[Kzyxtalk] Local vs syndication • Planting Seeds

[Cindy Swan]

Hi Doug & Diane,
Thank you so much for your comments!

In my mind, it's not really about local vs. syndication.
It's more about how can the station have a sound
that is unique to Mendocino County
(that place everyone moved to because
of the already existing lifestyle, not to "change" it ;)
— rather than exactly what you could (and do) hear
in L.A., San Jose, Baltimore, NY, D.C. etc....

Several "syndicated" programs are produced locally:
"Radio Curious" (Barry Vogel)
"TUC Radio" (Maria Gilardin)
"Shortwave Report" (Dan Roberts)
come to mind as excellent examples of
informative Public Affairs programming
that is produced in Mendocino County. . .
played on KZ air, as well as available to other stations
as was "New Dimensions" for many, many years
(and their archives of interviews are
vast . . . and still available.)

Mendocino County Public Broadcasting, Inc.
is uniquely positioned to support development
of this type of programming, as you not only have the talent
but a county-wide network of three (3) production studios
already in place, to support independent producers.

We (also) have neighbors in other places who produce good programming.
"DemocracyNow" (Amy Goodman)
"Alternative Radio" (David Barsamian)
"Counter Spin" (Pacifica Radio)
"Making Contact" (produced by UC Berkley grad students)
"California Report" (PRI?)
"Native America Calling" (Tara Gatewood) produced by Native Voice One

<http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/nv1/local-nv1-1033850.mp3 
 >
Did you know Mendocino County has nine (9) Indian Reservations within  
its borders,
the fourth (4th) most of any County in the US?
Why not include to the voices of the Original people?

All of the above are free (or minimal donation, based on demographics)

RE: NPR
Used to be our only source of
intelligent dialogue on the radio.
Back in the day,
the beauty of KZYX was it was "big enough"
to qualify for a CPB grant
to pay for NPR programming.
And, at the time, it was a goal to get
that "level" of professional journalism on-the-air
—not only to stay in touch with forward thinkers of the times,
and inform the local dialogue throughout the county
but also as an example of what's possible in radio. . .

NONE of the above mentioned programs existed at the time
and I would bet ALL were influenced by NPR's example.

But.
Times have changed.
And so has NPR programming.
More pablum than spice for thought these days.
And so expensive, it has forced budget cuts in other areas?


With so many other choices available
it seems a shame to choose to ignore them
—because you're too busy raising $$ to pay for NPR.

Because, frankly, the past seven years have proven
that if you're "too busy raising money to pay for NPR"
you're "too busy" to create/support/encourage Community Radio.
Kinda sad with a budget approaching half a million dollars.

Hint: Expanding signal to capture Lake County memberships
is only going to generate MORE debt. And less "community".

~Not an NPR "hater",
we (k)now require new, and better tools.
Like higher-fidelity online stream, and auto-archiving . . .
i.e. functional, and far less expensive alternatives to those
I (currently) hear voiced as priorities
<http://kzyx.org/Board/MCPB%20GM%20Report%20May%202014.pdf>
to the Board.

~C.
listening to radio in Mendocino County
since the days of Alfonso's . . . and Late Night Liz,
back when KOZT, KZYX and KMUD
were just a twinkle in our eyes :)


On May 18, 2014, at 6:45 PM, doug mckenty wrote:

