WBFO Comes Up Short

[SirRoxalot]

Did you read the first post in this thread? I don't think you did.

In fact I did. Did you? You're extrapolating things from it that simply weren't said.

So you think everyone in Buffalo is exactly like you?

There's some pretty sound evidence here and on social media that I'm not the only one who has reduced their contributions based on programming. WNYPB thought that Canadian listeners would make up the difference - as they do with TV. What they don't seem to understand is that Canadian listeners would rather listen to CBC and BBC programming on Canadian stations.

 

[TheBigA]

In fact I did. Did you? You're extrapolating things from it that simply weren't said.

Like what? I've stuck to every word, and the OP hasn't said I "extrapolated" anything.

There's some pretty sound evidence here and on social media that I'm not the only one who has reduced their contributions based on programming.

Social media? You consider that a credible source?

 

[SirRoxalot]

You still haven't addressed the concept that people may not be as committed to the product as they once were - and have voted with their (lack of) donations.

I consider social media as credible as an out-of-market provocateur who really doesn't understand or participate in the market and the activities surrounding public broadcasting here. Your view is simply myopic.

 

[TheBigA]

You still haven't addressed the concept that people may not be as committed to the product as they once were - and have voted with their (lack of) donations.

Because we have no evidence of that other than your opinion. A lot of the "product" is national news, which are core NPR shows that are unavailable anywhere else in the market. These are shows that have built in fan bases, and were there before the change in ownership. Then you have the local news coverage, and people seem happy with that.

Once again, going back to the OP, the main point was that the station lags behind the national average for donations. We don't know if that's a new problem or if it existed under University ownership. All we know if that 4% of the listening audience contributed during the drive, which is lower than the 7% national average. There are a lot of things we don't know, and because of that, we can't come to the conclusion that listeners aren't as committed to the product as they once were. Except for the fans of the blues show, which I'd agree voted their displeasure with less money. Everything else we don't know.

 

[Element9]

No local news this morning. Carrier but dead air from 7:45 to 7:59. About seven per cent short.

 

[jim8230]

Hmmm...14 minutes out of 35 hours...more like .67%, but who's counting?

 

[SirRoxalot]

AFAIK, there are still 24 hours in a day, right?

 

[jim8230]

You are correct. However, I was referring to the total time they were automated. Even if we took just a 24 hour period it would only be .97%.

 

[Element9]

Seven per cent was a metaphor. Snarky? Perhaps. Mea culpa.

Imagine if you will, a listener turning on the radio, tuning to 88.7, only to find... silence. Absence of programming for 14 minutes (or more.) Multiply one listener by the Average Quarter Hour for morning drive. Because it was a holiday, deduct 50%. That's being generous and really has no bearing on the issue at hand.

Whether the AQH is 3,000 listeners or 15 hundred: That's who's counting. The members who pledged. The core audience and the occasional listeners who just check in. Each counting on WBFO to be there. It wasn't. Ah, but WBEN was there.

Using the 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. daypart definition, there are 20 quarter hours in morning drive. WBFO lost 5% of the total quarter hours. Not quite 7%, but more than 4%. Using the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. definition for morning drive, there are 16 quarter hours. WBFO lost 6.25% of the total quarter hours. Using the hour by hour definition, there are four quarter hours. WBFO lost 25%.

More important in this discussion, when programming was restored the absence of local news was glaring. The local newscasts on which listeners depend were absent. Listeners heard NPR network fill music. Fail. There's a business axiom which describes a company's strength, "The chain is only as strong as its weakest link." The chain broke.

Had a local news anchor been working, very likely that gap would not have occurred. The potential silence would have been filled by content and more than likely, local content. And listeners would have heard local news. The content, service and product that listeners expect. That's who's counting.

 

[TheBigA]

Had a local news anchor been working, very likely that gap would not have occurred. The potential silence would have been filled by content and more than likely, local content. And listeners would have heard local news. The content, service and product that listeners expect. That's who's counting.

First of all, it was a holiday morning. Not a regular work day. Right? Were you awake before 8AM on Thanksgiving? I wasn't. Would you like to work on a holiday? I don't. So they give their staff a holiday off. They're not mean old corporate owners forcing their staff to work to make more corporate profits.

Second of all, public radio listeners are a whole lot more forgiving than commercial radio listeners. They know their favorite station is a charity. That's why they donate money. Not for goods or services, but because they want to donate money to help. It's a very different mind set. So there was a problem. It happens. Do commercial stations have dead air? All the time. There are threads all over this place about dead air. Those are commercial stations losing money. This isn't. So it's a different situation. Will people not donate money because they didn't get 15 minutes of local news on a holiday? No. It has nothing to do with why they donate.

Let's try and understand donating. I just donated money to a cancer charity. I've been doing this for a few years. People still get cancer, and they're still studying ways to cure it. I didn't receive anything tangible for my donation. Just the sense of giving to a charity I support. People donate money to museums and theaters. All of them were closed on holidays. Did those people feel ripped off? No. That's the mindset for public radio. They're not giving money for a tote bag. It's for the overall concept of public radio. Sure, they missed 15 minutes on a holiday morning. But the rest of the time, they're on the air. It's not a glass half empty. It's the glass half full. It's what their lives would be like if the station wasn't there at all. So they tune back in later in the day, and the station is still there. They're satisfied, and go on with their day. If I was running that station, I'd use the dead air as a learning minute. This is what your life would be like without public radio. So get on the phone and pledge now.

