Why I don't support KUOW, and how to fix it

[LordAntler]

One of the most flawed public radio stations in America is clearly KUOW. They refuse to air shows in their entirety, instead cherry picking segments from different NPR/PRI shows which are then narrated by local hosts. Traditionally, in the various markets I've worked in (Orlando, Cleveland, Tulsa, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Boise, Kansas City) I've always been a "sustaining member" of my local NPR affiliate, donating at least $100 a month.

Not in Seattle.

There is too much emphasis on "cultural programming" in the stories that KUOW programmers cherry pick from PRI and NPR, and nowhere near enough emphasis on "hard news" stories. Under my plan, this would change dramatically:

Monday thru Friday:

6AM-9AM: Morning Edition (tape delay)

9AM: BBC World News

10AM-12PM: The Diane Rehm Show (tape delay)

12PM-1PM: Fresh Air (in conjunction with KPLU)

1PM-2PM: On Point with Tom Ashbrook

2PM-3PM: Here and Now

2PM-3PM: Science Friday with Ira Flatow (Fridays only, obviously)

3PM-4PM: PRI'S The World with Marco Werman

4PM-6PM: All Things Considered (tape delay)

6PM-6:30PM: Marketwatch

6:30PM-7PM: BBC World Service

7PM-8PM: Fresh Air (encore presentation, in conjunction with KPLU)

8PM-9PM: CBC Presents "Q" with Shad

9PM-6AM: All Night Jazz (dj'd by the students of the University of Washington's School of Communications)

----------------

Weekends will include the various programs:

Sound Opinions, This American Life, Radiolab, On The Media, The Splendid Table, To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Jazz at River Walk, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center (Friday nights from 9-11PM).

Under no circumstances will "Snap Judgement" ever be broadcast again on KUOW. The remaining hosts who are not purged as part of the switchover to less live and local will be instructed to make disparaging remarks about Glynn Washington whenever possible.

 

[Radio-X]

I feel your pain, sort of...

Pretty much every market I have lived in, I have donated yearly to my local NPR talk affiliate. Most of them (in the case of SC ETV Radio receiving a working Volvo wagon from me), were exceptionally happy for my donation...sending me a handwritten thank you card! Full disclosure, I tell them to keep my "premiums" for other folks who wish to feel like they got something. I usually don't want the extra stuff in the house.

So, last year, did my donation to KUOW. Told them not to send a premium as I usually don't desire the tote bag/coffee mug/other swag. I get nothing from KUOW recognizing that I donated -- not even a friendly reminder to donate during the next pledge drive! Figured at that point, my measly little donation means nothing to one of the USA's public radio juggernauts.

This year, guess who got my NPR donation money? Not KUOW...but SC ETV Radio. They somehow operate a network similar in size to KUOW's, with both a respectable classical and news/talk service...at about 1/2 of KUOW's budget (last I checked). With constant threats of state defunding (they are technically still an arm of the SC government), I knew they would be more needing of my donation right now. I'll let the folks making 6-7 digits a year donate to KUOW...they'll get the thank you letters and dinner with the board!

As for their programing, I can't hate on it too much as I'm a 24/7 news junkie -- the AM "news magazine" they produce is interesting...but I find myself tuning to KPLU for uncut Morning Edition or CBC Radio 1 on 690 Ancient Modulation.

My thought is: Seattle is saturated with public radio. There is a reason that we see tons more "cultural programming" on KUOW than your run-of-the-mill NPR Talkers -- people pay for and desire that niche programming. I could care less about it anymore.

Radio-X

 

[fordranger797]

KUOW is sort of like one of those radio stations that you only listen to when you're off at a holiday cabin and find yourself pinned down under the oak kitchen table, unable to get to the radio to turn it off.

 

[boombox4]

I only listen to KUOW on weekends... BBC overnights is cool, and Weekend Edition is better than I thought it would be.

 

[Bongwater]

I thought KUOW was "a self-sustaining service of the University of Washington".....

Well, at least at the top of the hour anyway.

 

[Radio-X]

The one thing I will give KUOW is that they have an excellent selection of HD channels (I know, who cares?). They've maintained KUOW2 along with WRN and BBC feeds 24/7.

Doubt this will happen, but I'd love to see KUOW2 on a downtown translator. It may be more financially advantageous than renting a full-power rimshot (at the time) station like they did with 91.7.

Radio-X

 

[TheBigA]

One of the most flawed public radio stations in America is clearly KUOW. They refuse to air shows in their entirety, instead cherry picking segments from different NPR/PRI shows which are then narrated by local hosts.

