability to transmit HD at 10% of analog, but aren't doing so. If true, why aren't they?
Is there any legitimate reason WRNI 1290 AM is not broadcasting in HD? Why?
I'll tackle these two together: it's my understanding that WKLB is using the elevated HD power level. WKLB has become
the major test bed for HD Radio in the last few years as Greater Media works with Ibiquity and the FCC to try a variety of experiments to make the system work better, so it's possible that at any given time WKLB is running a lower level as part of some test or another.
As for HD on AM, it's dead. While there was much hope in the beginning that HD on AM might provide some audio-quality and signal parity for the handful of public broadcasters using AM, the system never worked well technically and receiver availability is close to nil. If WRNI were my consulting client (they're not), I would advise them to keep the HD off AM as well.
Do you feel that RI Public Radio has any chance to grow into anything more than the financially strapped, inadequately signaled "runt of the litter" it is today? How? Why?
I think they're already doing it. All of us in the public radio universe know that for the news and talk format to thrive, it has to be on the FM dial. That's where the listeners are, that's where the growth is, and pretty much any public radio station that's on AM for reasons either of longstanding history or expediency (WRNI went on 1290 because that's what was available for purchase when they started up) is now looking at either adding an FM simulcast or moving to FM outright. Whether or not 88.7 was ever actually in viable contention as an FM home for RIPR, we now know that 88.1 was and is. Neither signal is perfect, but with the upgrades now underway to both, they'll at least be viable in the urban core of Providence/Pawtucket (88.1 more so than 88.7).
I disagree with your depiction of RIPR as "runt of the litter." They're a much smaller operation than WGBH or WBUR, but that's inevitable - RIPR is much younger (it's one of the newest public broadcasters in the country), it serves a much smaller market and it lacks the deep external pockets that WGBH (with its national TV production operation) and WBUR (with Boston University) can draw on.
But just being young and small is no barrier to growth. Being available on FM in most of the state should make RIPR much more visible to potential new listeners/members/underwriters/donors. That's bound to be a good thing.
So WJMF/WGBH can set up and run their LMA legally. Is this expedient, or necessary in view of the overall public radio difficulties currently in this region? Even though they CAN exercise their LMA?
As noted above, WGBH's goal is really more about restoring a service (classical music) that it long made available to listeners in RI and southeastern Mass. I don't see them as competing for RIPR's news-talk audience or for any Rhode Island underwriting dollars.
What is your personal assessment of this entire situation? Is there any potential future for RI public radio or should we just cut our losses, pull the chain and walk away?
Finally, what do you feel would be a good Plan to solve things, assuming you feel that there ARE any problems at all? Do you see any negative ramifications from the WJMF/WGBH deal?
I'm much more bullish about the situation than you seem to be. I think RIPR has plenty of potential for growth, and the WELH deal appears to me to be a pretty good start to that. And the WJMF/WGBH deal adds an interesting second format choice, full-time classical, that doesn't really compete with RIPR. Add to that the ability of most RI listeners to enjoy additional public radio news-talk choices from stations in adjacent markets (WGBH's main signal, WBUR, WNPR from CT) and you're actually in a better public radio situation than listeners in many other parts of the country.