 

[dand5780]

Imagine if you will, a listener turning on the radio, tuning to 88.7, only to find... silence.

That would be like opening up your Buffalo Snooze and having a blank front page.

First of all, it was a holiday morning. Not a regular work day. Right? Were you awake before 8AM on Thanksgiving? I wasn't. Would you like to work on a holiday? I don't.

Whether you are working or not, you still want your news whether you get it from the paper, TV, internet, or radio. The bottom line is, if it's a news station, they should have it regardless of the day.

 

[TheBigA]

The bottom line is, if it's a news station, they should have it regardless of the day.

I think that's something to fundraise around. You put that idea on the table, explain how much it costs, set a goal to achieve, and if they reach it, they'll do live newscasts on weekends and holidays. Hopefully someone there will read this. Otherwise, there's no point in doing it just to do it. Because they're not just a news station, but a community-based publicly-funded radio station. Those are two different animals.

 

[Element9]

Not only was I awake well before 8 a.m., many other Western New York residents were as well. It happens I was on the road. While driving I saw two police cruisers, and a utility company truck with a crew taking care of nearly-downed power lines. It may have been a holiday, but people were up and about. But you may be correct BA, Public Radio listeners may be "more forgiving." And these being different times, why shouldn't public radio stations, especially one as esteemed as WBFO, take a page from the corporate radio handbook? Voice track. Mail it in. Play 12 in a row. Do a news countdown of the top 100 classic news stories of all time.

WBEN is often criticized here, but Buffalo's only commercial news-talk station did live, local news and weather on Thanksgiving. Why should WBFO, simply because it's a public station, get a pass? WBFO has stated on numerous occasions (inside and outside of pledge drives) that news is an important and critical component of the station's mission. Having a carrier with no audio for 14+ minutes, compounded by unfilled local news breaks on Thanksgiving, seems to run counter to their mission statement.

BTW, Canadian listeners, for whom the NYPBA suits clamor, celebrate Thanksgiving in October. WBFO was on the air that day without interruption, and with a local news host in a.m. drive when Canadian listeners were on holiday. So there's something to be said for that. Cheers!

 

[TheBigA]

Why should WBFO, simply because it's a public station, get a pass? WBFO has stated on numerous occasions (inside and outside of pledge drives) that news is an important and critical component of the station's mission. Having a carrier with no audio for 14+ minutes, compounded by unfilled local news breaks on Thanksgiving, seems to run counter to their mission statement.

I think you're making a mountain out of a proverbial molehill. They screwed up. I'm sure someone got yelled at. What more do you want? This is daily life at a non-profit.

 

[jim8230]

Seven per cent was a metaphor. Snarky? Perhaps. Mea culpa.

I understood it to be a metaphor...I should have followed my remarks with an emoticon making that clear.

Having said that, I agree with your philosophy. I was just pointing out it was 14 minutes out of 2100 minutes. Although I cringe at 30 seconds of dead air I've heard worse. While this is not an excuse, things happen...people make mistakes; computers fail. Thanksgiving Day makes two days out of the year the staff is given the day off. With all of the talk of how awful these radio companies can be towards their employees I would think this might be seen a a benevolent gesture by WNYPBA.

Also, automating Morning Edition and ATC is not like VT'ing a rock station. There are a lot of breaks ranging from 60 seconds to 120 seconds. Some of them run 60 seconds for the station, 90 seconds network, back to the station for 60 seconds and then its handed back to NPR for the next program segment. Without local news content, what do you fill 2 minute breaks with? Promos and spots? At least most of the music NPR uses to fill the breaks is pretty good. And I doubt any of the listeners were ticked off about it.

 

[tbolt909]

Silence or Dead Air on NPR is better listening than any programming on
WBEN. Commercial radio has just as many blunders due to automation or
Human error...

 

[SirRoxalot]

Yeah, I guess dead air is just business as usual in radio these days. That's what we've devolved into.

 

[TheBigA]

Yeah, I guess dead air is just business as usual in radio these days. That's what we've devolved into.

In point of fact, dead air happened fairly often before automation. Every DJ has a story of getting locked out of the studio or trapped in the bathroom as the record ended.

Heck, it even was an episode of WKRP.

 

[SirRoxalot]

It was such a RARE occurrence before automation that it sparked a "war story". It's not so rare these days. It takes an extended silence - not a few seconds here and a minute there - to even spark comment. Rarely a day goes by when the silence sensor isn't going off at most radio stations during unmanned operation. Automation is a great tool, but it works better when attended by somebody in the building.

It's nice that the WBFO staffers get two holidays a year off, but I'm sure that there are a couple of part-timers out there who'd be happy to get the hours - at least from 6A-7P. The audience is there. Radio people should be too - and understand that working holidays is part of the gig.

 

[TheBigA]

It was such a RARE occurrence before automation that it sparked a "war story". It's not so rare these days.

When was the last time this happened at WBFO?

Once again, I view this as an isolated incident. Non-commercial radio stations don't lose money when things like this happen. And donors aren't going to punish their favorite station, the only place where they can hear these shows, because of some dead air. That's not how public radio listeners respond. I'm sure it was dealt with by management, and it's time to move on.