So basically you want more national syndication and less local content. Right?

 

[KMan]

So basically you want more national syndication and less local content. Right?

I think that's an oversimplification.

I've voiced my complaints about KUOW here, many many times. It is, frankly, a mess, and not only does KPLU do a better job with both local coverage, and national programs, in the same market, but when compared to other big city NPR stations KUOW's presentation doesn't pass the sniff test.

 

[notalent]

Wow, ANYONE who actually not only can listen to but likes the Dianne Rheme show has zero cred. Maybe she was good once, a few decades ago. Now, not so much, the show carries her, rather than how it should be, the other way around.

Also the UW does not have a broadcasting curriculum. If they do have a school of communications, it has nothing to do with broadcasting. One must go to WSU for that. Therefore no students will be playing jazz in the overnights.

There is an online UW student station. Rainy Dawg Radio.

To the OP, you are the reason podcasts exist. So you can tailor your listening to YOUR specific tastes. And NO your tastes obviously do not reflect the market. Classic narcissistic armchair thinking that the world (or at least the most popular radio station in the market) should revolve around you and your golden tastes. BZZZZT... Wrong.

 

[TheBigA]

This is why there are multiple NPR stations in most places. There are many ways to present the "NPR experience." You want jazz? It's already being done at KPLU. Why do it at KUOW? And why rerun shows that KPLU is already airing? They seem to be killing KPLU in the ratings. So somebody likes what they do.

 

[bobdavcav]

The one thing I will give KUOW is that they have an excellent selection of HD channels (I know, who cares?). They've maintained KUOW2 along with WRN and BBC feeds 24/7.

Doubt this will happen, but I'd love to see KUOW2 on a downtown translator. It may be more financially advantageous than renting a full-power rimshot (at the time) station like they did with 91.7.

Radio-X

There is that 103.3 if you can convince Entercom to give it up. Reception of KHTP in the downtown core may be weaker than say KPLZ, but once you get down towards the stadiums they both start to suffer. Even so, they are far from unlistenable.

 

[fordranger797]

There is that 103.3 if you can convince Entercom to give it up. Reception of KHTP in the downtown core may be weaker than say KPLZ, but once you get down towards the stadiums they both start to suffer. Even so, they are far from unlistenable.

They don't do much (if anything) to advertise the existence of that translator. I don't think anybody really knows that it exists.

 

[KMan]

This is why there are multiple NPR stations in most places. There are many ways to present the "NPR experience." You want jazz? It's already being done at KPLU. Why do it at KUOW? And why rerun shows that KPLU is already airing? They seem to be killing KPLU in the ratings. So somebody likes what they do.

Back up. I'd beg you, or anyone on this board, to define what flavor of NPR KUOW is.

It is a mess, through and through, and has been for years.

The downhill slide started a few years back when they dumped Metro Traffic reports during drive time. This was, and continues to be a head scratching decision, given that the news/talk competitors still carry traffic, and many listeners are in their car during rush hour, listening to NPR (for instance, I exclusively listen to NPR on terrestrial radio, when I'm in the car, during rush hour. I cannot believe I am a unique outlier).

Their news department is huge, but the news content produced is extremely weak. Listen to the editorial choices on the stories sometime. I follow local, state and national politics closely, and in Seattle, there is no shortage of content available. Yet, KUOW frequently takes pieces from the the Northwest Public Radio consortium, for stories of limited local interest (Anna King stories from the Tri-Cities are the worst). There is frequently a total lack of relevance in the local reporting KUOW puts on the air. When I listen, I constantly wonder how these stories were assigned.

The AM and PM drives sound disjointed. Splitting out the announcer and news anchor functions (of course Lisa Brooks is outstanding but the rest... ugh) has created another level of complexity (and salaries) to the production of the broadcast, and the listener can pick up on it. Meanwhile, the blocks of Morning Edition and ATC that KUOW takes vary on a daily basis. When I tune in, even if I know I'll be listening to an hour or more of the broadcast, I have no idea if I'm going to get the full show, or have it interrupted with their (usually poorly selected) local news coverage. Will ATC be picked back up after the bottom of the hour local newscast? Or will we get a long-form piece today? Or will the long-form piece be in a later block? Or will we get all of ATC? No one knows.

I've been out of the market for the last little while, so I haven't heard how Morning Edition sounds since NPR went to the new block format. Here's an example of the befuddling nature of the programming at KUOW. Years ago I used to commute regularly, and could always get Marketplace Morning Report during my commute (pre-empting the NPR business block. I believe Marketplace - both the full show and the Morning Report - is the single best Public Radio product out there). However, if I had to go in early, or late, I would commute during a different hour. I never knew if I would get Morning Report or the NPR business block. Whatever KUOW's pattern was ... it wasn't advertised or promoted, so listeners couldn't plan to tune in around the schedule. It was truly a mess.

