Relevant Community Radio Without Anybody's Tax Dollars

[MattParker]

Nonprofit Texas radio station gains following
By PATRICK GEORGE Austin American-Statesman © 2011 The Associated Press

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Depending on when you tune in to 100.1 or 103.1 FM in the Hill Country, disc jockey Larry Monroe might be playing Grateful Dead and Merle Haggard songs ]READ MORE[/url]

Here is a station that breaks all the rules of radio programming in effect for the last half century and somehow it works. Here is a community station other than a small bunch of "enthusiasts" talking to themselves. And here is a non-commercial station that gets by with no government money. It's also a story about a guy getting out of the commercial radio rat-race and doing what a lot of us have dreamt about doing.

KDRP - Community Radio for the Texas Hill Country

 

[uncamark]

Here is a station that breaks all the rules of radio programming in effect for the last half century and somehow it works. Here is a community station other than a small bunch of "enthusiasts" talking to themselves. And here is a non-commercial station that gets by with no government money. It's also a story about a guy getting out of the commercial radio rat-race and doing what a lot of us have dreamt about doing.

KDRP - Community Radio for the Texas Hill Country

Nothing more than any of the other LPFMs going up across the country (and not getting CPB money), getting a little more notice in Austin because a former KUT jock's on the station now. They have to be having some problems attracting volunteers if they have someone doing a Monday-through-Friday 8-hour airshift (and if anybody's doing an 8-hour airshift five days a week, there's gotta be some voice tracking involved)--and the station has an AudioVault, which the Save KUT/Keeping Public Radio Public people *don't* want KUT to buy for their new studio facilities for fear that "free form" radio will be gone forever from KUT.

 

[aaronread]

I'll bet a big part of their fiscal success is the local sports broadcasting. It's often VERY popular to have high school games on the air, and thus easy to sell underwriting/advertising for it. And remember, this is Texas...where high school football is a religion, even if Jesus would smack you if He heard you saying that. :

 

[TheBigA]

Anyone reading this board could do it. Where there's a will, there's a way. It takes a dream, desire, determination, and some dough.

 

[musichead1029]

Here is a station that breaks all the rules of radio programming in effect for the last half century and somehow it works.Here is a community station other than a small bunch of "enthusiasts" talking to themselves. And here is a non-commercial station that gets by with no government money.

Several stations act as models of how to do this right. Perhaps my favorite noncomm, WFMU, supports itself mostly through listener contributions and explicitly avoids the labeling and balkanization of musical styles and genres.

 

[bturner]

KDRP is very much a small market mass appeal radio station that aside from the commercials, which here are carefully worded Underwriter Announcements, KDRP is local radio working to create an emotional bond with the community. It is a process performed in all sorts of places across the country. The unusual part is it is a dying breed and it was one done all over the dial. I consider KDRP a shining example of what Low Power FM can be to a community that would otherwise not be able to financially support an auction-won class A FM or even an AM frequency.

 

[uncamark]

KDRP is very much a small market mass appeal radio station that aside from the commercials, which here are carefully worded Underwriter Announcements, KDRP is local radio working to create an emotional bond with the community. It is a process performed in all sorts of places across the country. The unusual part is it is a dying breed and it was one done all over the dial. I consider KDRP a shining example of what Low Power FM can be to a community that would otherwise not be able to financially support an auction-won class A FM or even an AM frequency.

I wonder, though, if it's what the Prometheus Radio Project people want. I think what they want is a more outwardly left-leaning activist station than KDRP that's more like a community non-com ("Democracy Now!" and other national Pacifica stuff, folk songs during the day, punk rock and activist hip-hop at night) than what KDRP, despite their calls for localism. It must bother them that, from my own personal examination, the vast majority of LPFMs are religion (some repeaters of other stations), and that most of the stations after that are predominately Adult Standards/Easy Listening with old-time radio or Oldies formats, even with local content.

 

[bturner]

I agree Mark that Prometheus might find that a bit frustrating but the reality is every community is different.

I am somewhat amazed at how many non-satellite delivered LPFMs opt for formats that reach such a small percentage of the audience. I can logically see a format on a station reaching hundreds of thousands opting for a format after 3 to 5% of total listeners but when a LPFM that might reach 20,000 to 50,000 opting for a format that might potentially gain an audience a few hundred to the low thousands, if that, seems a set up for failure. It seems, in my mind, LPFM screams for mass appeal because the potential audience numbers are so small.

Some might say playing a popular music format is wrong-headed thinking but I must revert to what a boss told me once: the music is what we use to connect the most important parts of our programming, meaning it is the local information that matters most...something that really irked me when I was making a living in programming and jocking. Here I was sweating the flow of the station and overthinking everything only to be told it was all in vain.

