"KQED offers buyout packages with layoffs potentially coming to cut costs"

[Mark Roberts]

I also mentioned that TV produces next-to-nothing. (Check Please Bay Area counts, but not for much.) I thought they had relaunched their weekly Newsroom program, but I just checked their schedule and even that's not there, so local news/public affairs content appears to be zero.

I thought that was supposed to be the replacement for This Week in Northern California (see KQED Launches New Show Replacing 'This Week In Northern California' | KQED) but I don't recall ever having seen it.

Honestly, KQED television is an embarassment for a place as culturally...and financially...rich as the Bay Area. One wonders where all that pledge-drive money goes. I had always thought that organization's conscious effort in news and public affairs was focused on KQED-FM. I would listen now and again but I was more of a KCBS listener.

And here's the thing: the Bay Area has a viable, credible all-news radio operation in KCBS. So the need for comprehensive local radio news coverage may not be as urgently felt in the Bay Area as it would be in Denver or Houston, to name two examples I'm familiar with. (KOA is a headline service at best; I won't again get into what KTRH has become, much less KPRC.)

I'll reiterate: I don't think the problem with KQED-FM is what it's spending on news programming...it's what it's spending on other things that, at best, contribute only indirectly to the product that listeners hear, and sometimes contribute not at all.

 

[Mark Roberts]

What's shocking is that this happened at a station with a big audience, in one of America's wealthiest metros. If KQED can't make ends meet, I hate to think what PBS stations must be going through in much smaller & less affluent markets.

There's a documentary on that, featuring KEET in Eureka, California: KEET: 50 Years Strong | PBS

 

[michael hagerty]

What's shocking is that this happened at a station with a big audience, in one of America's wealthiest metros. If KQED can't make ends meet, I hate to think what PBS stations must be going through in much smaller & less affluent markets.

A smaller station with less overhead might actually do better.

In 1980, I was friends with the Program Director at KMPC in Los Angeles. I was programming KOLO in Reno. 1979 was a record billing year for both stations—-$14 million for KMPC and $1 million for KOLO.

We compared bottom lines. KMPC’s net profit was only about $250,000 more than KOLO’s, on $13 million more in revenue.

Not having to pay superstars and maintain two helicopters and a fixed-wing airplane can be a good thing.

 

[Signal Geek]

There's a documentary on that, featuring KEET in Eureka, California: KEET: 50 Years Strong | PBS

Thanks Mark for providing this link. I watched a few minutes of it. Love the Homework Hotline; wish I'd had that available as a kid struggling through geometry. Also, we're used to seeing stations in some non-descript office building or industrial area, but in the documentary's first few minutes, the aerials show KEET in the middle of what looks like a regular residential neighborhood.

Interesting that when I clicked on the link, a pop-up asked if my nearest PBS affiliate was KPBS/San Diego (it is). Then, while watching this documentary, whose call letters were branded at the top of the frame? Not KEET's. All I saw was KPBS.

 

[TheBigA]

I hate to think what PBS stations must be going through in much smaller & less affluent markets.

They're all laying off staff. This is not just one station. It's a national problem.

LAist to cut 21 positions, citing revenue shortfall

The Pasadena-based operator of public radio station LAist, formerly known as KPCC-FM (89.3), will cut its staff by 10% and pull back on podcasting efforts.

www.latimes.com

The NPR Layoffs Eat Into Its Future

The public-radio mothership made some deep cuts this week as it leans back into its broadcast roots.

www.vulture.com

WBUR offers employee buyouts to help cut $4 million from budget

WBUR said job cut are part of an effort to trim 10% of its budget. Chief Executive Margaret Low said she hopes buyouts will reduce the number of layoffs needed.

www.wbur.org

DCist Shuts Down, 15 Staffers Laid Off

WAMU management says the move is a “strategic shift focused on audio.” Former DCist reporters call bullshit.

washingtoncitypaper.com

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

I sure do hope they turn around. Good quality journalism is shrinking around us

 

[Mediafrog+]

They're all laying off staff. This is not just one station. It's a national problem.