KPLU, across the board has better and more relevant local reporting (shocking considering they are South Sound focused), still have traffic reports, and are much more consistent in their presentation of the NPR flagship shows.

I'm living in Phoenix right now (hopefully not for much longer). I find KJZZ's presentation of the NPR programs and especially the drive time flagship shows to be outstanding. Additionally, their local news is good to excellent, every day. I spent the summer in Houston, and felt the same way about the NPR affiliate there.

I know what a great, big city NPR station sounds like. Given the staffing level and budget of KUOW, we should all expect better.

 

[Radio-X]

Back up. I'd beg you, or anyone on this board, to define what flavor of NPR KUOW is.

KUOW is a locally-focused news/talk NPR station in one of the most liberal metro areas in the USA. They are precisely that way because people over the years have demanded it. Like commercial stations, non-comms follow the money...

Also, people here tend to have a strong belief that local always equals better...even if the local option isn't necessarily the better one. This is why Seattle doesn't have a Wal-Mart, as people have decided it's owned by a large, evil, out of state conglomerate...yet they welcome the same exact thing with higher prices (Fred Meyer) because it is a 'local' name -- even if it too is now owned by a large, evil, out of state conglomerate.

There are enough public radio listeners out here who feel traditional NPR news/talk offerings are inferior to what can be offered locally. There were enough folks who were contributors complaining for more local news coverage -- KUOW was obliged to listen or then their primary source of support could slow. With 4-6 other public radio stations in the metro area depending on your location all soliciting donations, KUOW figured most of the stuff they were not airing would make it on one of the other stations or just not be popular in Seattle.

When most of these NPR talk stations switched from 'traditional' NPR News/Jazz/Classical about 10-15 years ago (including KUOW as one of the first in the early 90's), they were not doing it to shaft classical fans. There were just more fans of news/talk programming who were contributors than the old classical format. Ditto when KCMU became KEXP -- by making the station more focused on something that appeals to people, the station becomes more viable by presenting itself as a format people desire to support.

Put it this way: I can assure you KCMU would not be building one of the country's fanciest studios in one of Seattle's more pricey neighborhoods if they were still doing UW student programming. However, I can assure you that if KCMU didn't make the change to indie rock, somebody else on the non-comm dial would have. On the flip side, I also think that if KUOW was running nationally syndicated NPR fare as hoped, enough people would clamor for local news that one of the area's numerous other public stations would have obliged them.

Seattle is one of those unique areas where the non-commercial dial is highly competitive due to the large number of stations and the high level of support given by the public. Compare this to South Florida or Houston where there are far less stations trying to appeal to a greater audience -- that's why they go for more mass-appeal syndicated fare (it doesn't explain why both markets have lost their classical stations, though)

All that being said, I still don't support KUOW anymore.

Radio-X

 

[Radio-X]

There is that 103.3 if you can convince Entercom to give it up. Reception of KHTP in the downtown core may be weaker than say KPLZ, but once you get down towards the stadiums they both start to suffer. Even so, they are far from unlistenable.

I do know that 103.3 signal is there to boost reception in downtown. What I don't get is where its supposed to boost reception. I work 2 nights a week in Chinatown about 5 blocks from Safeco -- over there all the Tiger Mountain signals suffer. Problem is, 103.3 is non-existant on a cheap 'listen-while-you-work' radio...I can at least get a signal of some type on 103.7!

Other 5 nights a week I work by the water in northern part of Belltown -- as mentioned before on here, near perfect reception of all the rimshots (and KPLU's 92.1 translator) to the southwest. However, I barely get any Tiger/Cougar signals or the 103.3 signal. Unless its covering the nurses and doctors on First Hill, I don't see the point of 103.3 being a fill-in

I still think the best hope for anything new coming from 103.3 will be the new co-channel KMCQ. As a licensed station, they may be able to come to Entercom with the options of booting that translator off their channel at Entercom's expense (they lose the translator and/or have to move to a different channel) or solve this potential 'interference' by KMCQ renting the translator and an HD2 to cobble together a rimshot signal that's better than being just a Skagit/Snohomish signal with ZERO chance of commuters being able to pick it up in the city.