 

[musichead1029]

Some might say playing a popular music format (on an LPFM) is wrong-headed thinking but I must revert to what a boss told me once: the music is what we use to connect the most important parts of our programming, meaning it is the local information that matters most

That's a great observation and counter to the way most LPFM's run themselves. Indeed, to superserve a local audience, and LPFM's are local by definition, the music format should be designed to not be a deterrent to the target audience - those for whom the local information is relevant - which in the case of an LPFM, is usually just about everyone in earshot of the signal.

This doesn't necessarily rule out all creativity - the LPFM music format doesn't have to be as dull as a consultant-driven commercial outlet terrified of any element that might potentially cause tuneout. But it does have to have consistency, and that requires a strong central leadership to direct volunteers. Most organizations with a LPFM license don't have access to that caliber of leadership, so they often end up with an unfocused approach analogous to a poorly run college station without the signal.

And if this premise is central to the existence of an LPFM, it would follow that 'freeform' music formats and religion aren't great candidates to maximize a local audience.

So, either most LPFMs don't view superserving their available audience with locally unique information as the primary goal, or they're going about it the wrong way.

 

[bturner]

I'm not entirely sure many LPFM operators are not wanting to be the local information station. Many I have spoken with have that dream. I think the issue is many of them have no radio experience and do not understand how to accomplish that. For radio folks, it is an easy task to involve the community but these folks generally have any idea where point A is.

There is something that happens along their path that prevents logic (as bad as that sounds, I do not intend to insult anyone). The thinking changes by listening only to your circle of friends. I saw it in Christian Radio and in LPFM. The person thinks since most people they know 'like' what the station is doing, that circle of friends in an accurate representation of the whole community. The thought that they and their circle of friends are that 3.5% of the who audience the station targets never enters their minds. They trudge along as friends praise the station while they scratch their heads wondering why there is not enough support.

The free form formats of many LPFMs is the result of a lack of experience in the business. Simply put, you have to do what the largest portion of your potential audience will find acceptable or at most, the best choice on the dial. Anything that makes them turn away, especially, if not specifically from the time they awake until they return home from work, destroys your chances. The free form and specialty shows are best suited in the evening. That should work itself out naturally since most people have time to volunteer in the evening. To be local and win, you need the radio in the office and store. It needs to be the 'wake up' station and the one playing in the car. If you can pull this off, the LPFM will likely be financially successful (you still have to go out and ask for the support) and a viable part of the community.

Not trying to preach here or say I'm right and everyone else is wrong. These are my opinions based on working too many years working for too little pay in small markets (including some start ups). Maybe what my first boss said sums it up best. He said a great radio station was a reflection of life in the community it served. Even as a young punk that wanted to play rock and roll I took those words and etched them in my brain.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I have good news and I have bad news.

First, the GOOD NEWS: an LPFM station can program anything it wants to that the participants think will work to reach and serve the community.

Then, we have the BAD NEWS: an LPFM station can program anything it wants to that the participants think will work, whether it reaches and serves the community or not.

bturner has nailed one of the issues. Most of us live our lives connected to one or more very small circles. Coffee at 10:30 A.M. with the same little group every day. Church committee with the same little group every week or month. Political discussion with the same little group every day. Break-time and work with the same little group every day. And if one or more of our little groups routinely assures us that our LPFM (or any community based station) is doing a great job, we trust them. We "take their opinion to the bank". And we tend to become combative with anyone who tries to explain to us "that the emperor has no clothes".

Here is my opinion, worth every penny you paid me to give it to you: The long-term success of any programming media that seeks to serve a limited, define community requires leadership that has the ability to receive input from outside the limitations of one or two small circles.

 

[recto101]

Here is a station that breaks all the rules of radio programming in effect for the last half century and somehow it works.Here is a community station other than a small bunch of "enthusiasts" talking to themselves. And here is a non-commercial station that gets by with no government money.

Several stations act as models of how to do this right. Perhaps my favorite noncomm, WFMU, supports itself mostly through listener contributions and explicitly avoids the labeling and balkanization of musical styles and genres.

Look at KZCT in Vallejo they play all kinds of Genres of music but thats because LPFM's can get away with it.

 

[amfmxm]

Great topic, as always.

Kudos to the folks in Dripping Springs/Austin and Vallejo. But, FWIW, it really does help to be in populous, progressive communities with above-average disposable income--simply to find enough humans who think "relevant community radio" is very cool and who may have the time, interest and money to operate and support such an endeavor.

The guys in Dripping Springs aren't doing this to super-serve the 1,800 residents of DS,TX. If they were, they wouldn't need the 250 translator reaching most of the 1.7 million residents of Austin. The 5-watt original stick would have been plenty. And Vallejo is a city of 120,000 people in a county of more than 400,000 in ultra-progressive suburban San Francisco. What they're doing would be very hard to pull off in Hoopeston, Illinois or Evergreen, Alabama.

