Shake-Up at KUHF

According to Houston Culture Map there are big changes at Houston Public Media. KUHF CEO John Proffitt and Channel 8 General Manager John Hesse were dismissed from their current duties on Monday. They were assigned to other duties at Houston Public Media until the end of the year. Proffitt has been with the station for 26 years.

Proffitt guided the acquisition of KUHA from Rice University. The acquisition allowed the station to dedicate KUHF-FM to news and information. KUHA became the all classical service. Their most recent membership drive resulted in gains in membership.


The reorganization comes after the hiring of Lisa Trapani Schumate by the University of Houston to oversee the entire operation. Tripani Schumate takes charge today.

KUHF Looks to Double Audience

Chron.com is reporting that the University of Houston is seriously considering purchasing KTRU from Rice University. The Trustees at Rice have already approved the deal. The U of H governing board votes on the proposal, Tuesday, August 17.

KUHF is currently running a dual format station with both classical music and NPR news. The purchase of the KTRU will allow KUHF to program NPR news on  KUHF and classical music on KTRU which will become KUHC. KUHF is estimating that their total audience will grow from about 380,000 to 800,000 within three years. The increase in public service programming will benefit the station and the community it serves.

 KTRU currently airs an eclectic mix of music, but as a community service is grossly underachieving. The audience is too small to show up in the Abritron ratings service.

The price of the sale is reported to be $9.5 million. 

Oil Spill Coverage Varies for Public Radio on the Gulf

I took a trip around the Gulf of Mexico (a virtual trip) to find out what some of the local public radio stations are doing on their websites to highlight coverage of the gulf oil spill. I thought the oil spill might be an opportunity for public broadcasters to draw their communities together.
Below are the sites that stood out.


KUHF Houston, TX has a feature on how the hurricane forecast complicates issues and anxieties surrounding the spill.
Oil Spill Adds New Anxiety to Hurricane Season

"Hurricane season begins tomorrow.  The federal government expects 8 to 14 hurricanes this summer, when the average is only 6. Adding to the anxiety is the question of what happens if a hurricane hits the oil spill? Carrie Feibel takes a look into what might happen when a natural disaster crosses paths with a man-made disaster.


The webpage for the feature includes a hurricane and oil spill fact sheet.
There's more coverage inside from the Health, Science and Technology Desk.
I could not find a way for the audience or the community to interact with the station about this issue.


WWOZ New Orleans, LA (a station with a heritage music format) offers an impressive presence on the web. WWOZ engaged its listeners. The fundraiser raised over $1 million. There was an easy to find link on the front page.           
WWOZ Others Respond to BP Oil Disaster

On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (leased by British Petroleum) set off an historic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Louisiana coast. Efforts to stop the leak and keep oil out of our wetlands and bayous are ongoing, but the effects on fishing and wildlife on the Gulf Coast and beyond could be profound. Read on to find out what 'OZ is doing about it—and what you can do to help combat this growing ecologicaul and environmental crisis

WWNO, New Orleans has a box on their site dealing with the spill. WWNO is offering extensive local news coverage. The only weakness - I could not find a way for listeners to become involved and engaged on the website.  


Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Center

WWNO's Local Coverage NPR's National Coverage NOAA Incident Response Central

WHIL, Mobile offers a link on the front page and an oil spill drop down on the Home Tab.
There is information on how listeners can become involved and volunteer inside the website.


http://www.whil.org/subpage.asp?pageID=126


As I moved around the Gulf Coast I noticed that stations in Texas had little to offer on their websites with the exception of KUHF. Florida stations relied on their news coverage. WUSF has some local coverage through their news department. WLRN is covering the issue with their talk show Florida Roundup. I had to dig to find this information. The sites from these stations did not offer a way for the stations' listeners and website users to become involved and engaged with the station. Stations in areas most likely to be affected seemed to be most engaged at this time.