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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Diane, EVERYBODY wants more good local
public affairs programming, and especially more well produced
local news. John Coate most of all! <br>
I spent some time talking with him yesterday and this is a high
priority with him. He is actively working on expanding the local
coverage.<br>
<br>
In another message you mentioned a desire for more "edgy" public
affairs hosts, and this echoed some remarks I heard from John as
well. <br>
<br>
I think you would be surprised to find how closely aligned you are
with station management in terms of what you want on the radio.
I wish they could communicate that to the listeners more clearly.<br>
<br>
The problem is finding the people who can and will produce that
kind of content, reliably and consistently. It's not just a KZYX
problem (as you note, FSRN couldn't make it work either) but our
location and demographics make it even tougher.<br>
<br>
Or as my mom used to say: "Wantin' and gettin' is two different
things."<br>
<br>
So, if you know a smart person who has a good voice, can learn the
tech, is reliable (and not a toxic personality), has the time
(several hours per week) and the inclination to produce a program
that will inform and/or entertain people - tell them to get in
touch with Mary and find out how to submit a proposal. <br>
<br>
<br>
Here's the current breakdown, in hours per week:<br>
NPR 32.5<br>
Other syndicated news & public affairs: 43.5<br>
Local public affairs: 12<br>
Syndicated music: 7<br>
Local music: 73<br>
<br>
<br>
Tim<br>
<br>
On 5/18/2014 7:09 PM, Diane Paget wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:537967EA.4070106@mcn.org" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Tim says that "the schedule currently includes 83 hours/week of
syndicated programming, of which 32.5 hrs/wk come from NPR; and 85
hrs/wk of locally-produced content. So, just over 50% of the airtime is
in fact "community" radio, just under 50% is "canned". Less than half
the syndicated programming is NPR, the rest includes things like
Democracy Now! and other popular programs."
But, when we dig deeper and try to clarify what we are talking about,
how much of the total programming is local and how much is syndicated
isn't really the issue, because we are not talking about music
programming. At least I'm not, and I doubt that most of the others in
this discussion (and those who agree with us) are either. This is really
a discussion about public affairs and news programming. Do you have the
stats for that Tim?
All the hours of NPR news are fine with me -- sometimes I listen,
sometimes I don't. Referring to people who want more local good local
public affairs programming as NPR haters is a red herring. Yes, there
are people who have advocated for not having any NPR, but most of us
understand that KZYX serves a lot of different needs and tastes, and
needs to have a bit of a bunch of different kinds of programming.
What we used to have, and what I miss and want back is well produced
local news, more alternative news sources (Free Speech Radio News no
longer exists as an audio broadcast -- but it exemplified what I want
-- voices from the global grass roots) and good interviews with local
people -- Supervisors, County officials, ag people, all kinds of local
people.
I like Ann's suggestion of surveying the community to see how people
feel. But for the stats to be meaningful it would have to survey random
people on the phone. If you do as she suggests and just put surveys out
for people to take and complete, you will only get responses from people
who care a lot about the issue and/or people who like to take surveys.
Doing a meaningful survey would be costly in either volunteer time or
money.
Doug, thanks for the clear explanation about the PAC proposal.
Diane
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<a href="http://oakandthorn.wordpress.com">Oak & Thorn</a><br>
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