Pacifica ordered to cut to the bone

[uncamark]

The auditors for the perennially troubled and contentious non-com group say that they have "substantial doubt" that Pacifica can continue in its current state--the five stations, some of whom have big unavoidable expenditures coming up (WPFW Washington's studio building is condemned for demolition, WBAI New York's studio lease is almost up and a stick on the Empire State Building isn't cheap, KPFK LA and KPFT Houston need new transmitters) will be asked to make $1M in budget and paid staff cuts:

http://www.current.org/funding/fund...gn=2682d0f05a-TRI_07-17-2012&utm_medium=email

Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt claims that they can still fund-raise away the problems, but it seems to me that some of the stations are getting pledged out--pledge drives seem to be a frequent occurrence and driven by premiums and one wonders how long Gary Null's nutrition aids, various New Age paraphenalia and "9/11 Truth" videos can continue to be attractive to listeners. Also, it's amusing that the fiercely anti-commericalism Pacifica, which turned down a proposal last year to allow underwriting announcements, is allowing what has become sales pitches (in some cases for dubious products) to be dominating pledge drives.

 

[amfmxm]

There are so many simple ways to solve Pacifica's problems, but too many hard-liners within the organization who either believe that money will magically appear or... or, well, they'd rather go down with the ship.

* Allowing underwriting credits only for other non-profits--nothing commercial. In markets like NYC, SF, DC & Houston? Problem solved.
* Selling one of their two commercial sticks (NYC or SF) for shitloads of cash, then turning around and buying an NCE stick for a fraction of that--providing tens of millions for a longterm endowment.

I had the pleasure (?) of meeting with a group of them a few years ago, expecting to have a congenial conversation with a bunch of like-minded progressives. But what I encountered was a group of folks with very narrow interests, and whose only concern about money was why they weren't getting more (or any)--but combative about doing anything different to generate some. They seemed to be wishing for a financial "angel" to appear and drop a fortune in their lap.

In truth, the thing I remember the most is that the bulk of these folks seemed to have very specific programming passions, and were very protective of those niches. You know--"delta blues" or "fifties jazz"... like they were defending a music museum.

A "Looking Glass" moment for me--that is, I came out of it thinking "WTF?"

 

[TheBigA]

But what I encountered was a group of folks with very narrow interests, and whose only concern about money was why they weren't getting more (or any)--but combative about doing anything different to generate some.

Yep...me too. I volunteered for a stretch at WBAI. I encountered a lot of the same thing. Some very brilliant people, passionate about radio and community service, but unrealistic in today's world. If you look through their old folios, they once did some very good radio. Not so much any more. They once HAD some "angels" who dropped fortunes in their lap. That's how they began. They had some endowments that were keeping them afloat for some time. Some very rich people who willed their estates. That was a long time ago, and those endowments are being eaten by rising costs and internal mismanagement. The people they're programming to don't have fortunes that can save the day. My sense is that they'll never sell. They also won't compromise in terms of practicality. It's all about "the mission," in a sort of quasi-religious way. I expect they'll some day go down in smoke with lawsuits and litigation. Very sad, when you consider the incredible history and potential reach that they have. All squandered, like so much else.

 

[ProducerGuy]

They seemed to be wishing for a financial "angel" to appear and drop a fortune in their lap.

Why does this not surprise me about Pacifica?

 

[radioguy39nj]

WBAI (99.5 FM) New York and KPFA (94.1 FM) San Francisco are Pacifica's two commercial band FM stations and could easily fetch millions from a commercial operator. If Pacifica is in such financial trouble, this might be the way to go. Of course, we've heard this many times in the past.

 

[kc1ih]

There may be a good case here for if they want to sell some of their signals, they could then lease HD subchannels from another station in the same city. Of course this would cut their range and listenership greatly, but they would still be on the air.

 

[TheBigA]

If Pacifica is in such financial trouble, this might be the way to go.

"From my cold, dead hands" would probably best apply here.

They won't let ANY of those signals go without a fight.

 

[radioguy39nj]

There may be a good case here for if they want to sell some of their signals, they could then lease HD subchannels from another station in the same city. Of course this would cut their range and listenership greatly, but they would still be on the air.

In NY, Pacifica could sell 99.5, a full-market ESB class B, and move to 94.7, which won't be as costly since it isn't an ESB class B and doesn't reach the entire metro NY area. Don't know what Pacifica's alternative to 94.1 in San Francisco would be.

I agree with Big A, Pacifica won't let those prize pieces of FM real estate go without a fight, but who's coming to the rescue this time?

 

[jdb820]

There may be a good case here for if they want to sell some of their signals, they could then lease HD subchannels from another station in the same city. Of course this would cut their range and listenership greatly, but they would still be on the air.

In NY, Pacifica could sell 99.5, a full-market ESB class B, and move to 94.7, which won't be as costly since it isn't an ESB class B and doesn't reach the entire metro NY area. Don't know what Pacifica's alternative to 94.1 in San Francisco would be.

I agree with Big A, Pacifica won't let those prize pieces of FM real estate go without a fight, but who's coming to the rescue this time?

Getting Family's 88.9 on Long Island in addition would help with area loss and if they tossed 91.7 in the Hudson Valley, it'd have a net benefit since that area would actually support Pacifica (sadly...).

 

[aaronread]

Pacifica changing signals won't change the underlying problem; they're on an unsustainable funding model. I don't necessarily think that they absolutely NEED to start an underwriting program per se. I think it's an unnecessary self-imposed handicap in a time when most stations can ill-afford any handicaps, much less a self-imposed one. But in theory they could get by solely on listener donations.