I still don't understand why Entercom didn't put the Mountain on 103.3. However, it may be a nice way to make some extra $$ should a broadcaster (public or commercial) offer the right price. Given that 103.3 covers South Lake Union and most of downtown like a local and has decent fringe coverage in most of the city, I think its future has to be more than just a fill-in. The original purpose is there, I guess, but there are better uses for it. Just like a bungalow that gets bulldozed for condos in Ballard, there's nothing wrong with the original house...it just makes more financial sense today to lose the house and build something that serves more people.

Radio-X

 

[TheBigA]

All that being said, I still don't support KUOW anymore.

Is there anything that would change that? Probably not. If the station cut back on local staff and became more of what the OP wants, would it change anything? The bigger question is if the station did what the OP wanted, would he in fact support the station? Because what I learned in my time at a non-com is it's easier to raise money for local production than it is to get the same amount of money from listeners.

 

[KXA]

I'd like to see a NWPR affiliate in the Seattle area. I was hoping that KXOT (91.7) would've gone to WSU for this very reason. KYFQ is unlistenable.

As to the downtown translator on 103.3 (K277AE), I would think it could be moved to a higher location...like one of the towers (KSTW) on capitol hill. To the engineers out there, would that work? I know that they would have to derate the power for HAAT gain.

 

[Kelly A]

As to the downtown translator on 103.3 (K277AE), I would think it could be moved to a higher location...like one of the towers (KSTW) on capitol hill. To the engineers out there, would that work? I know that they would have to derate the power for HAAT gain.

Moving that translator to a higher location like QA or Capital Hill would create too much 2nd adjacent overlap with the primary station. Capital Hill and the downtown buildings form a terrain shield toward W. Tiger Mt. The intent of this translator was to improve reception of 103.7 in downtown, not act as a booster.

 

[bobdavcav]

I do know that 103.3 signal is there to boost reception in downtown. What I don't get is where its supposed to boost reception. I work 2 nights a week in Chinatown about 5 blocks from Safeco -- over there all the Tiger Mountain signals suffer. Problem is, 103.3 is non-existant on a cheap 'listen-while-you-work' radio...I can at least get a signal of some type on 103.7!

Other 5 nights a week I work by the water in northern part of Belltown -- as mentioned before on here, near perfect reception of all the rimshots (and KPLU's 92.1 translator) to the southwest. However, I barely get any Tiger/Cougar signals or the 103.3 signal. Unless its covering the nurses and doctors on First Hill, I don't see the point of 103.3 being a fill-in

I still think the best hope for anything new coming from 103.3 will be the new co-channel KMCQ. As a licensed station, they may be able to come to Entercom with the options of booting that translator off their channel at Entercom's expense (they lose the translator and/or have to move to a different channel) or solve this potential 'interference' by KMCQ renting the translator and an HD2 to cobble together a rimshot signal that's better than being just a Skagit/Snohomish signal with ZERO chance of commuters being able to pick it up in the city.

I still don't understand why Entercom didn't put the Mountain on 103.3. However, it may be a nice way to make some extra $$ should a broadcaster (public or commercial) offer the right price. Given that 103.3 covers South Lake Union and most of downtown like a local and has decent fringe coverage in most of the city, I think its future has to be more than just a fill-in. The original purpose is there, I guess, but there are better uses for it. Just like a bungalow that gets bulldozed for condos in Ballard, there's nothing wrong with the original house...it just makes more financial sense today to lose the house and build something that serves more people.

Radio-X

That setup would be interesting. I completely agree, we're starting to see hd to translator all over the place (Richmond, Salt Lake, Atlanta, Portland, and the twin cities just to name a few) so why shouldn't it work here? I worked briefly at the Talking Book and Braille Library in downtown on 9th and Lenora and that 103.3 was the only station I could get in stereo the one day I brought my iPod to work. That being said, why did the then KMTT get a translator downtown but nobody else did? It has always been my belief that a translator should only be used for a situation with a badly located tower to cover areas where other stations are strong. I have no idea if this would work, but a better use could even be to move that translator into Bellevue to rebroadcast KYFQ.

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

....and there is also the question of whether a station that is licensed to another city should be granted additional tools to cover a different metro area -- SHOULD 103.7/Tacoma be granted a translator to reach metro Seattle's core? I realize the realities completely outstrip this argument....but still, we have all these "Tacoma" and "Covington" and so forth that GET a license to skirt the truly intended game plan. If they want to serve Seattle so badly...why didn't we get "KMCQ/Seattle" and "KMTT (KBRD) /Seattle" in the first place? Because the licensing intent was to serve a DIFFERENT community. Of course the reality is everyone (including FCC) just rolls their eyes and we move on.