WNED Signs Agreement to Acquire WBFO

[Element9]

Take a gander and read the fine print, Mr. A http://www.wned.org/Features/CanCommitment/CanadianBrochure_R.pdf Richmond Street West, Toronto. It's a multi-purpose office, used for underwriting (sales) and other station functions.

We will use this space as an active venue for cross-border cultural exchanges, TV and radio production, and public discourse.

 

[TheBigA]

We will use this space as an active venue for cross-border cultural exchanges, TV and radio production, and public discourse.

I don't see anything there about business partnerships. It's all cultural. And the only government that should be pissed is the Canadians, not the Americans. Because the money ends up here.

 

[Bob1370]

This has to be primarily directed at gaining Canadian listeners/viewers for their offerings on FM 94.5 and TV 17. While the combination of NPR and local news that WNED-AM and WBFO will transmit serves the Buffalo audience well, it's not going to connect with the listeners for that format in Toronto, which gravitate overwhelmingly to CBC Radio One (99.1 FM) with 680 News as their main alternate choice.

 

[fybush]

More to the point, if WNED indeed plans to unload the AM 970 signal, it won't have much of a news-talk presence on the Toronto radio dial at all; WBFO is essentially unlistenable in the GTA thanks to CIRV on 88.9. (And WNED-FM isn't great, either, thanks to Hamilton on 94.7.)

 

[Element9]

True. WNED-FM 94.5 and WBFO 88.7 are tough OTA catches in the GTA which is why the deal to have them carried on Rogers cable 939 and 940 helps considerably. As to Ch 17, the imaging on the TOH IDs, Canadian flag blowing in the breeze and "O Canada" audio under, and the pledge drive appeals to Canada, are hard to ignore. As is "O Canada," played under a montage of video clips whenever Ch 17 signs off. The Canadian underwriting influence is clear to viewers that live in Buffalo and watch 17. It goes beyond "cultural."

Any CanCon news, programming and underwriting that are likely to be heard on WBFO after WNYPB takes control ought to raise a few eyebrows, especially if (US) programs that most WBFO listeners are used to hearing and pledging are displaced. I concur with a previous post that noted Zorba Pastor and People's Pharmacy (which air on WNED-AM) appealing to listeners 65+. Hard to imagine WBFO airing those programs in place of the Blues shows on Saturday and Sunday. WNED-AM is a fine radio station, but it has a notably different approach. From what's been written here over the years by other posters, WNED-AM's ratings are not as good as WBFO, which attracts more listeners and comparatively younger demos, and not simply because "WBFO is on FM." WNYPB shouldn't attempt to reinvent the wheel when it takes control of WBFO.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I don't know about you guys, but I rarely tune music stations on cable. People are used to watching cable TV, but I don't think that the numbers for cable carriage of radio signals are significant. Don Boswell may think that having NPR on cable in Toronto is a gold mine, but I simply don't see that happening. Radio's all about portability and listening in the car. That ain't happening in TO. Canadian dollars will flow into WNYPB from radio, but they'll mainly be from the Niagara Peninsula between Fort Erie and St. Catharines. The signal's gone by the time you get to Stoney Creek because of the escarpment.

 

[TheBigA]

The Canadian underwriting influence is clear to viewers that live in Buffalo and watch 17. It goes beyond "cultural."

But as far as you know, there is no Canadian underwriting, right?

 

[Element9]

This has to be primarily directed at gaining Canadian listeners/viewers for their offerings on FM 94.5 and TV 17. While the combination of NPR and local news that WNED-AM and WBFO will transmit serves the Buffalo audience well, it's not going to connect with the listeners for that format in Toronto, which gravitate overwhelmingly to CBC Radio One (99.1 FM) with 680 News as their main alternate choice.

Good point, Bob. That's the meat of the argument. Mixing CanCon with what is now a quality product is only likely to alienate present Western New York listeners and inadequately appeal to Canadian listeners. The station would become neither fish nor fowl.

I don't know about you guys, but I rarely tune music stations on cable. People are used to watching cable TV, but I don't think that the numbers for cable carriage of radio signals are significant. Don Boswell may think that having NPR on cable in Toronto is a gold mine, but I simply don't see that happening. Radio's all about portability and listening in the car. That ain't happening in TO. Canadian dollars will flow into WNYPB from radio, but they'll mainly be from the Niagara Peninsula between Fort Erie and St. Catharines. The signal's gone by the time you get to Stoney Creek because of the escarpment.

To say nothing of the RF emanating from the CN Tower.

