Thank you for the kind words about the Christmas Story. Man, was that a project! The American Spirit Network was envisioned to be a talk format of short programs, generally in the 3 to 5 minute range, with trivia and a subject matter of 'God, Family and Country'. The objective on the 'God' topic was to approach it from a cultural and historical aspect. While I secured some material others provided, such as authors and the like, most content needed to be written and produced. With two part-timers at best and mostly just me, we never realized the format idea. We would up being so overwhelmed it became so hard to get anything done we would up with little to show for it.
We had created a sample hour: top and bottom of the hour: a historical or religious event as reported as a news story as it would be presented today, a chapter from both the Old and New Testament in a everyday English translation, dramatized and orchestrated by a group of voices. We had segments rewritten from books on history to authors voicing a segment from their book (usually inspirational, motivational or dealing with some aspect of family) which was easy thanks to audio books. We did a trivia question each half hour and we had an 'out of left field' minute each half hour such as the law in Boston that forbade bathing on Saturday with a fine if caught. The emphasis was to be fast paced and lite versus scholarly and boring. If anyone had some really deep pockets to shell out for development, I think it would be something some folks would listen to. We even tossed around a possible setting of recurring characters as if it originated in a small town where some folks, like real life, were good and bad. The characters would share conversations dispensing the information. Each segment had it's place on a hot clock that repeated every 30 minutes.
I remember speaking with you. I apologize if you got the impression I was busy. That is rare but I'll tell you and phone you back just as soon as I get free. There are a couple of rules of thumb, however: to make the phone ring, go to the bathroom or be about to enter a school zone while driving.
My owners and family are U of H and LSU alumni. So, they'd love it.
Let me explain how KYND works: we lease all of our broadcast day, 365 days a year, to a client or perhaps a couple of clients that provide the programming and pay us to air it. Imagine if you will that you have purchased a building on a busy street corner that is zoned commercial by the city or county. You put a for rent sign out. You don't know who might want to rent. One person might rent the whole building. Maybe 2. Maybe there might me more tenants than that. I don't know the business they will conduct in that space they lease. That tenant will decide what that business will be. KYND operates like that building. At this point I cannot add any inventory because I don't know who will release the whole building.
KYND now has it's studio in it's transmitter room and it is the most bare bones it can be. We're talking a Behringer mixer (sounds great on AM), a CD deck, minidisc unit and a microphone setting on the tool/spare parts table. We hope to never use it because the noise in that tiny little building is pretty substantial, not to mention the RF. There's no phone there. It's just a building in a field under some towers. Most alumni that get an affiliate need to air local commercials to offset the cost of airtime. As it is right now, that's not easy.
To say now I'd do LSU, we're talking committing to something that might be contrary to what a future client wants on the station. And the contract for LSU sports would not be accepted unless it paid our year-long operating expenses. I'm not saying no but I sure cannot say yes right now. And the price I'd need with nobody buying my broadcast day would be so astronomical for a 'per game' price, it's absurd. Literally I'd have to charge you what it costs us to be on the air 365 days a year with a little for emergencies.
The way I see it, the one making the decision of whether or not to become an LSU affiliate will be the client that leases the station.
If you are still thinking we might be a good candidate or whether you might be calling plenty of stations, consider the times the games will air. On the AM dial, there are stations like KYND that are only allowed to operate sunrise to sunset. There are stations that must reduce power at sunset or change the direction where that power goes once sunset occurs. A 24/7 station might had the right coverage or maybe not. I can help you figure out a good station.
As you look for a station, even if it is not KYND, I'll always be willing to help and answer any questions you might have. Feel free to call any time. The important thing is you get a good deal and the right station. By the way, this is not a bad time to be looking. There are typically fewer stations than games to be aired. The early bird gets the better station at the better price.
