Is it normal to transmit Open Line public affairs across all signals?

[TheBigA]

It's not the same show. In markets that are big enough to sustain multiple NPR members, there's so much room for local content in the ME clock

You're talking about weekday mornings. On the weekends, both KPCC and KCRW run Weekend Edition mostly as is. They both carry the New Yorker Radio Hour unedited. There are several other shows that both stations carry as fed on the network.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Let me know when they don't take ANY taxpayer money and my point will no longer be relevant. Until then, it is.

My GM at KIYU in Galena, Alaska and I figured out back in 2016 how much funding CPB gets from the average citizen.. it amounts to one crappy coffee of gas station coffee a year.

If you're so butt hurt by that, give me your address and i'll mail you $2 cash of my own money

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

It's not the same show. In markets that are big enough to sustain multiple NPR members, there's so much room for local content in the ME clock that it's not unusual for half or more of the hour to be unique to each station. In Boston, WGBH has turned its ME into a personality-driven show with two co-hosts and lots of local talk, while WBUR sticks to a more traditional news-driven approach. Each has found a solid unique audience.

And if you want the straight up Morning Edition show tune in to KSKO 6 to 8am AK Time .. we take the show in its entirety with no local cutaways/breakaways.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

My GM at KIYU in Galena, Alaska and I figured out back in 2016 how much funding CPB gets from the average citizen.. it amounts to one crappy coffee of gas station coffee a year.

If you're so butt hurt by that, give me your address and i'll mail you $2 cash of my own money

Don't refund it to me, refund every citizen who didn't vote for subsidized radio.

And if the tax dollars your station received doesn't mean that much (what they all say when confronted with this issue), have it give the money back to its funding sources and forswear ever recieving taxpayer dollars again. Of course that won't happen because your station needs all the funding it can get.

 

[TheBigA]

Don't refund it to me, refund every citizen who didn't vote for subsidized radio.

Citizens don't vote for ANY item in the federal budget. That's not how it works. They vote for representatives who act on their behalf. And every year since the 1960s, your elected representatives have voted to appropriate money for CPB. You live in California, and you know what your reps have voted for. Your reps have also voted to fund the California education budget, and some of that money funds KCSN.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Don't refund it to me, refund every citizen who didn't vote for subsidized radio.

And if the tax dollars your station received doesn't mean that much (what they all say when confronted with this issue), have it give the money back to its funding sources and forswear ever recieving taxpayer dollars again. Of course that won't happen because your station needs all the funding it can get.

I never meant to imply the funding doesnt mean much, so dont put words in my mouth. Without that funding, an entire large swath of our state would be left with zero local information.. weather, important local news/messages, etc.. we wouldnt have survived 41+ years

 

[DavidEduardo]

What does the color of the state have anything to do with it?

It is a basic question. Why is the government in the business of subsidizing some stations? I never said anything about getting rid of public radio (an intriguing idea though!), just that if they are going to be "member supported", then that is what they should be. Either the station is relevant to enough people to allow them to continue operating on a direct funding model or they are not (like possibly KCSN), but taxpayer dollars should not be in the equation at all.

Nearly every developed democratic nation in the world, from Japan to England, from South Africa to India, has a solid and generally well reputed state broadcast entity.

While in many of those places the government controlled all radio and TV, in the last 50 years most have allowed parallel commercial and privately owned stations. In many cases, only public media without the need to meet CPP and CPM competitive goals can afford to do the best in-depth programs.

If taxpayers provide free primary and secondary education, I do not see why they can not provide a radio and TV service that does deeper news coverage and the type of offerings that the BBC has.

 

[Larry]

Perhaps if the FCC hadn’t lessened the public affairs requirement for commercial radio stations there wouldn’t be as much of a need for NPR. I can remember in the 1970s at least 5-6 commercial radio stations in Philly had news departments and reporters. Now I believe only one commercial station does and that’s our all news station KYW.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Perhaps if the FCC hadn’t lessened the public affairs requirement for commercial radio stations there wouldn’t be as much of a need for NPR. I can remember in the 1970s at least 5-6 commercial radio stations in Philly had news departments and reporters. Now I believe only one commercial station does and that’s our all news station KYW.

The mistake of the FCC was believing that forcing stations to include news in entertainment programming would make people better informed. Most of us as kids would simply switch stations when one had news or public affairs shows.

Those of us who ran stations in the 60's and 70's realized that there were moments when news and information was needed, such as AM Drive, and other times when it was totally rejected by listeners. So we hid much of that content at 4 and 5 AM or on Sunday morning, did a balanced information, personality and news approach in the morning and played music the rest of the day.

Far better is to have one or two stations that specialize in information, perhaps one in "give us 20 minutes..." style and another in NPR fashion. And that is why we need NPR.