WNYPB would be foolish to attempt to force a round peg into a square hole. Canadian listeners are more likely to find WBFO appealing for the quality and approach already in place. I understand Boswell's eagerness to solicit listener pledges from Canadian listeners, but there is a fine line with regard to programming that should not be crossed. If WBFO news and talk programming becomes saturated with Canadian Content news and cultural stories, the station will lose its identity and appeal.

It appears WNYPB intends to put WBFO on the WNED-FM platform. The Classical format has a wealthy listener base and is highly regarded. It's not a ratings leader, but the Classical format doesn't lend itself to big ratings. It is however, very successful when it comes to bankers, doctors, lawyers and corporate donors. WBFO listeners are younger and more active that WNED-FM listeners, but they share similar traits, such as being well-educated and having greater income. In other words, they're likely to drive an Altima or Fusion rather than a BMW or Audi and they have a college degree.

WBFO, from what I've read and heard, has competitive ratings in morning and afternoon drive, far better than (NPR News) WNED-AM, but not WBEN-like numbers. Given extensive promotion and proper daily care and feeding, WBFO could compete with and possibly beat WBEN. Rather than using WNED-AM or FM as programming and membership templates respectively, WBFO could secure greater ratings and stature by staying the course and extensively promoting the product on this side of the boarder. By doing so, WBFO could achieve the stature and status of Washington, DC's WAMU. WNYPB's goal should be: Increase ratings (and by extension, membership) in the Buffalo Metro, and cultivate and retain more Persons 35-49 and 35-54.

 

[TheBigA]

If WBFO news and talk programming becomes saturated with Canadian Content news and cultural stories, the station will lose its identity and appeal.

I see nothing in any of the material here that says to me that this station will become "saturated with Canadian content." Although, what's wrong with that? When music stations became inundated with the British invasion in the 60s, no one seemed to mind, and it was a boom for the stations that did.

You're basing your opinions on an article in the Buffalo News, which, in my opinion, appeared to be biased. If we were to read a transcript of the reporter's interview, I doubt the emphasis would have been about Canadian programming. What I took from that article was the desire to share news reporting from the area with other NPR stations. For people who have pride in their local area, I'd think it would be exciting to have more news from WNY included in the national news.

Having said that, I've spent enough time in the jazz and blues world to tell you that artists who work in those genres are more appreciated in other countries. Americans view domestic culture in the way we view American wine. It's affordable, palatable, but not the best. We like imported culture. One of my friends used to laugh at classical music announcers who would purposefully mispronounce the opera singer Leontyne Price's last name as though it was Italian (PREE-chay). It made her sound more cultured! There's no question that Americans have squandered a lot of their own culture. The Japanese (through Sony Music) own recordings by Bob Dylan and the French (through Universal Music) own Hank Williams. Whatever happened to American pride in ownership of their own culture? It's gone the way of American cars and American electronics. Perhaps if WNY residents supported WBFO and other cultural institutions more, there would be no need to look beyond the border for membership.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Since you're not local, you're not privy to the content on WNED TV. It's loaded with British comedies, and locally produced specials generally have significant Canadian content and appeal. WNED certainly courts Canadian dollars from listeners. Underwriting is a little more difficult to determine because so many companies cross the border, but I'm pretty sure that I've heard underwriter announcements for Rogers Communications, which is purely Canadian.

The concern here is that Don Boswell, who has admitted that he knows nothing about radio, will increase the NPR content on WBFO and position it as NPR's outlet in Canada's most populated market. WNED TV has already done that with PBS content.

WBFO's OTA signal certainly won't do the job, and NPR content is already available via the Internet. While Boswell may see upside to a cable audio feed, the numbers certainly wouldn't be of the magnitude enjoyed by cable TV. Radio is by nature a local service, and if the currently successful local content is replaced by more NPR and other syndicated content, many local listeners will be unhappy.

Boswell also has to face the reality that many people who contribute to WBFO also contribute to WNED, and the total check that they write might not equal the two separate checks that they wrote in the past. There is upside in the fact that WBFO certainly wasn't at successful at raising corporate underwriting dollars as WNED has been.

 

[TheBigA]

Since you're not local, you're not privy to the content on WNED TV. It's loaded with British comedies, and locally produced specials generally have significant Canadian content and appeal.

The British comedy thing is typical of all PBS stations, not just WNED. And I've spent a lot of time in Canada, and they're not big fans of the monarchy.

Federal law requires that underwriting dollars must be documented. So I don't understand why you're having so much trouble with this.

