Brownback Puts Public Broadcasting on Notice

Kansas governor Sam Brownback spared public broadcasting in the current budget by not using his veto power. He told them to be ready for cuts next year. Approved funds were recently vetoed by Virginia's governor,  Bob McDonnell. You can read more in The Republic of Columbus, Indiana. Cutting the funding would save about $1.5 million out of a $13.8 billion budget.

In other public broadcasting news...WNET has reached an agreement to run the public television station of the New Jersey Network. The fate of NJN's current employees is not known. "Talks concerning the future of New Jersey’s radio assets and broadcasting operation are continuing," According to treasury spokesman Bill Quinn "No agreement has been finalized." There's more at nj.com.

Maine public broadcasting cuts remain likely

Sen. says Maine public broadcasting cuts remain likely | SeacoastOnline.com

The move will eliminate state funding for public broadcasting in Maine. It is easy to say listeners and viewers will need to take up the slack. Some stations are better prepared to take a 20 percent cut than others.

A solid member base of support begins with the programming. Audience 98 outlined this concept with Fundamentals In Brief.

"But the most powerful force affecting giving is not in their control. Programming not only causes audience, it also causes audience support. Fundraising is always about programming. That’s the indisputable fact of 15 years of research, reconfirmed by AUDIENCE 98^®."

• Giving is the product of two programming factors (the value listeners place on the programming and the amount of listening done to it) and one development factor (the efficiency with which fundraising efforts turn this into financial support).
• Effective fundraising activities can raise giving and gift amounts above public service predictions.
• Fundraising practices can lower giving and gift amounts below public service predictions when they attenuate or otherwise interfere with public radio’s service to listeners.

There are many other factors. One is that size matters. The size of the audience and the size of the core audience (P1 listeners) determines the ability of the station to raise enough funds to become self-sustaining. External factors like market size are important too.

For three decades I was involved in public broadcasting through a variety of positions at Public Radio Stations and in Public Media. Much of my experience centered on fundraising and donor relations.  During my tenure as Program Director and Station Manager we built audience and support through programming appealing to core values of the public radio audience. We had about 200,000 listeners with about 85,000 in the core. Through our services we were able to build and sustain relationships resulting in significant support. Basically what we accomplished was the development and creation of content meeting the needs of our clients (listeners). The content fit in with their lifestyle and beliefs. The public radio audience was mainly made up from two VALS types, innovators and Thinkers. We deliberately targeted them. We fashioned messages reminding them of the value of the programming. A guiding principle was community service resulted in community support. 


These two highly educated groups take up the mantle of social responsibility and are motivated to support causes for the greater good. These are individuals who believe in the value of continuing education and believed public radio was fulfilling that need. By focusing our programming and our messaging towards these two groups, we became self-sustaining.

(It should be noted that this is not a model embraced by Public Television.)


There are many more factors that go into good fundraising. The Development Exchange is a great resource. So is the Station Resource Group. But, it all begins with programming.

Budget Cuts For Public Broadcasting In Wisconsin

The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting that Governor Walker is proposing an 8% cut for Public Television and Public Radio in Wisconsin. Because they also receive funding from the UW-Extension, public broadcasting could get a double cut.
"The agency that helps operate public radio and TV, the Educational Communications Board, would lose about 8 percent of its state funding if his proposal is approved. The ECB works in collaboration with groups like UW-Extension, meaning public radio and TV could face more cuts."
Wisconsin is not the only state proposing cuts to public broadcasting. Cuts are on the way in Virginia. Cuts are proposed in Maine. New Jersey is considering cuts.
Stations will need to focus efforts on listener and viewer sensitive income. That is, programming will need to be self-sustaining.

Another Florida PBS Station May Go Dark

A $250,000 funding cut from Daytona State College puts WDSC 15 at risk. The station serves the Daytona area and Central Florida including part of the area that was served by Orlando's WMFE. WMFE is being sold to a faith based organization.


According to the article in News Journal, "Administrators said the college has already cut the $250,000 it costs for the PBS programs for the next fiscal year and is also struggling to pay $1.5 million overall to run the WDSC 15 station, which includes production costs and other programming."


The college, the station and its board are looking for ways to save PBS for Central Florida. Once idea is an alliance with other Public TV stations - "a Central Florida Broadcast Partnership to "preserve public broadcasting in Central Florida." GM Bob Williams says, "if the board agrees, everything will need to be in place before July 1."


I seems clear that these PTV stations are not self-sustaining through their program offerings. Member support is not enough to keep them on the air. The funding puzzle for these stations is much more complex.

MPBN Funding Set For Public Hearing

MPBN Funding Set For Public Hearing - Portland News Story - WMTW Portland

If you look at the comments at the bottom of this article, you get an idea of what perceptions are like among certain sectors of our society.

Maine Public Broadcasting Network Officials say the $2 million in cuts represents about 20% of their operating budget.

I've experienced those kind of cuts. Local programming goes dark and jobs are lost.

The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the State House.

Public Radio Keeps The Community Informed

Gov. Snyder Talks Budget on Michigan Public Radio

Here's a prime example of the value of public radio. Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan was able to interact with a statewide audience on Michigan Radio in a discussion about the budget situation in Michigan. Public Radio offers a platform where civil discourse can take place without the time limitations created by commercial breaks on for profit stations.


"I enjoyed it," Gov. Snyder said after the hour-long conversation. "As many people know, I love town halls, the Q and A format. I would rather take questions than give a speech any day because I love the dialog and learn from the questions."


An Audio link to the program is here: http://news.michiganradio.org/post/conversation-michigan-governor-rick-snyder-audio

Maine governor proposes eliminating funding for public broadcasting :: The Republic

Maine governor proposes eliminating funding for public broadcasting :: The Republic

He's not the only Governor. The Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, used a line-item veto to override the objections of the State Legislators and to cut funding. There's more in the Roanoke Times. It has very little to do with balancing budgets. According to Dan Casey in the same newspaper, the cuts save each taxpayer in Virginia about 5.3 cents. It has more to do with a political  ideological agenda. 

The same tactics are being used to target Planned Parenthood at the state level.

There's more on that story from NPR News.

Progress on Sale of WDUQ

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported progress toward the sale of WDUQ to Essential Public Media.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11123/1143689-67.stm

• Essential Public Media plans to file the FCC ownership documents within 30 days
• July 1 target date of taking over operations at WDUQ
• EPM plans to meet with Pittsburgh Jazz Lives
• A management team is will be in place soon

Plus, EPM is getting help from The Richard King Mellon Foundation in form of a $1.5 million grant.

You can read more in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.