WESA Names Midday Host

WESA, Essential Public Media...formerly WDUQ...has a new midday host. Paul Guggenheimer will host "Essential Pittsburgh." "Essential Pittsburgh" will air Monday through Friday at noon. A start date has not been announced.
There's more information in PostGazette.com.
Guggenheimer is currently hosting "Dakota Midday" for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

WDUQ Rebound

The AQH share for WDUQ went up slightly in August to 1.5%.
Tune in six months from now to see the trend. That will show something significant and more reliable.
There's more news in the Post-Gazette.com

Pittsburgh Share

June       1.6%
July        1.4%
August   1.5%

WDUQ Hopes to Double Audience

There were similar issues in Connecticut when WNPR refocused programming to include more news and information. WNPR took a big hit from unhappy members. Looking back, the numbers turned around quickly. If you include underwriting and membership as Listener Sensitive Income, revenue increased in the first year. So did the audience. In the long run, the biggest benefit was increased community connections and community support.
Check out the article in Trib Live.

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. 

WDUQ Deal Delayed

The headline in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on the 16th makes the delay seem dire. It reads WDUQ sale stalls over final details. But, if you scroll down you'll find out the deal is far from dead. "Both sides met Friday, but a few details remain to be completed, said WYEP board chair Marco Cardamone. Mr. Cardamone said the asset purchase agreement should be completed by next week."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11106/1139778-53.stm#ixzz1JtPTflYl

Support for Public Radio Growing

It has been a Fall filled with uncertainty for Public Radio. The sluggish economy along with the turmoil surrounding the firing of Juan Williams has resulted in unease within Public Radio. Despite these issues, the news is good from several stations. Public support continues to rise. Here are some recent stories and releases about membership campaigns around the country.

Capital Public Radio, Sacramento's NPR affiliate, wrapped up the most successful fund drive in the station's history last week, according to president and general manager Rick Eytcheson.

The station did not release final pledge figures, but Eytcheson said, "It'll be our first time over $500,000." (Modesto Bee)

Read more: http://www.modbee.com/2010/10/25/1397723/capital-public-radio-has-successful.html#ixzz13T9eeYdm




HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii Public Radio met its $808,000 fall fundraising goal and ended its 10-day pledge drive Friday afternoon to return to regular programming.  Read More:  http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13375120




WHQR 91.3, the local public radio station, raised $155,000 during its fall pledge drive, exceeding the goal of $125,000. In addition, it took only seven days to get there instead of the usual 11 that has been the standard for spring and fall pledge drives in recent years. (Star News Online)


In enthusiastic WAMC fashion, the on-air fund drive began at 6 a.m. on Monday, October 4, 2010 and ended in six days and a morning with 6,912 pledges. Dedicated WAMC members and listeners locally and nationally called and pledged on-line all day and into the night and manned phones to help make this happen. Says Alan himself, "Because of the wonderful and generous WAMC audience, we made it with time to spare. "We are immensely grateful to everyone who helped.  by WAMC/Northeast Public Radio

PULLMAN - Northwest Public Radio’s sixth one-day campaign on Oct. 21, “Super Thursday,” attracted more than 2,600 online and telephone pledges and raised more than $295,000. 

NWPR is a community service of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, and listener support is its single largest source of revenue.

A healthy membership base is vital for NWPR to continue as an essential news and information source, said dean Lawrence Pintak.

“Our citizenry is hungry for the in-depth, unbiased and quality news reports heard every day on Northwest Public Radio,” he said. “This service is truly essential and will only become more so as we continue to build our regional news program.”  WSU Today

WDUQ-FM (90.5) raised more than $354,000 in its annual fall fundraising drive that ended Saturday at noon.
Of the total raised, more than $75,000 came in the final 24 hours of the drive, and more than $20,000 was donated during jazz programming on Friday. Mark Bertolet, director of marketing and communications for the jazz and NPR station, said the fundraising effort indicated there was support in this area for the station's programming. By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10297/1097656-455.stm#ixzz13TFwgWC8

Four Foundations End Hold on WDUQ

The announcement that four foundations had decided to withdraw their hold on WDUQ has left me with questions.

 “The group worked hard for a month to determine how the radio station would add value to the original project in relation to the cost. What we in the foundations group have determined is that we are not enough along in that analysis and in our solicitation of community input, and will not be by July 2.” In published reports and in an interview with WDUQ, representatives of the foundation effort said the group was looking to find ways to grow journalism in the region at a time when many news outlets are facing financial difficulties. "


Did the foundations have difficulty getting input? Did the foundations find the problem too broad to come up with a solution for WDUQ? Did the foundations underestimate the complexity of the issue?  