The concern here is that Don Boswell, who has admitted that he knows nothing about radio, will increase the NPR content on WBFO and position it as NPR's outlet in Canada's most populated market. WNED TV has already done that with PBS content.

But in the interview, he specifically talks about wanting to beef up regional news and cultural reporting, and feeding that reporting to NPR. It sounds to me on the one hand, you don't like him appealing to regional listeners in Canada, and you also don't like him drawing on national resources from this country.

 

[Element9]

You're basing your opinions on an article in the Buffalo News, which, in my opinion, appeared to be biased. If we were to read a transcript of the reporter's interview, I doubt the emphasis would have been about Canadian programming. What I took from that article was the desire to share news reporting from the area with other NPR stations. For people who have pride in their local area, I'd think it would be exciting to have more news from WNY included in the national news.

Your omniscience is just one of the qualities that endear you to so many of the locals who post here and breathe in the day to day life of Western New York and Buffalo. Fine, it's a message board, it comes with the territory.

So you know better than I the intent and bias of Jane Kwiatkowski, the respected Buffalo News reporter. What I took from reading the article was an objective presentation of the facts. If anything, the story seemed to present WNED-TV and WNYPB in a favorable light. You "doubt the emphasis would have been about Canadian reporting" if you had access to the reporter's transcript. But if you'd read Mr. Boswell's comments or heard him speak to the subject of the impending acquisition of WBFO, you would know that he's mentioned Canada and Canadian listenership on at least two previous occasions.

I have no personal axe to grind with WNYPB's Mr. Boswell. He seems a good and fair man who's guided WNYPB over the years. He's known to be a "TV guy" and as has been noted, radio is not necessarily his strongest asset. As he is the CEO, no doubt he's intimately familiar with the operation of WNED-AM-FM-TV more than any of us who post here. But his decisions and plans regarding WBFO are not above objective scrutiny on this board.

Boswell appears to have a grand plan for WBFO. Grand plans often go awry because the devil is in the details. When Mr. Boswell many years ago arrived in Buffalo, he created the Buffalo Guitar Festival, which he envisioned would attract national and world class participants and contributors. That was a grand plan. He was on record as expecting the legendary Eric Clapton to participate. To the credit of the many people and organizations that worked on and promoted the event, the Buffalo Guitar Festival became a reality. It ran from 2001 through 2007 and had what could be called moderate success, attracting some well-known bands and first rate guitarists. Part of the Festival's success came as a result of other venues and events within the city working with Channel 17. In other words, although WNED-TV promoted the event, a significant amount of the heavy lifting was done by other organizations, taxing budgets and spreading thin the staffs that labored to "make it work."

Now, as WNYPB prepares to purchase WBFO, we hear of a plans to enhance Canadian Content and employ Canadian journalists-producers to create Canadian content news packages that would be picked up and re-broadcast by NPR. As if NPR's newsday isn't already full of daily breaking news from China, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Italy and Russia, to say nothing of stories that originate in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Buffalo.

I'd simply recommend that WNYPB concentrate on making WBFO a better station that continues to appeal to and reach more Western new York listeners. The station is not broken or limping along. It is vibrant. Given increased visibility on WNED-TV and promotion on WBFO, it will to appeal to more listeners those on this side of the Niagara river, as well as Canadian listeners. Pledges from Canadian listeners may increase. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Simply make sure it's regularly lubricated, proper tire pressure is maintained and the spokes are tightened.

 

[TheBigA]

But if you'd read Mr. Boswell's comments or heard him speak to the subject of the impending acquisition of WBFO, you would know that he's mentioned Canada and Canadian listenership on at least two previous occasions.

Of course he "MENTIONED" Canadian listenership. A child of 5 can recognize the Canadian flag in their logo! That's not the point! You're suggesting he's going to make drastic changes in the domestic coverage of the station in favor of attracting more Canadian dollars. My view on that is if it's such a problem, perhaps the folks in Buffalo should step it up a bit more. As I said when I was running an NPR station, "If you want to hear your favorite programming continue on this station, then call right now and pledge your support." That's what he is saying too. If Buffalonians want more attention, they need to speak with their wallets.

One of the reasons WNET in NYC just bought New Jersey Public Broadcasting is to attract membership and corporate dollars from another state. If you go to the NJ board, you'll see that I disagreed with that sale. I felt there were organizations in NJ that could have done a better job of running NJPTV than a bunch of NYC folks. But I was told that no one in NJ was willing to step up to the table and make an offer. So there you go. You pay your money, and you get your coverage. The people in Buffalo should take note that public broadcasting ain't much different than commercial. The rich will get richer, and everyone else will take what they can get. And don't expect the government to step in.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

There is upside in the fact that WBFO certainly wasn't at successful at raising corporate underwriting dollars as WNED has been.

