[Kzyxtalk] Budgets & news

[Rick]

I think the reason that KZYX can't sustain a 50-minute local news program is simple: Not that much actually happens out here in Ruralland. Only Annie Esposito could make a 50 minute news program work and sadly Annie, as we all know, has retired. (Come back Annie! Come back!). Sadly, nobody has been able to fill Annie's shoes and those were some big shoes to fill. But maybe the new news guys could take a page or two out of Annie's program and emphasize local human interest stories and the connectedness that makes Mendocino unique. 


Tim, there are days out here in Ruralland where nothing, and I mean nothing happens and that is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Because the squirrel that has been raiding my birdfeeder gets run over doesn't mean that this is news. The current program of "if it bleeds, it leads" is interesting I suppose but not really sustainable. Just taking police reports and reading them over the air isn't really journalism in the Mendocino spirit if you ask me. Maybe the story behind the story might help fill the minutes. Hmmmmm..... 


For instance, there was a recent story about a man being eaten by his dogs beside the road. Yuck. But definitely news. However, isn't there maybe a less sensational story behind the story? Like about poverty and vicious dogs maybe? Or maybe about how this could happen in a civilized country like America, or maybe who the man was, or.... You know, like journalism and an actual story that would interest people. This would fill the minutes. Of course this would take time, investigation, writing and would cost money. But maybe it is more about journalism than it is about money? 


Rick 
Little River 



----- Original Message -----

According to the financial reports, KMUD has a slightly larger income than KZYX. Looking at the 2012 Annual figures (available on each station's Website), KMUD received $562K and KZYX received $521K. Those figures are for "Unrestricted" income; KMUD had an additional $147K of "Restricted Income" which is tied by the donor to a specific use. I can't quite find what all of that is supposed to be earmarked for, but a chunk of it is CPB grants and direct contributions restricted to NPR programming. 

KMUD does not have a full hour of local news, it is a half-hour program. 

I don't think there is a single, simple reason why KZYX could not sustain a 50-minute local news program. (It was never quite a full hour.) It takes a lot of effort to produce that much news, more than one full-time newsperson, and so the budgetary restriction is a big part of it. It isn't a simple matter of trading 28 hours/week of NPR for 5 hours/week of local news. 

Tim Bray 

On 2/19/2014 3:07 PM, Patricia Kovner wrote: 


Is the reason KZYX no longer has a full news hour, because NPR programming has priority and there is not enough $$ for both?  I'd like to know how KMUD budgets it's much smaller income to expand its already full news hour, with several reporters, and no NPR. 



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