Houston Public Media, which operates PBS KUHT and Public Radio KUHF, just extended its spring pledge drive by several days. No reason given, but I have to assume donations were way short of target levels.

HPM management has not been hesitant to whack personnel in recent years, so we’re waiting to see if more cuts are on the way. They did dump Classical KUHA in 2016, and KUHT has almost no local programming.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

I sure do hope they turn around. Good quality journalism is shrinking around us

True too plus how does a media outlet like KQED and all the Public Media affiliates around the country not run into the same issues that got KGO-AM under the News/talk format killed off in the radio ratings are at play too.

 

[radiofan2023]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that for a lot of the NPR stations that have laid off staff, they aren't the only NPR affiliated station in their market. SF has KALW, KQED, and KCSM. Boston has WGBH and WBUR. So even if people listen to multiple NPR stations, they may not donate to each one.

Around Kansas City, there's just KCUR in KC and KANU in Lawrence. KCUR staffers began starting to form a union last month:

KCUR editorial staffers begin the process of forming a union. Pay is a key issue

If successful, KCUR would become the second unionized public radio station in Missouri. The station's general manager promised a continued focus on "trusted journalism and entertainment that is freely accessible to all.”

www.kcur.org

 

[Mark Roberts]

True too plus how does a media outlet like KQED and all the Public Media affiliates around the country not run into the same issues that got KGO-AM under the News/talk format killed off in the radio ratings are at play too.

Remember that funding sources for public media aren't solely based on advertising or, in this case, underwriting. There are memberships...the next best thing to subscriptions...and grants from various sources. So the funding mix for operating expenses is more diverse. The advantage of commercial media theoretically is the ability to raise capital, which was great for when the large conglomerates were expanding, but not so useful now that the commercial part of the industry is in stasis at best.

At the present time, membership revenues and underwriting revenues are both down. For some operations, that, combined with big capital projects, has led to the need to cut back.

Journalism seems to be reverting to a 19th-century model of skimpy revenues. Consequently, opinion is increasingly allowed to substitute for reporting because it's cheaper to opine than to figure out what's actually going on.

KGO had a whole other set of issues. If I got into that, this thread would go off-topic faster than the speed of sound. In its declining years, KGO was more talked about than listened to.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that for a lot of the NPR stations that have laid off staff, they aren't the only NPR affiliated station in their market. SF has KALW, KQED, and KCSM. Boston has WGBH and WBUR. So even if people listen to multiple NPR stations, they may not donate to each one.

Around Kansas City, there's just KCUR in KC and KANU in Lawrence. KCUR staffers began starting to form a union last month:

KCUR editorial staffers begin the process of forming a union. Pay is a key issue

If successful, KCUR would become the second unionized public radio station in Missouri. The station's general manager promised a continued focus on "trusted journalism and entertainment that is freely accessible to all.”

www.kcur.org

True too for San Francisco specifically where KALW, KQED and KRCB- FM are all news/talk stations with NPR affiliations. For KALW the audiences are more towards San Francisco-Oakland and KRCB-FM its audiences are in the North Bay. KQED is the rest of the Bay Area.

 

[NYCsporty]

I also mentioned that TV produces next-to-nothing. (Check Please Bay Area counts, but not for much.) I thought they had relaunched their weekly Newsroom program, but I just checked their schedule and even that's not there, so local news/public affairs content appears to be zero.

Contrast that to here in Arizona with KAZT (Arizona PBS Tempe/Phoenix), who also have a localized version of Check Please Arizona, but unlike KQED, they do have a daily news program called Arizona Horizon as well as ocasssionally airing debates ahead of local elections. Sure helps being owned by Arizona State University, which is one of the finer journalism schools in the country. Considering the other commercial news options we got, this is sorely needed.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

KPBS Evening Edition | PBS

KPBS Evening Edition is a nightly news show featuring in-depth analysis of San Diego news.

www.pbs.org

KPBS San Diego does a local edition of PBS Newshour called "Evening Edition". This is the best example of a local PBS affiliate doing local news. KPBS is owned by California State University the same entity that owns CapRadio in Sacramento.