It's been interesting reading all the back and forth here about the future of WBFO. At this point, I want to avoid any comment about the station's future out of respect to the current and future management. But I do want to amplify on Rox's comment about the success of underwriting. WBFO's underwriting department under the able direction of Mike McKay has performed admirably through the years. In fact, I hear many more underwriting announcements on WBFO than I hear on WNED AM and FM. Now, that's not to say that WBFO outperforms WNED as a whole. I'm sure TV attracts many more dollars. But comparing radio station to radio station, I think WBFO performs better in this area as well.

 

[Element9]

Of course he "MENTIONED" Canadian listenership. A child of 5 can recognize the Canadian flag in their logo! That's not the point! You're suggesting he's going to make drastic changes in the domestic coverage of the station in favor of attracting more Canadian dollars. My view on that is if it's such a problem, perhaps the folks in Buffalo should step it up a bit more.

Step it up? Perhaps you are (not surprisingly) unaware that Buffalo supports three non-com public radio stations and a PBS TV station. Not bad for this little burg, eh? However, it may be that after the WBFO sale is approved by the FCC, there will be only two stations if WNYPB spins off WNED-AM. That too has been discussed by Mr. Boswell. Probably sell it to a local or national praycaster. "Drastic changes?" Your words, not mine.

 

[TheBigA]

Step it up? Perhaps you are (not surprisingly) unaware that Buffalo supports three non-com public radio stations and a PBS TV station.

Not at all, and it's quite typical. Rochester has WXXI-AM/FM/TV plus now co-owned WRUR-FM. And it's a smaller market.

NPR.org lists six for Albany. Syracuse has WCNY-FM/TV and WAER-FM. Plus WRVO Oswego has a repeater there.

It's just like commercial radio. You have competing stations? It's up to each station to differentiate from the other. It's easier when they're co-owned.

 

[SirRoxalot]

You might want to check your sources a little more carefully. Albany's "six" stations include two college stations (RPI & SUNY Albany), an FM translator, and stations from Bennington, VT, and Westfield, MA that are designed to serve those markets, not Albany. So, Albany really has WAMC and its translator to support, along with Classical WMHT. WAMC is also the anchor station of a much larger group, serving parts of seven northeastern states. These include New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Stations and translators are in twenty locations throughout the region.

WAER in Syracuse is owned by SU. Rochester isn't much smaller than Buffalo/Niagara Falls anymore, but doesn't enjoy the cross-border audience that WNYPB courts.

College stations, particularly those a private colleges, don't require the same level of support that pure pubcasters require. Their target of self-sufficiency is helped significantly by institutional support in the form of space, utilities, and continuity. Schools that understand their capabilities use them well for community outreach and to promote their programs. One of UB's problems may have been that it was too separate from the university community. They didn't even carry UB's sports broadcasts. To some, that smacked of elitism. It certainly cost them missed underwriting opportunities and a chance to address a different subset of alumni.

 

[Element9]

You might want to check your sources a little more carefully. Albany's "six" stations include two college stations (RPI & SUNY Albany), an FM translator, and stations from Bennington, VT, and Westfield, MA that are designed to serve those markets, not Albany. So, Albany really has WAMC and its translator to support, along with Classical WMHT. WAMC is also the anchor station of a much larger group, serving parts of seven northeastern states. These include New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Stations and translators are in twenty locations throughout the region.

WAER in Syracuse is owned by SU. Rochester isn't much smaller than Buffalo/Niagara Falls anymore, but doesn't enjoy the cross-border audience that WNYPB courts.

College stations, particularly those a private colleges, don't require the same level of support that pure pubcasters require. Their target of self-sufficiency is helped significantly by institutional support in the form of space, utilities, and continuity. Schools that understand their capabilities use them well for community outreach and to promote their programs. One of UB's problems may have been that it was too separate from the university community. They didn't even carry UB's sports broadcasts. To some, that smacked of elitism. It certainly cost them missed underwriting opportunities and a chance to address a different subset of alumni.

Points well made, Sir. Western New York supports three professionally staffed non-com radio stations and a television station. Such support is a compliment to the stations and the staffs, as well as the members who support those stations.