 

[TheBigA]

Perhaps if the FCC hadn’t lessened the public affairs requirement for commercial radio stations there wouldn’t be as much of a need for NPR.

The lessening of requirements came a few years after the establishment of NPR. But the point is you shouldn't need to have the government require public service. Stations should want to provide community information. But they don't, and that's opened the door for public broadcasting.

The incident that led to public broadcasting was when CBS-TV chose to air I Love Lucy reruns instead of live congressional hearings on the Tonkin Gulf resolution in 1964. Three years later, congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act.

 

[Larry]

The mistake of the FCC was believing that forcing stations to include news in entertainment programming would make people better informed. Most of us as kids would simply switch stations when one had news or public affairs shows.

What I liked as a kid (and maybe that’s why I became a news junkie) were the 1-2 minute hourly news updates on top 40 radio.

 

[gr8oldies]

What I liked as a kid (and maybe that’s why I became a news junkie) were the 1-2 minute hourly news updates on top 40 radio.

I grew up with CKLW 20-20 News, that kept up the entertainment value. ABC Contemporary was good and to the point

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Perhaps if the FCC hadn’t lessened the public affairs requirement for commercial radio stations there wouldn’t be as much of a need for NPR. I can remember in the 1970s at least 5-6 commercial radio stations in Philly had news departments and reporters. Now I believe only one commercial station does and that’s our all news station KYW.

wanna tell that to wide swaths of alaska where commercial radio wouldnt survive and therefore, without public radio, id say about 2/3rd this state would have zero local radio service.

including massive swaths of people whos first language isnt english.. its yupik, cupik or something else and the public stations broadcast in those languages

??

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Perhaps if the FCC hadn’t lessened the public affairs requirement for commercial radio stations there wouldn’t be as much of a need for NPR. I can remember in the 1970s at least 5-6 commercial radio stations in Philly had news departments and reporters. Now I believe only one commercial station does and that’s our all news station KYW.

There is no need for NPR. Millions upon millions of Americans get by quite well never talking advantage of the service.

And c"mon, NPR isn't providing life sustaining information to local yocals who just aren't smart enough to live in a cosmopolitan city like LA. It is a nearly total lilly-white leftist propaganda organization (often witn an international accent to let you know how informed and worldly they are) for a lilly-white leftist listenership to have all of their leftist beliefs validated and regurgitated back to them.

Believe me, I know who their audience is. I work with them every day.

 

[TheBigA]

There is no need for NPR. Millions upon millions of Americans get by quite well never talking advantage of the service.

Using that logic there's no need for firemen either. I've lived in many places, and have never had need of a fireman.

People willingly pay for NPR, and they support their politicians who vote for its continued funding. A few years ago a handful of congressmen were saying they would defund it. In point of fact, there is no item in the budget for NPR, so they can't defund it. But a bunch of Republican governors, led by Ohio and West Virginia campaigned to continue the funding. So that ended that.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Using that logic there's no need for firemen either. I've lived in many places, and have never had need of a fireman.

People willingly pay for NPR, and they support their politicians who vote for its continued funding. A few years ago a handful of congressmen were saying they would defund it. In point of fact, there is no item in the budget for NPR, so they can't defund it. But a bunch of Republican governors, led by Ohio and West Virginia campaigned to continue the funding. So that ended that.

NPR is as vital to a community as the fire department? That is what you are going with?
🤣

 

[TheBigA]

NPR is as vital to a community as the fire department? That is what you are going with?
🤣

Using your logic. If millions don't use it, there's obviously no need. Didn't you say that? Yes, you did.

Look, if commercial radio would do a better job, you'd have a point. But they don't. They created the need.

 

[b-turner]

Talking Public Affairs, it is programming listeners don't care to hear but a requirement for the public files and requires an upload to the FCC every quarter of what that programming was. It is typically played at 6 or 7am on Sundays when some of the fewest listeners of the entire week are listening. Group stations generally run the same program on all their stations in that city. Stand alones usually just sign up for a syndicated public affairs show.

Generally speaking, it's something most broadcasters don't care to run and if there wasn't a federal requirement they wouldn't. I've been in radio since 1978 and have yet to have anyone ever mention a public affairs show or ask to see the public file. I've been in small markets to a top 10 market for over 25 years and GM at a few stations.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Using that logic there's no need for firemen either. I've lived in many places, and have never had need of a fireman.

Yeah, 98% of Americans did not buy the Washingon Post when they brought down the corrupt Nixon administration.

Commercial radio can't do deep stories and analysis. NPR can. It's needed.

 

[DavidEduardo]

OK, STOP!!!!!

I was debating deleting the first accusatory post, and put in a consult with Frank.

Members of both the Red and Blue factions may express opinions, but without calling the others with derogatory terms and names.

For the moment, I am closing this thread.