LPFM HYPE- BUT THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER

[joshzz]

Chuck & Cowboy,

Great Advice for wannabe LPFMers.

 

[joshzz]

HI CHUCK,

You do a nice job with programming - had a chance to listen this morning.. it's a format that's underserved in this area.

Only thing I noticed you are running noncomm spots but you're a full power on the commercial dial.

Aren't you allowed to run commercials? - I can think of two examples where nonprofit organizations run full power stations as their main mission, but the stations are commercial in nature.

 

[Chuck]

HI CHUCK,

You do a nice job with programming - had a chance to listen this morning.. it's a format that's underserved in this area.

Only thing I noticed you are running noncomm spots but you're a full power on the commercial dial.

Aren't you allowed to run commercials? - I can think of two examples where nonprofit organizations run full power stations as their main mission, but the stations are commercial in nature.

You are correct, the station (KZQX-FM) is now a Class A commercial station, although it started life as an LPFM facility. That big change happened on Nov 5, 2009 when I acquired the license and transmitter site of KXAL-FM. The call letter swap took place on November 15.

The LPFM was donated to a local community based church and now runs classical and jazz on it. The commercial station is not owned by the original non-profit, but is owned by Chalk Hill Communications, LLC, which is owned 100% by me. It is definitely "for profit," or so thinks the IRS.

When all this change happed, we called up our underwriters and told them that we could now re-cut their spots and they could include all the things that had previously been prohibited. Almost all of them said, "That's OK, we like them the way they are." Apparently they work for them.

Since our listeners like the station the way it is, I see no reason to disrupt the format with typical screaming commercials, or seven minute stop-sets as long as things are OK the way they are. I'm sure we will eventually sound a bit more commercial, but it is nice to be able to make that transition a gradual one.

 

[Limp73]

I volunteer for one of the few LPFM success stories, not that we're beating the pants off Clear Channel but we are holding our own and keeping the bills paid. We have a nice office location and and a good number of volunteers for sports and DJ positions.

Good point gr8....While CC has been busy gobbling up small town stations over the past decade and moving them to larger markets,and the licensed commnity it is supposed to serve is snubbed...hence the COL is nothing more than lip service ...and that is criminal!

Its the LPFMs which now fill the niche for the benefit ot the local communities they serve. It is worse than a shame however that the rules governing LPFM disallowing commercial announcements favors CC and the others to dominate and control with an iron fist!
A good example of a successful LPFM (like the one you volunteer for) is WYNS-FM located in Waynesville, Ohio south of Xenia which also steams online for those outside its low powered signal. They are one of the fortunate few who can afford to audiostream. Audiostreaming must be made more affordable for LPFMs as well as those absorbant music licensing fees which suck up an LPFM's budget!

I volunteer for an LPFM..which only serves a ten mile radius of Indian Lake, Ohio...and broadcasts in mono(a stereo carrier would cover only half that range) and although the programming for the most part is jukebox...there is some live programming on Saturday and Sunday mornings when people want to know what is happening in their hometown. The station manager also runs a micropower AM in Marysville since the former local station moved its offices and studios to Columbus.

Clear Channel (like its overpaid "entertainer" Rush Limbaugh) favors the rich and powerful and presses down the needs of local communities...they lust for power,not the public interest. Money has indeed corrpupted this industry...just as much as the insurance industry....while families have become the exploited victims of "less(for us) is more (for them)" politics.

 

[TheBigA]

It is worse than a shame however that the rules governing LPFM disallowing commercial announcements favors CC and the others to dominate and control with an iron fist!

I don't agree. It attempts to eliminate the problem you speak of, which is doing radio for money, not community service. The rules regarding sponsorship mentions are loose enough to accomodate a sponsor without venturing into the dark world of advertising. A small local business still will get the name of its store, address and phone number, without all the annoying clatter and jingles. That puts the emphasis and focus of the station on the community. If money corrupted the industry, LPFM should not repeat the same mistakes and allow money and commercialism to rule the airwaves.

 

[gr8oldies]

Limp, I'm familiar with both operations, and they seem to have found a niche. It is an uphill battle to get suburbanites to listen to a suburban station, full or low power. No doubt most people in Waynesville listen to Cincinnati and Dayton stations, just as most Huber Heights residents listen to Dayton stations. It was an uphill battle to get Springfield residents to listen to a Springfield station..suburbanites don't restrict their activities (work, shop and play) to their suburb (in Dayton's case, suburbs like Huber Heights, Beavercreek and Riverside only became cities to avoid being annexed to the city of Dayton, which wanted to gobble up all the townships. Basically sometimes the move in makes sense and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know that Englewood residents would listen in large numbers to "the Englewood station" if WDKF programmed that way, because they still largely work somewhere else.