Saving  in-depth  journalism is an issue that goes beyond public media with interest coming from many parties. The Knight Commission has some interesting analysis and thought on this issue. Recently there was an interesting Article in the Atlantic about Google's ventures into saving journalism.


Saving WDUQ as an NPR station would help in keeping the community informed. There are no other NPR news outlets serving the Pittsburgh market. Saving WDUQ as an NPR station is only a part of the answer.


Did the foundations want to answer something much broader? If so, I have to agree two months is much too short a time frame. Getting started...trying something to keep the public informed can begin anytime.

Fundraising is a challenge for WDUQ

Pittsburgh Public Media, a group of station staffers and community volunteers wants to keep WDUQ pretty much the way it is now with a mix of NPR news and Jazz. Raising money toward the purchase of the station is problematic. Money raised during the pledge drives cannot be used toward the purchase of the station. The group does not have access to the current donor lists. PPM is trying reach out to the current members through social media and a website. The article does not mention how much PPM has raised toward the purchase price. Duquesne University says it wants full value for the station. It is estimated to be worth $10 million.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10151/1061679-67.stm#ixzz0pXMBDaKi


To find out more about Pittsburgh Public Media go to: http://www.pittsburghpublicmedia.org/

Duquesne University aggressively pursuing sale of WDUQ-FM - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Duquesne University aggressively pursuing sale of WDUQ-FM - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

There are a couple of interesting aspects to this article about the sale.

· The article suggests that if the University sells the station, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would ask for its money back. Duquesne bristled at that suggestion. "But Duquesne President Charles Dougherty insists that having to reimburse 30 years' worth of federal grants will not deter him from selling the station to a nonprofit group that offers the best deal." According to the Pittsburgh-Review a spokesperson for CPB Louise Filkins said, "As stewards of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting, CPB does have an interest in seeing the licensee maintained as a public broadcasting operation. It is too early for CPB to speculate about possible outcomes for the station, but CPB could request any or all of WDUQ's federal funding be reimbursed."

· There is also a huge discrepancy between between the value Pittsburgh Public Media puts on the station ($5 million), and the value Duquesne University puts on the station ($10 million). Pittsburgh Public Media Chairman, Joe Kelly, says his group is making a second offer.

Kelly also says the city cannot afford to lose the station. There are two other public radio stations in the market. WYEP programs the AAA music format. WQED programs classical music. At a time when in-depth news is at risk, the loss of NPR news and information would deeply felt.

Does Pittsburgh need another religious broadcaster? The market seems to be pretty crowded right now. According to radio-locator there are 11 strong frequencies broadcasting religious formats to Pittsburgh.

University entertains three WDUQ bidders - News

University entertains three WDUQ bidders - News
The University is entertaining three bids, but adds that they do not have to accept any of them. If the bids do not meet their expectations, the University said it will wait until the market is better. Pittsburgh Public Media is among the group of three bids being considered.
The university reiterated that owning and financially supporting the station did not fit within its mission. According to University spokesperson Bridget Fare the sale of WDUQ was related to improving the University for students. "President Charles J. Dougherty said the question is whether WDUQ fits Duquesne's mission of serving God through serving students."
The University says it feels no obligation to sell WDUQ to a group that wants to air NPR news programming.

WDUQ's Uncertainty May Make Them Stronger

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has published a thoughtful and hopeful article by Adrian McCoy about the future of WDUQ in Pittsburgh. The strength of WDUQ's community support may make it possible for WDUQ to support itself. The help of Public Radio Capital an organization with previous experience with this type of situation, might make it possible.

The article sites a similar situation on Long Island at WLIU. I think WDUQ is in a much stronger position. The Pittsburgh station already gets 50% of it's funding from members and gets considerable support from corporations. They have robust audience figures. And, they have very little competition for the NPR news they offer (plus program offerings from Public Radio International and American Public Media). WLIU is starting from scratch. Listener Sensitive Income at WLIU was almost non-existent before the sale of the station to Peconic Public Broadcasting, and their fundraising efforts are still short of what they need. WLIU's audience is small. And, there's plenty of competition for the NPR news audience from WSHU and Connecticut Public Radio.

Also important to both stations is their community service. Local programming can create networks of support throughout their communities if done well. I think it was Audience 98 that concluded, "Community service begets community support." The formula worked for us at WNPR.