The problem is, they're not putting out a product on the air that a broad audience (as opposed to a niche one) wants to listen to, much less support. They don't have a big enough audience to garner bread-n-butter listener donations, and that's deadly. Not only does it mean not enough direct listener fiscal support, but it also means most major donors won't touch them because they can't demonstrate enough impact relevant to their mission. Much less demonstrate that their mission is still relevant in the first place. (whether or not it IS relevant I can't say, but regardless of whether it is or is not, if it can't be DEMONSTRATED then it might as well not be)

As the old adage goes, "content is king." Until Pacifica fixes its programming problem, it doesn't really matter what signal they're on. Granted, they have lots of other problems, too....marketing, promotions, outreach, grants, personnel management...and one can make a strong argument that all those things are wrapped up in the content problem. But really it all comes down to content. A station with strong content can survive a lot of problems in those other areas - including signal reach. But a station with a content problem will always struggle mightily to survive, if not die outright.

BTW, this isn't me passing judgment on the "rightness" or "wrongness" of Pacifica's programming. In fact, that's rather the point: it's not up to ANYONE but the listeners to do such a thing. I think that's something a lot of Pacifica stations keep getting lost in; they're so convinced of the "rightness" (or is it "leftness"?) of their programming mission that they're kinda blinded by the fact that only a handful of others seem convinced of the same.

 

[kc1ih]

Maybe it would be to their advantage for Pacifica to transform from a station owner to a program supplier and distributor for non-commercial stations, in the model of NPR or PRI.

 

[TheBigA]

They kind of do that with Democracy Now.

 

[uncamark]

They kind of do that with Democracy Now.

Ands back in the mid-90s, when David Giovannini was consulting, the whole idea was to build a schedule of national programs in the key time slots that would have NPR-level production and a progressive outlook. Unfortunately, the hardcore volunteers screamed bloody murder and by the time the smoke cleared, "Democracy Now!" became the only remnant of that plan. And a few years later, then when the rumors came about that KPFA and WBAI were to be put up for sale (whether or not it was true) and all hell broke loose, Pacifica began its long, hard period of deterioration which continues to this day.

 

[TheBigA]

This is why they're in the state they're in now. When the needs of a small group are more important than the goals of an organization or the needs of a mass audience, nothing ever happens. I saw this for many years in similar organizations.

 

[amfmxm]

Do I understand correctly that, in keeping with the "power to the people" concept, that real control of Pacifica is at the Station Board level? Or Listener Board--something like that... meaning that the folks at the top have limited-or-no authority? Or is that a wrong impression?

I seem to recall a convoluted decision-making process involving tons-o-people that essentially tied the hands of the folks purportedly running the organization, thus the never-ending series of turnover at the CEO (or Executive Director) spot.

One wonders whether somewhere in their by-laws a provision might be hidden for fiscal emergencies such as this that could allow them to run automated "ocean sounds" with legal IDs until they can reorganize with a more workable operating model.

As many have observed, this ain't rocket surgery...

 

[TheBigA]

One wonders whether somewhere in their by-laws a provision might be hidden for fiscal emergencies such as this that could allow them to run automated "ocean sounds" with legal IDs until they can reorganize with a more workable operating model.

The concent of a "more workable operating model" doesn't exist at Pacifica. Don't think of them as a business or a radio station. Think of them more like a cult or a fringe religion. Then you're close.

 

[davideduardo]

As the old adage goes, "content is king." Until Pacifica fixes its programming problem, it doesn't really matter what signal they're on.

Going back prior to the time that Arbitron ceased to publicly reveal the 6+ numbers for non - subscribers, I can say that KPFK in LA averaged somewhere between 600 and 1000 listeners on average throughout the day.

A bullhorn in a Costco parking lot would be a lot cheaper, and probably reach more people.

Some of the shows, like the radical Spanish / Spanglish content, generally has no measured listening.

KPFA in San Francisco did about two to three times better (go figure) but still was only getting about 2,000 average listeners, ranking it well below 30th in the market.

WBAI was somewhere between the two in average persons listening, but in NYC that only qualified them for a low-50th rank position.

And those "pre-ban" figures were pretty consistent for years.

As you say, the programming is too fragmented and too niche, and there is no sense of belonging that brings out contributions.

 

[TheBigA]

As you say, the programming is too fragmented and too niche, and there is no sense of belonging that brings out contributions.

My sense is that they're programming to themselves, not to an audience.

 

[ProducerGuy]

My sense is that they're programming to themselves, not to an audience.

There's a term for what is going on at many of these station...it starts with "circle" and the rest, I'll leave up to your imagination. Pacifica is the radio equivalent of one of those 200 lb. 4 year olds on Maury. They've never been told "no", or when someone does try to tell them "no", they cry "censorship" and find a new sucker...I mean benefactor.

 

[amfmxm]

Just for fun... maybe David or Big A could help with this--I haven't been keeping a close eye on the station trading market in recent years... though maybe the sale of the Family Stations' commercial sticks in DC and Philly could be a guide...

The question is, if Pacifica was to sell one of it's commercial channels--or both--and subsequently purchase equivalent NCE sticks, how much could they presumably net?

As an example, if they were to sell Class B 99.5/WBAI in NYC, then turn around and buy Class B 90.7/WFUV from Fordham, how much cash could they bank?

What are New York City Class B FMs going for? $30 million? How much are New York City Class B NCE FMs worth? $10 million?

Is there a $20 million upside waiting for Pacifica, sitting in NYC--just for moving down the dial?

I fully understand that in order to buy something else, there needs to be a willing seller. And that station values are not what they once were (if they had done this 20 years ago, they would still have many millions yet to piss away).

But... what do you think?