I don't see a problem with running commercials on LPFM. You wouldn't be able to charge much, and it would help keep them on the air. In addition, the sponsors you would get generally can't afford a schedule on Clear Channel. You certainly can do "name, rank and serial number" which is better than name only, as in the old public broadcasting days.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

TheBigA has spelled out the opportunity, the dangers quite well.

LPFM should be "the big test tube" not just for the world of broadcasting, but for the whole concept of what I grew up thinking was the heart of the American way of doing society, community and civilization. We all have our occupations, our financial interests, but we have always SAID that we have something that is "the American way of life".

Do we really believe in volunteerism? What is the future for Rotary Clubs and JayCees and the Junior League and Boy Scouts and Saturday Morning Soccer?

Or have we decided to monetize everything in the world. Well... yes Reverend.. I would be interested in attending your church. What is your pay-scale for pew sitters?

Little League? Yes my 9 year old is interested in playing this year. How much are you offering?

Fourth of July parade? Yes, my friends and I are going to build a float but based on the competition over the last couple of years we thought we would put it in the parade over in the next county. They pay better.

Before calling it a night for New Year's Day, I was focused on one particular LPFM station, trying to figure out exactly where their tower and transmitter were located and in digging through their website I came across something I found interesting. This station and the people to cluster around it apparently have a bigger purpose that filling up "x" number of hours per week with music or other content. They have a mission! And part of that mission is TRAINING people to become communicators. They proudly proclaim they have trained 140 communicators.... and that 90 of them currently are active in providing content to their station.

I can remember the day when I was a young (commercial) broadcaster that the owner of the station with a sound of reverence in his voice advised me who some of the people where who had sat in the chair before me in previous years. Yes, he was trying to earn a living and put his kids through college, but he also got up everyday and looked forward to the fact that he was grooming people to move on and do bigger and better things.

Part of what seems to be lacking in this discussion is the assumption that anyone in commercial or LPFM broadcasting would be thinking that way in this day and age.

 

[Chuck]

I don't see a problem with running commercials on LPFM. You wouldn't be able to charge much, and it would help keep them on the air. In addition, the sponsors you would get generally can't afford a schedule on Clear Channel. You certainly can do "name, rank and serial number" which is better than name only, as in the old public broadcasting days.

Something nobody ever mentions is, if LPFM stations could run commercials, they would be considered "Commercial Stations." That would put them into the realm of the FCC Auction process. By law, the FCC is required to auction new commercial frequencies to the highest bidder. Do we really want that for LPFM stations?

Obviously, that problem could be changed by an Act of Congress that exempted the service. Historically, it has proven difficult to pass any pro-LPFM legislation, so I wouldn't give that one much hope. Maybe I'm wrong.

On the other hand, I think that some kind of limited "commercialism" would be a good thing for LPFM and all other NCE services. Operating a successful LPFM or NCE station is no easy task. If you plan to do much more than stick a computer and a satellite receiver into a closet and let it run forever, it will take some effort on your part. It also takes money that has to come from somewhere.

For instance, limiting the length of such announcements, as well as the number per hour, and maybe even the locations of the sponsors, could work. Since LPFM is supposed to be a local service, it wouldn't be unreasonable to limit sponsorship to businesses that are located within 25 miles of the stations transmitter. I pick that number because that is the current distance limit for 80% of the LPFM's Board Members. They are supposed to be local. It makes sense that most of the people who support the station should be local too.

Local businesses are a very important part of your community - as much so as many non-profit organizations. The local dry cleaner can't afford to advertise on many full power stations, but he can afford a few bucks at a local LPFM station. For such small businesses, it can be extremely effective target advertising, even if it is limited to conventional underwriting announcements. There is something called "The Halo Effect" that associates your business with a radio station that is loved and admired by the community it serves. It is very powerful, and should never be ignored.

It is possible to support these stations through conventional underwriting, but it is difficult. Many LPFM stations would like some relief. It is also fair to point out that the licensee should have known what he was getting into before applying for the station. I don't think that very many did, and that has caused some problems. Perhaps the next round of applicants will learn from the mistakes of those who have come before them.