And, primarily, LPFM requires access to tens of thousands of dollars, at least--just to get off the ground. Or an applicant who happens to be a broadcast engineer--preferably one who just inherited a pile of cash. Otherwise, ya gotta have a bunch of like-minded friends willing to toss thousands into the pot... or a wife who will let you blow 10 or 20 grand of your retirement stash...

 

[bturner]

Good point on the costs to begin a LPFM. I look at it this way: it is about the cost of a mid-size sedan at a new car dealership. I think I could handle that better than something the cost of a couple of suburban 3 bedroom homes.

And, lest we forget the value of radio. Might there be a car dealership that would underwrite on a LPFM in return for a vehicle? And maybe underwriting for maintenance and repairs at an auto repair shop? Cerainly the car would be 'owned' by the non-profit but it could be used by the person putting up the cash. Radio has some value if you really think about it.

KDRP is likely to be of little interest in Austin. The way I understand it, the station's translator is between Johnson City and Hensley, further west from Dripping Springs, thus further from Austin. Keep in mind Dripping Springs' corporate limits is pretty small. The migration of Austinites to the 'Hill Country' has introduced a very good number of subdivisions along this stretch of US 290. I think KDRP is trying to reach those who commute into Austin daily as well as those who have opted for the less rural lifestyle of Dripping Springs. From my over the air listening and on-line listening, I think KDRP would not be a choice for those without a Dripping Springs identity because the programming is simply too specialized (aka local).

The Vallejo style of LPFM will work in select very well populated areas. This is an issue many in LPFM fail to understand. In most spots such a station might hit 1/2 of 1% of the population. When you have 20,000 in your listening area, that's 100 listeners, tops. Of that number, few would contribute (think selling greeting cards door to door as a kid...everybody uses greeting cards but few would buy them...very, very few and that was back in the day before peep holes and when people answered a knock at the door).

Probably the best example at a 'free form' format that works in a LPFM called KYRR. It is listener contributed radio meaning listeners are responsible for the playlist...simply send them a thumb drive of your favorite stuff and it goes into the playlist. That's pretty cool and the community is the type where such a station can gather enough of a following to pay the minimal bills.

 

[amfmxm]

bturner, I'll go along with your evaluation of KDRP to this degree.

Hays County, TX is a county with no local commercial FM or AM, and the only FM (KLLR) is just a non-comm K-Love repeater obviously aimed at Austin. So, essentially, KDRP has a county of 157,000 to itself. I operate an FM in a county of 150,000 with 10 commercial FM stations, 4 commercial AM stations and 5 FM non-comms. We split about about $6 million a year in radio revenue--and that's without having a major market like Austin next door as a source for cherry-picking extra bucks. (We also have 6 local TV stations, 2 local daily newspapers, 2 glossy monthly local magazines, et cetera). So KDRP is in a sweet, sweet spot. With a little effort it should be a goldmine--whether or not "being a goldmine" is the mission. Location, location, location.

I don't have a problem with that. It really does appear as though they're doing a very nice job for their community, and in a lot of ways they are really fulfilling the LPFM ideal. I guess I'm just saying that you nearly have to have an ideal situation for it to work this way. And very few situations are this ideal.

FWIW, I'm not sure I quite see the rationale for a station like KYRR. It sounds kind of like an FM parallel to "Open Mike Night" at the local bar. Sure, I recognize that it provides a compelling incentive for involvement by local citizens, but only in the same sense that sharing your family vacation videos with the whole town would provide. Is this part of a greater news-info-communication forum? Or is being "amateur PDs" the essence of the station?

 

[bturner]

Good points about KDRP and KYRR.

The point I've pushed to LPFMs is to program the station to the largest number of people in your coverage area unless you want to constantly open your wallet to pay the operating experience. There is a trend for groups to go after a tiny percentage of a rather small universe of people. I know of several of these stations and their revenue doesn't even cover the electric bill and phone bill each month. My question is how long will they go before their station becomes a bad idea.

