Bi-Partisan Panel Says New Jersey Can No Longer Afford NJN

An article published by newjerseynewsroom.com says New Jersey's bipartisan panel is recommending that the state can no longer afford NJN. They recommend that a private buyer be found and New Jersey get out of the public media business.
Read more about it here: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/bi-partisan-panel-finds-state-government-can-no-longer-afford-operating-njn-tv-and-radio#

Richard Stockton College offers a dollar to take over NJN broadcasting - pressofAtlanticCity.com

Richard Stockton College offers a dollar to take over NJN broadcasting - pressofAtlanticCity.com

This an interesting article from the Press of Atlantic City about NJN. Stockton College has offered to take over the network for a dollar.

According to the article by Juliet Fletcher, there are two other offers for NJN. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wants to unload the network by December when state funding runs out.

KCET drops PBS

KCET drops PBS, risks viewer loyalty to avoid $6.8M yearly dues

It's a risky decision indeed.

One of the questions we faced on a regular basis at Connecticut Public Radio was the high cost of National Programming. Was the programming really worth it? Could we cut our losses if we just cut a few of the really expensive programs like Car Talk or A Prairie Home Companion. It was even suggested briefly that Morning Edition was too costly. Couldn't we just cancel these programs to reduce our expenses? Surely there must be something almost as good that costs a lot less? If we do that can't we put some of the savings into local efforts?

Fortunately, we took a careful look at how our audience was using the station. I even wrote an article about it for Audience 98, Public Service Economics.

We used listener hours to determine how the audience was using our programming. We then compared revenue per listener hour against cost per listener hour to determine our return on investment. The three programs mentioned above generated a large portion of Connecticut Public Radio's listener hours. The costs per listener hour were more than offset by the way our listeners used the station.

For the sake of argument, suppose we took A Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk off the air to save $32,000 in 1998. Because those programs were carried by two other public radio stations, we would have lost most of those listener hours and the revenue they represented.  In 1998 Car Talk represented about $68,000 in listener sensitive income. A Prairie Home Companion represented about $110,000 in listener sensitive income. Listener Sensitive Income is a combination of the revenue from listeners, local underwriters and local foundations. The combined return on investment was $106,000.

These numbers are a lot smaller than the $6.8 million in dues paid by KCET. The number of viewer hours represented by KCET audience is a lot larger than the 56 million listener hours generated by WNPR.  KCET has probably put a lot of thought into their decision, but they are likely to lose several million viewer hours to the other PBS stations that serve the LA Basin. The drop in viewer hours will represent a drop in viewer sensitive income. The question is, did the viewer sensitive income offset the cost of the PBS programming?
Will the new local focus generate enough viewer interest to offset those costs?

The Power Of Song

Interfaith Conversations: The Power Of Song - Courant.com

At a recent PRPD conference there was a lot of discussion about how to bring public radio music programming to life. The fear is that downloading and services like Pandora will make music on Public Radio obsolete. Some of the discussion has been about picking the right music. More of the discussion has been about how to engage the audience. After all, a public radio service depends on listener support to sustain itself. The music service must be engaging enough to motivate listeners to support the programming. That means not only a consistently appealing selection of music, but hosts that can connect the music to the listener.

Susan Campbell's column in the Hartford Courant brought this into focus. In music, there are shared moments that can reach the soul. During the presentation by the Interfaith Amigos, a Rabbi, a Christian Minister and a sheik, they talked about their continuing dialog. They're bringing their message of love for one another that is a big part of the three Abrahamic faiths. Campbell wrote in her column, "And then? Something happened. The audience joined in, and back in the sinners' section where I sat, they even swayed to the music, and that's not just people who were alive when that 1933 song was big. These were kids, too. People looked at one another like they couldn't believe they were sitting in a Hartford church singing an old song, and then? They opened their mouths and belted out the chorus." "Mackenzie and his friends are onto something. You sing together, it's hard to hate."

Public radio programming, when done well, can tap into that sense of community. Well thought out topical connections can put the music into context, and at times reach something in all of us. A musical jukebox like Pandora can't go there. Public radio music programmers, producers and hosts can pick all the right stuff but, by putting the music in the right context we can create moments when the music can mean something more.

Public Radio Exchange Pulls in Major Grants

PRX Raises $2.7 Million from Corporation for Public Broadcasting, MacArthur Foundation, and Ford Foundation

The grants include funding from:

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting - $1.5million
• The Ford Foundation - $900k
• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation - $300k

When I was PD and Director of Radio at CPBN, the content from PRX allowed us to present voices and ideas not necessarily available through NPR, PRI and APM.

It helped broaden the context of the issues and ideas that affected the communities we served. It was also a way for our producers to get added exposure for the work they were producing.

Freakonomics for Radio

American Public Media and New York Public Radio Announce Production Deal with Freakonomics Co-Author Stephen J. Dubner

WNYC and American Public Media have come up with an interesting program idea...Freakonomics for the radio.

The launch this fall will include podcasts, web content and bi-weekly features on Marketplace. In 2011 plans are to offer the features weekly on Marketplace. Five one-hour specials will also be available.

There's a lot more information about the offering at PRWeb. The link to the release is above.

Peconic Public Broadcasting Gets Another Extension

According to and article in 27 East News, Peconic Public Broadcasting and Long Island University have agreed to another extension in PPB's efforts to raise enough funds to buy WLIU. Since they were granted the extension, I'm assuming PPB has made significant progress in raising more than $600,000 needed to close the deal.
The station is situated in the Hamptons on the east end of Long Island featuring local public affairs, jazz and public affairs programming.
If Peconic Public Broadcasting fails to meet its obligation, the station will be sold to the highest bidder. The rumor (not confirmed) is the highest bidder is a faith based organization.
Right now PPB is seeking matching funds for a George Soros grant. They're also working with a bank to get a loan for the remaining amount. The extension is for 25 days.