 

[joshzz]

You mention that LPFMers should know what they're getting into. This goes back to my original assertion - They need to befriend those involved in the business prior to seeking ownership. - I even went so far as to state that the FCC should strongly recommend that all people applying for an LPFM license seek the advice of those involved in radio ownership.... There are plenty of owners that are more than happy to share what they know.

Unfortunately, most LPFM stations sound terrible - those located in populated areas have little possibility of gaining listenership because they lack the professionalism of the stations around them. -

As I stated when I opened this topic- it would be better for someone that's thinking about starting a LPFM or throwing money into an AM Part 15 Station, to reconsider such an investment in time and energy and put that money into buying time on a viable full power station.

You can buy time overnights for next to nothing (and still have far more listeners than you would garner on an LPFM or AM Part 15) or you can buy premium time on a station that penetrates into a major market like WNJC (Philadelphia) for just $ 100 an hour.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Unfortunately, most LPFM stations sound terrible - those located in populated areas have little possibility of gaining listenership because they lack the professionalism of the stations around them. -

- - - / snip / - - -

You can buy time overnights for next to nothing (and still have far more listeners than you would garner on an LPFM or AM Part 15) or you can buy premium time on a station that penetrates into a major market like WNJC (Philadelphia) for just $ 100 an hour.

Josh.... let's roll this rock around and roll it over and examine it from all sides.

The current sales methods including the use of audience ratings creates an overall situation in radio where every station faces the need to program in such a way as to accumulate the largest audience that it can.

Certain specialty groups claiming to represent certain specialty audiences convinced congress and the FCC that there were needs to break out of this mold and create a special group of stations to serve limited peculiar audiences. I would argue that some LPFMs are doing a poor job because misguided team members are caught up in the mindset that grips commercial radio stations.... we must maximize the size of our audience. To heck with the special needs we said we were going to serve, GO FOR THE MAX!

Take a look at WRFN in Nashville, TN (Pasquo) They are unabashedly progressive and liberal. They will run an hour long program produced by organized labor. Reaches a somewhat limited audience. An audience that cannot find a presentation of the labor movement anywhere else on the dial. Whether you and I want to hear that genre of programming is beside the point. The person who wants to know what organized labor is trying to accomplish will listen even if the programming sound is NOT POLISHED like professional radio people do. They are doing exactly what was intended by Congress and the FCC. To take that off the air and program what is considered to be professional grade polished programming that reaches maximum audience, stealing it away from traditional commercial broadcasters does absolutely nothing to fulfil the intent of the LPFM laws and regs.

Take a look at WPVM in Asheville, NC. Licensed to an organization with the goal, the mission of bringing communications to the mountain area people. As a not-for-profit organization their larger mission is to bring fast Internet infrastructure to the hills and hollows of Appalachia. Is their goal the reaching of maximum audience? No, their goal is to reach and nurture a specialty audience of people with "Peace Corps" mentality who want to roll up their sleeves and bring the Internet to the Mountain People. You and I can sit here and cluck our tongue and say shame, shame... you should let investors in the free enterprise system get that job done. And WPVM will respond: We noticed private enterprise hasn't even pretended to get the job done so we're on it. Here again a poster child example of what was hoped for when LPFM was enabled and activated.

If an LPFM operator is simply being a doll-house sized replica of ordinary " maximum size audience" radio, then the LPFM movement fails in that location.

If there are 30,000 Koreans living within a five mile circle within a large city, maybe an LPFM focused on the 300 to 500 of them wanting to listen to the radio at two in the afternoon meets the intent of the LPFM concept.

If there are 16,000 Hindus living in a certain part of Atlanta you are not going to find the traditional commercial stations reaching out to the Evangelical Christian audience allowing the Hindu broadcast on the hour. Here is another example of a small specialty audience being served, not the maximizing of audience size.

 

[joshzz]

I agree there are reasons to start an LPFM - The idea of a foreign language station could most likely succeed.

The agenda type political station is all well and good but I believe money would be better spent by buying time on a full power on a weekly basis.


josh

 

[Chuck]

The entire idea of LPFM was to cater to under-served audiences. By definition, that won't amount to big numbers. It isn't supposed to.

A lot of your success depends on the market you are in. The folks who are "under-served" in one market, may be doing fine in another. In some markets, "under-served" is a very small minority of the public. In others there may be a significant number of people that "regular radio” has left behind. I seem to have found that spot with a modified Adult Standards format. I make no claim that it would work everywhere, but where I live, there just isn't much on the radio for people over age 50. That's not so much a failing of commercial radio as it is a reflection of the economics of the industry. If you have "full-power" expenses, then you are going to program your station for the greatest audience. The product of radio is “listeners” which advertisers (or underwriters) will pay for. The more the merrier.