> Ok,
>
> A lot to get around to.
>
> The construction of the PAC was interesting. One member elected by  
> the board, one by the programmers and one by the community advisory  
> board.  These people were to get together with the program director  
> and choose three more according to a matrix of needs.  The seven  
> member committee makes programming decisions by consensus, though if  
> consensus is not found the pd gets the last word.  Any conflict  
> should be reviewed by the grievance process.  I thought it was a  
> good start.  My sense of the story is that it started off pretty  
> strong but the air went out of the tires when word came down after  
> John C. became general manager and the decision was made that the  
> consensus of the group was not binding, and the group was only  
> advisory in nature.  That interpretation of the documentation won  
> the day and, neutered of any real power, the PAC because redundant  
> because there was already a CAB.  That is the story as I have  
> interpreted it from speaking with people who were involved.
>
> About the NPR question.  Tim, will you please stop referring to  
> people who prefer news sources different from NPR as "NPR haters."   
> As one of them, this attitude feels caustic and I am afraid will  
> only work to continue to alienate the large percentage of Mendocino  
> county residents who feel as I do.  Also, I want to know why many at  
> the station feel that someone is trying to eliminate NPR.  Where is  
> this coming from?  Paul Lambert accused me of the same thing, trying  
> to eliminate NPR.  Where did he hear it?  The only time I ever heard  
> anyone speak publicly about eliminating NPR was Annie Esposito at a  
> board meeting where she advocated eliminating NPR and keeping the  
> news department.  She pointed to KMUD as a successful example.   
> Please let me know who these people are who have advocated for this  
> other than Annie, so I can let them know I think it would be a  
> terrible idea.
>
> Also, though I appreciate your research, could I ask you to take it  
> one step further and remove the programs that are musical in  
> nature.  Will you compare the daily dose of locally produced public  
> affairs programs vs. the dose of NPR or other "canned" news  
> sources.  I don't think the music programming is a much of an issue  
> here as this communities ability to hear locally produced programs  
> about national and international issues that give us an alternative  
> perspective from NPR.
>
> One more thing about the demographics issue.  I swear I have heard  
> this notion that our radio station can't be "hippie" because too  
> many "yuppies" have moved in, about ten times in the last two  
> weeks.  In most instances there was the hint of sadness at the  
> passing of an age.  I am forty one years old and my wife and I and  
> all my friends who did not grow up here moved here because we wanted  
> to get back to the land and we wanted to raise our children in one  
> of the most progressive communities in our country.  I have not seen  
> indications of yuppie invasion in my community nor any indication  
> that more canned material or NPR has led to many large donations  
> from these people.  Conversely, I do think a show about marajuanna  
> might improve our ability to find such donors.  I for one hope that  
> the old hippies will not give up...
>
> Wait, there is more.  The PAC is not designed to satisfy everyone,  
> it is designed in part to create a public forum where critical  
> individuals can go to complain.  This not only takes the onus off  
> staff, which would alleviate a lot of unnecessary stress, but  
> provides a venue where the complaint can be listened to in a  
> transparent way.  I think having the program application review  
> process become transparent would eliminate a lot of the issues that  
> come up.  And giving those critical of current policy the  
> opportunity to apply for the committee if they are passionate also  
> gives them the hope that if others agree, real change is possible.   
> The function of the PAC is to neutralize the negative energy of the  
> complainer, not an effort to please everyone.  That is impossible.   
> Though most Public radio stations have no such committee and allow  
> the program director control, many Community radio stations, of  
> which KZYX is one, do employ such a committee as they find it helps  
> reduce conflict.
>
>
> Doug
>
>
>
> On Sunday, May 18, 2014, Tim Bray <tbray at wildblue.net> wrote:
> Diane,
>
> As you note, the demographics have changed.  And as a friend of mine  
> says, "It ain't Hippie Radio any more."
>
> If Doug is correct and half the listeners are "hardcore NPR fans"  
> and half want more local shows, how can any process or committee  
> reconcile those opposing views?
>
> How could a PAC be constituted in a way that satisfies everyone?   
> This is the question I have been unable to answer.
>
> Tim
>
>
> On 5/18/2014 3:36 PM, Diane Paget wrote:
>> A lot of what Doug says in this post reflects my experience of the
>> station since it first went on the air. I used to be a very active  
>> KZYX
>> volunteer, hosted a month public affairs segment for a while,  
>> helped my
>> kids host Rubber Biscuit, wrote and tallied the first two listener
>> surveys, helped in pledge drives. Then my life got busy and I didn't
>> have as much volunteer time. When that kind of time returned to my  
>> life,
>> I went back to see if I could help the station out again and found  
>> the
>> atmosphere much more defensive and less welcoming to volunteers. I'm
>> still a member because I do listen sometimes and I wouldn't want to  
>> go
>> back to what it was like before KZYX, but I listen a lot more to KPFA
>> and give them more money because I like their programming better.
>>
>> One of the things that has changed in the past 25 years is the
>> demographics of KZYX's listeners. In 1990 a greater percentage of the
>> station's members were people who moved here in the 70's and 80's as
>> young hippies, back to the landers, political activists and mom and  
>> pop
>> pot growers -- the kind of folks who like the homemade feel of  
>> locally
>> produced community radio. As more baby boomers have retired or
>> semi-retired here from urban areas and university towns, where they  
>> were
>> accustomed to NPR type public radio stations, there is more  
>> acceptance
>> of (and maybe even a preference for) syndicated shows. Unfortunately
>> those folks who have moved here from the city in the past 15 years  
>> have
>> lots more money to contribute to the station than those of us who  
>> have
>> lived here since the 70s. So if you are running the station as a
>> business or even if you are just trying to pay off a lot of debt,  
>> there
>> is going to be a tendency to let the money speak. But the station
>> started in debt and paid off that debt while providing lots more  
>> local
>> (and edgy -- don't forget the Beth Bosk had a show for years)
>> programming and half an hour of locally produced news.
>>
>> A PAC might be able to address the problem of local vs. syndicated
>> programming if it had the authority to make decisions and there was a
>> mechanism in place to ensure that the members of the committee were
>> representative of the membership of the station. The recently  
>> restarted
>> Station Advisory Board members seem to have been hand picked by  
>> members
>> of the Board and maybe the staff. If there isn't a fair, transparent
>> process for selecting the members of the PAC, it could be just window
>> dressing.
>>
>> Doug, do you know if the FCC regs or the station By Laws say anything
>> about one? What does the current board policy that created the
>> Programming Advisory Committee say about how it will be selected and
>> what its powers would be?
>>
>> The PAC has come and gone over the years. It would be interesting to
>> look at that history and see why it failed, when it did.
>>
>> Diane
>>
>>


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