 

[radiofan2023]

KPBS is owned by California State University the same entity that owns CapRadio in Sacramento.

The “About Us” section of the KPBS website explains it better:

About Us

KPBS news serves the people of the San Diego region with trustworthy, in-depth information that allows the community to hold its leaders accountable. We show how global and local current affairs change our lives, and how San Diego changes the world. We tell you more than just what is...

www.kpbs.org

The TV license is held by the CSU Board of Trustees.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that for a lot of the NPR stations that have laid off staff, they aren't the only NPR affiliated station in their market. SF has KALW, KQED, and KCSM. Boston has WGBH and WBUR. So even if people listen to multiple NPR stations, they may not donate to each one.

Around Kansas City, there's just KCUR in KC and KANU in Lawrence. KCUR staffers began starting to form a union last month:

KCUR editorial staffers begin the process of forming a union. Pay is a key issue

If successful, KCUR would become the second unionized public radio station in Missouri. The station's general manager promised a continued focus on "trusted journalism and entertainment that is freely accessible to all.”

www.kcur.org

Interesting that the two writers on the story are former Kansas City Star reporters. I recognized the names.

The University of Missouri holds the licenses for the operations based on each of its four campuses, but they run independently of one another, and always have. Truman State University has the license for the KBIA (Columbia) repeater based in Kirksville, which replaced an earlier translator.

 

[Mark Roberts]

True too for San Francisco specifically where KALW, KQED and KRCB- FM are all news/talk stations with NPR affiliations. For KALW the audiences are more towards San Francisco-Oakland and KRCB-FM its audiences are in the North Bay. KQED is the rest of the Bay Area.

Actually, KALW does some musical programming, especially on the weekends and 8 pm-12 midnight weekdays. KRCB-FM is AAA except from 5-9 am and 3-7 pm weekdays. It also runs ATC and Weekend Edition on the weekends. KALW and KRCB-FM have more limited coverage areas compared to KQED-FM.

Also keep in mind that, in the Bay Area, KDFC, KCSM-FM and KPFA/KPFB are also soliciting donations, as does 500-watt KALX at the University of California. There are probably others since there are so many small stations on the non-commercial part of the FM band in the region.

 

[fybush]

That's more common than not in any market of decent size. Here in Rochester, I will be back on the air tomorrow afternoon pitching for WGMC, the scrappy little jazz station that has a very modest fundraising goal compared to my now ex-enployer.

 

[TheBigA]

Related to my previous post about other NPR stations offering buyouts and layoffs:

Boston's WBUR Reducing Staff 14% Through Layoffs and Buyouts - Radio Ink

Boston NPR affiliate WBUR has announced a workforce reduction of up to 14% through a mix of layoffs and voluntary buyouts.

radioink.com

This is a radio-only operation, not combined with TV.

 

[DarrenVision]

KPBS Evening Edition | PBS

KPBS Evening Edition is a nightly news show featuring in-depth analysis of San Diego news.

www.pbs.org

KPBS San Diego does a local edition of PBS Newshour called "Evening Edition". This is the best example of a local PBS affiliate doing local news. KPBS is owned by California State University the same entity that owns CapRadio in Sacramento.

WTTW did so as "Chicago Tonight" until it reduced recently to twice a week.

 

[Mark Roberts]

That's more common than not in any market of decent size. Here in Rochester, I will be back on the air tomorrow afternoon pitching for WGMC, the scrappy little jazz station that has a very modest fundraising goal compared to my now ex-enployer.

I think the Bay Area is something of an outlier in this regard, since there's not just KQED, and not just the NPR member stations with more limited reach, and not just KCSM, but also KPFA, which was a pioneer in this concept, then KDFC (+2 repeaters) for classical/fine arts, and a whole bunch of fairly low-power college and high-school stations in 88-92 land. Chicago is comparable, though with just one NPR member station and nothing like KPFA.

At some point donor fatigue sets in. But I think we'll see more listener-supported stations; not fewer.