The University at Buffalo may have considered WBFO a greater asset had the station years ago re-located to the Amherst campus. There was space allocated at the North campus, but for some reason, administrators at the radio station resisted the move. Imagine WBFO being in the midst of that campus. That might have provided vibrancy, energy and connection that existed when the South campus was the sole campus and WBFO was the soul of the campus.

WBFO, for many years, championed itself as being "a service of the University at Buffalo" in hourly station promos and IDs. What ever became of that positioning statement? Why it was allowed to wither? IIRC, the president of UB years ago did a regularly scheduled monthly call-in show aimed at and the community at large as well as the University community.

As to the impending approval of WBFO's sale to WNYPB, there are some professors and administrators at the university that have voiced their displeasure at the transfer of license. A few have indicated that they will offer a formal protest. Whether they submit a formal letter of Petition to Deny individually or collectively, is anybody's guess. Could such a Petition, coming from notable faculty or staff quash the transfer?

Again, to the Canadian Content and appealing to Canadian listeners: The need for broadening base of membership is understandable, but it does not warrant WBFO becoming Canada or Toronto-centric. Attracting Canadian membership is an option. There are a number of programming veins worth mining in Western New York, involving news, academic, lifestyle and cultural interests. Serve and promote WNY primarily and broadly. Canadian listeners will come to the party.

It's likely WBFO and WNED-FM will become a "combo sale" for WNYPB. If an underwriter supports WNED-FM, $eparate and equal $upport for WBFO will be encouraged.

Finally, some posters and readers may not realize that WBFO has great heritage locally and nationally. It provided the germination for much of what is heard today on NPR. Not conjecture. Not swagger. Not promotional hype. Fact.

 

[TheBigA]

You might want to check your sources a little more carefully. Albany's "six" stations include two college stations (RPI & SUNY Albany), an FM translator, and stations from Bennington, VT, and Westfield, MA that are designed to serve those markets, not Albany. So, Albany really has WAMC and its translator to support, along with Classical WMHT.

My facts came from NPR. Those six stations are NPR stations, not simply non-commercial stations. The issue in that post was the number of stations that depend on listener contributions. You don't have to be an NPR station to depend on listener contributions. WAER may be owned by Syracuse University, but, like WBFO, it also depends on listener contributions. I ran a non-college community-licensed radio station in a large market, competing with several other NPR stations, so I'm well aware of the challenges of running a station like WNED.

Using the fact that Buffalo has NPR stations is no excuse. That is typical for cities smaller than Buffalo. The point is that a non-commercial station has the right to seek funding from its total listening or viewing area. If that includes a city is another country, so be it. If the people in Buffalo resent it, they need to step up their local membership support. Not blame the station.

 

[TheBigA]

WBFO, for many years, championed itself as being "a service of the University at Buffalo" in hourly station promos and IDs. What ever became of that positioning statement? Why it was allowed to wither?

Times change. Universities across the country are faced with huge economic problems caused by the stock market crash in 2008. It caused their endowments to drop. Many colleges are looking for assets to sell in order to beef up their endowments. Some colleges are selling land, buildings, donated works of art, and other assets in order to continue with the core mission of educating students. Most of the colleges radio stations sold this past year have been from private schools. Most of the state schools have either found other funds, or their membership dollars have allowed the station to be self-sufficient. That last one has been my suggestion to college stations around the country. If you don't want to be sold, become less of a burden on your university. There are many other state-owned NPR stations that actually pay rent for their space on campus as well as their other costs. Those stations are not in danger of being sold. WBFO didn't do that. At the same time, we have politicians in this country who want to cut federal aid to these radio stations. They say the federal government has no nusiness in broadcasting. So it will increasingly become the responsibility of listeners to pay for these radio stations.

Again, to the Canadian Content and appealing to Canadian listeners: The need for broadening base of membership is understandable, but it does not warrant WBFO becoming Canada or Toronto-centric.

No one has said or even suggested the station will become "Toronto-centric." So why even bring it up? The GM has talked about cultural exchanges. The US engages in the exact same thing with lots of countries without compromising our own culture.

For the professors who have expressed displeasure over the WBFO sale, would they be willing to share money or resources from their budgets to pay for the station? If not, then who cares?

As for WBFO's heritage, that's a wonderful thing. As one who ran a non-profit, I can tell you that the ONLY way to preserve that heritage is to make sure your station is on sound financial footing. If that means selling to a stronger organization, and maybe airing a few shows that might broaden the membership, so be it. Once again, it's up to the people of Buffalo to step up to the plate and pay for this station, because it won't have the state to help out any more.