KDRP is in a very unique situation and very fortunate to be where they are. It will be almost difficult to fail with this station. I see an LPFM taking the role in a community in much the same way a small town newspaper does. The newspaper industry is suffering but the small town newspapers are flourishing. It is the clinging to being local and trying to serve the whole community that makes it work. We can get almost everything we want in information online and through other sources. It is the local information that is hard to find. One of the things the owner of KPIN in Pinedale, Wyoming told me was that listeners were thrilled when local radio appeared because there was an outlet to get local information out to the public, specifically that information that would be old news by the time the weekly paper came out (example: a death on Wednesday and funeral would not be announced until the following Thursday since the paper was already at the printer ready for it's Thursday afternoon debut...radio could announce the passing and funeral that would happen before the next edition of the paper hit the stands)

KYRR, on the other hand, is more of a communal ipod. The reason it works is listener input. This small group relishes hearing the songs they want to hear on a radio station and contributes to the operating costs. The audience is small just like the overhead. I think its continued success is the emotional bond the listener has to the station through actually taking a part in the sound of the station. They feel a bit of ownership and make sure their 'exclusive club' or station survives. It's the 'hands on' that makes the startion work. I feel this is a better approach versus going with a freeform format where a revolving door of volunteer DJs air their personal CD library or their personal opinions on various subjects. KYRR's format is the sum of all those contributed songs versus one contributor at a time as is the case with the volunteer jock. KYRR, for example, accepts no underwriting, just listener contributions. I think they work with a club that likely contributes to the station. The bills are minimal and it only takes a handfull of listeners to make the station happen.

Your situation sounds pretty typical of a market. There is plenty of revenue out there but the problem is winning enough of that revenue against the many competitors trying to do the same. You have to be clever, work hard, create success stories and have concrete relationships with clients to stay in the game.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Great topic, as always.

What they're doing would be very hard to pull off in Hoopeston, Illinois or Evergreen, Alabama.

Yes, this topic has been playing out very well. Some ideas have been thrown out that make us all think. While me may disagree with some, we are forced to put into words our different take on the topic.... and it has been a mature and peaceful conversation!

Hoopeston and Evergreen, huh. You and I may be almost the only people here who have ever been to both places. :-\

 

[recto101]

Who is the better LPFM in San Francisco when they were competing with KUSF-FM pre KDFC take over. I heard of KPOO FM as an LPFM in SF and bigger non-profits like KPFA, KALW and KQED that have stable ratings in SF. how about SF State LPFM is it better than KUSF.

 

[redneckriviera]

In the full-power FM business we have no gotten to the point where nearly every community of any size is the City of License to several-or-many FM signals and the FCC has folks dedicated to identifying tiny communities where another FM signal can be shoe-horned into the spectrum to be auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars. A handful of these have been crossroads close enough to a larger town to be actually viable businesses, but many are just electronic pipedreams covering unpopulated land.

If we're at that point, what is left for LPFM? Squeezing a 10-watt signal into midtown Manhattan to "serve" the "unserved" or "underserved" among New York City's 8 million people who can't find somethng they like on the 77 local signals or the 114 distant signals receivable in NYC (according to radio-locator.com)?

Face it, it's Hobby Radio. It's something for rich guys to play with until they lose interest or buy a bigger boat. It's a game. It's a toy. Or, at best, it's something for Radio Clubs--like the one cited above up in the Sierra Mountains where a bunch of folks pitch in a few bucks each so they can play their personal favorite tunes on the radio.


A nice idea... if this was still 1960.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

There is much of America that is exactly as you described, RNR. Multiple signals are now available and one more little tea-pot is not going to do anything of redeeming value. And yet, each of us can identify some community, some neighborhood that is "different" and LPFM of course would be appropriate HERE! (What emoticon combines rolled eyes, sarcasm and pompousness all into one?)

Defining such a community is so very subjective. How would we ever craft a legal document which would uniformly establish an objective answer to the question: "Does this community over here meet the requirement?"

In looking at websites of LPFM groups that operate or dream of operating a station and reading the sites of the support-and-lobby organizations, I get the feeling that the best examples of justifiable LPFMs may indeed have a club-like atmosphere.

Better than having some rich dude do this as a hobby, the whole concept really needs for 10 or 24 or maybe 40 dudes with modest financial resources to come together, to coagulate if you please, and develop a composite dream for a shared hobby. Just as commercial broadcasters have to wonder if they will still have a tower and antenna 12 or 20 years from now... or will their children be running some combination of podcasting, web subscription and content-on-demand enterprise, would be LPFM entry level wanna-bees need to assume their time frame for facing "The Brave New Future" will come much more quickly than will solidly established broadcasters who have more "mass already in momentum". (At least the established certainly hope that momentum is their friend!)

The "rich hobbyist" probably has minimal interest in divining the path to the future. Enjoy what you enjoy while you can.

A large percentage of the existing LPFMs are wall to wall religious content. These have been established in many cases by preachers or local lay-persons who are like the rich hobbyist... they are doing what pleases them. I question how many of them have a significant interest in divining the path to the future (of community broadcasting). I will do it as long as it makes ME feel good, and then I will move on to some other vehicle of "spiritual feel-good.

So now that we have established a good reference point for the "pessimism factor" for community radio, who can pitch in some more optimistic visions for community radio. (commercial OR non-commercial).