About eight years ago, I ventured off into the world of LPFM, which, for me meant serving people who might have blue hair. In my area I've found it to be a decent size audience that is very loyal. So much so, that I was able to eventually purchase a Class A FM station and move the format to a commercial frequency. The LPFM has been donated to a church that is programming Classical & Jazz, which appeals to yet another niche segment. Once again, it is serving the underserved.

To be honest, the LPFM was a lot more fun, mainly because it had low financial expectations. The full-power station has a much bigger appetite that must be satisfied. LPFM is a pretty good deal from the point of view of operating costs, music licensing fees and regulation requirements. Not very many LPFM stations live up the their original expectations, but some do. I hope that new entrants will be successful, and perhaps a few of them will consult with those who went before them, be they LPFM or full power broadcasters. There is a lot to be learned, and many broadcasters are more than willing to share.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Josh: here is the problem I see with your suggestion that "the under-served" movement oriented audience should buy 30 minutes of airtime once a week on a commercial station comes unglued. The movement... whether it is an ethnic group, a faith oriented group, an age oriented group (Chuck's blue-hair crowd) or a political movement group does not get motivated and fed in 30 minutes a week. All potential members of these groups are not available at the same 30 minute period. Some may be working as a nurse in a hospital when the 30 minute program airs. Some may be out of town on truck driving venture when the 30 minutes airs. And for many groups to thrive, there needs to be PARTICIPATION in some appropriate way. A start-up church in a hotel meeting room will not fully blossom until they get a property of their own. People who are not teachers or choir members may need the opportunity to come cultivate the landscaping or some do building repairs or come move the furniture around.

I would think that for a really thriving niche-oriented LPFM there needs to be the opportunity for some people to come put some sweat-equity into the enterprise. They take ownership of whatever niche-cause is the target of the broadcast once they fix the roof, go install signs along the roadway, adopt a mile of roadway and the signs are put up "This section of the road are kept clean by the fans of W000-LP, etc. Any LPFM that only makes room for the volunteers who actually come in and be announcers and programmers is missing the boat. The success of the station may be dependent on making room for volunteers who would turn in-side-out and choke before they ever talked into an open mic.

What activity would be available to the "groupies" if you as a group simply sponsored 30 minutes at two o'clock in the morning on some commercial station willing to broker time?
\
LPFM is more than making the VU meter wiggle for a few minutes. It's about creating community, its about creating the feeling of "tribe".

 

[Chuck]

LPFM is more than making the VU meter wiggle for a few minutes. It's about creating community, its about creating the feeling of "tribe".

Most people expect a radio station to be consistent. That's why, other than NPR stations, you don't see much block programming. At one time block programming was the norm, but with there were far fewer stations to listen to. These days, people tend to want to hear whatever it is they are looking for at their convenience, not just for a couple of hours on alternating Thursday afternoons.

Unless you are a really good salesman, I doubt that buying a three-hour block on a HD-2 channel would be able to generate much income, since it is unlikely to build much of an audience. Of course, people do this all the time on AM “brokered” stations. It can be quite profitable for the station owner, but these programs seldom make much of a blip in any kind of meaningful audience measurement. Given that HD radio penetration is far less than AM, I imagine, at least at this point, it would be just talking to yourself....

 

[Gatekeeper007]

This thread is predated a little but has some good points. Our station WLRE is an LPFM and being out in the country has to be able to cover our area which is why we have two translators. Lately we do seem more like a music box station more so than a community station due mainly to the poor ecomomy which can't be helped right now. We were going to restart our coverage of local baseball and football games as well as local church services this year but that had to be shelved for another year due to too many local businesses cutting out their financal support of our station thereby causing us to have to cut out a lot of our local support functions which makes us sound like a music box some of the time. Never the less we are still here and are still very much a community station in our area. Yesterday which was March 20th 2010 we had our local horse races called The Elloree Trails which is in it's 48th year of running and is the biggest event in the area and which we have attended for 33 straight years and broadcast for 8 years on the radio with our station WLRE, three years on another station before that. The bigger commerical stations soon found that they could not afford to broadcast each and every race every year so for the last 8 years we have been the only station to broadcast every race, this event brings 10,000 people to our area every year. This year we were running late getting our anouncements on the air that we would cover all the horse races which caused a whole lot of people in the community to come asking if we were going to cover the event. This more than proved to us that even if we can't do our local baseball, football, or church services at the moment due to the bad economy we are still most certainly a needed service in our community and surrounding area.

