<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Diane,<br>
<br>
As you note, the demographics have changed. And as a friend of
mine says, "It ain't Hippie Radio any more." <br>
<br>
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?<br>
<br>
How could a PAC be constituted in a way that satisfies everyone?
This is the question I have been unable to answer.<br>
<br>
Tim<br>
<br>
<br>
On 5/18/2014 3:36 PM, Diane Paget wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:537935E2.5010208@mcn.org" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">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
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<a href="http://oakandthorn.wordpress.com">Oak & Thorn</a><br>
Facebook: Oak and Thorn</div>
</body>
</html>