 

[joshzz]

The churches can underwrite your church service broadcasts. Attend games and bring fliers stating that you would like to cover the games but need sponsors and that individuals, parents, aunts, uncles can make a difference.

I told a friend of mine whose radio station is sinking that he should immediately consider a format change. If no one is interested in becoming a supporting a particular station, then it's time to go back and find what potential listeners want.

just an opinion.. josh :-X

 

[Gatekeeper007]

It's not that we don't have listeners, for the area we cover we beat the commerical stations 5 to 1 in listeners. Right now the economy here just doesn't seem to be able to afford much help for the sercives that the people here would like on the radio. The two major things that seem to be lacking in our area is cash flow and support. We have a strange situtation in our case here were in the last 15 years a lot of the local businesses sold out to people who moved into the area from up north and bought about half the businesses in our area. When we talk to them about sponcership for the station they tell us that they don't listen to country music and are not interested, the only problem is 75% of the people in our area like country music and listen to us most of the time. I have tried to explain that it doesn't matter what they listen to it matters what everyone else is listening to and have gained one third of those businesses but two thirds of them there is just no hope for and some of them are starting to close due to the bad economy. The rest tell us they couldn't make it without us but still that takes a pretty big chunck out of what was in our area, this is often called the business bubble effect by some of the people in our area.

 

[radioboy]

When we talk to them about sponcership for the station they tell us that they don't listen to country music and are not interested, the only problem is 75% of the people in our area like country music and listen to us most of the time. I have tried to explain that it doesn't matter what they listen to it matters what everyone else is listening to and have gained one third of those businesses but two thirds of them there is just no hope for and some of them are starting to close due to the bad economy.

See, the other 2/3 don't have their name out there in front of folks!

I wish we had an LPFM like WLRE in our area. I've listened to it via the stream in the past. I would
probably volunteer for anything you would need, including on-air work.

Last night I was at a church community Easter program (called a "Walkabout") and met a gentleman for the first time who apparently recognized my voice from radio. He asked which station I was with and I explained none of them (I've been off the air locally on commercial stations for 5 years now), as they are all using satellite feeds, computers and voice tracking. And around here, you can tell it's not live. It sounds sterile..they don't even mention call letters or slogans unless the system plays a sweeper on top of what is on the air.

By no means am I opposed to automation, but it seems like it is used to the point that radio no longer connects to the listener.

Elloree appears to be a small town without a big business base to begin with. I hope you keep going, Gatekeeper!

 

[Whiplash]

Any LPFM I ever built was very successful. Think like a big broadcaster with your programming, and think small with your budget. I've built and owned LPFM's that easily did over six figures in underwriting revenue and donations.

 

[KevinFodor]

As one currently involved in programming an LP-FM, I have a couple of thoughts here:

You have to look at why you're putting the station in community in the first place. If you did it simply on the basis of "if you build it, they will come", you're fooling yourself. To try and make this work, you have to have discovered a possible "niche" audience for your LP-FM, or be in a small enough community to try and be the "community's voice".

The idea of an LP-FM's format serving, let's say...a Hungarian or Hispanic or whatever community, when the station will be in that community's primary suburb or listening area makes all the sense in the world. Doing, let's say, a Hispanic format on a station that won't cover a lot of Hispanics in an area makes no sense at all. Even if the big city you're in has a small, definable Hispanic audience that's under served. Because a small station has a small coverage area, you have to maximize your potential audience. It's different with a big signal commercial station. (Or, at least a Class "A").

Likewise, if your station's in a really small town...take a survey of what's not being done on radio in the area that the people in that town would like to hear. (Often times a church will volunteer to help you with this). If there's a single, decided direction from that survey...you've probably found a "hole" for a format.

Also, when building a station, put your available money into the best equipment you can. You can have digital processing for a lot less than you might think if you look around. And it will help extend your LP-FM signal at least a few miles farther. Your station can be in mono to help your signal coverage. But take that antenna to 100 watts at 100 feet and compete by sounding as good as any other station on the air.

When you sound like a station operating on a 1950's Gates "Level Devil", with cart machines with bad tape heads, or a computer system that requires that every song fade to zero before the next element starts, you put yourself at an immediate disadvantage...especially today, when a decent computer costs about $400 bucks (or less), and decent computer programs are out there in the $400 capability.

It doesn't have to cost $30K to put an LP-FM on. And it doesn't have to sound like a hand-me-down station, either.