Thanks for Supporting KUSP’s Planning Process
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to KUSP’s successful Summer Fundraiser. Your support means we’ll be able to keep making great radio as our station plans for a fiscally sustainable future. Now these efforts can continue without the threat of disrupted programming. This means that this discussion can benefit from the support of a staff and continuous communication with the audience.
Assuming a successful fall pledge drive, we will continue to bring you the shows you rely on while we proceed to gather essential information regarding our future direction. This research now includes seeking expert third party perspectives on the plans that have been discussed to date.
As our board president wrote in a recent letter:
“In appreciation of the time and energy that our board, staff and growing community of supporters have put into crafting alternatives, the board is taking the time we need to reach a thoughtful conclusion about our future.
There is a lot at stake in identifying the best organizational structure for the station, and we are grateful our listeners are engaged in helping us find a sustainable path forward.”
- Kelly O’Brien, President of the KUSP Board of Directors
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An Update on KUSP’s Future
Where We’ve Been
Almost ten years ago, KUSP started seeking ways to ensure its long-term sustainability. We could see the media environment was changing in fundamental ways, and our station would have to adapt.
A lot of information emerged between 2007 and 2014 that supported forging collaborations with other public radio stations as the best way to sustain our ability to create high-quality programming at KUSP – local news and information programming, as well as music and arts coverage. Unfortunately, our efforts to develop strong station-to-station collaborations fell short of success.
In the spring of 2015 it became clear that for KUSP to stay viable, we would have to make it on our own. In May, the Board of Directors decided to pursue options that would keep KUSP independent and local and not to sell or close the station unless there was no alternative.
We developed some initial visions of what KUSP might be like in the future as an independent station and invited the public to give us feedback and offer ideas. Over the course of a few weeks and numerous public meetings, about a dozen distinct ideas were put forward and discussed.
In June, we consolidated the ideas and feedback down to four general directions, and a working group of three volunteer KUSP board members was selected to analyze each alternative. What they considered includes:
- Comparing how the ideas would perform financially.
- Considering how well plans align with our current mission.
- Looking at whether there are public radio stations in other parts of the country that are succeeding with the same approach.
- Evaluating whether programming be meaningfully different from or better than other public radio choices in the Monterey Bay Area.
All the alternatives being examined increase KUSP’s emphasis on local programming. Two keep news and information as the priority in the times when radio listening is greatest, while the other two prioritize music programming in key listening times (while still having room on the schedule for KUSP-produced news, information, and interview shows). All four depend on substantial volunteer involvement in producing KUSP programming, though the size of the volunteer community and the amount of the on-air time volunteers would be responsible for varies. The emphasis on making what we do accessible online through kusp.org also varies.
One of the alternatives was developed by “KUSP Forward,” an informal community group that formed in May and is independent of KUSP, though some members of the group are or have been KUSP volunteers and some are former employees. In addition, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and Arts Council Santa Cruz County convened a Community Leadership Planning Group in June. That planning group looked at KUSP’s current operation and at the public radio industry as a whole, and at the end of June they released a report that recommended a number of actions the station could take and issues to study further.
The KUSP Board of Directors received the first report from its three-member working group on July 13, and expects to see more information from them shortly. The board is considering that analysis, input from the public and KUSP Forward, and the report and recommendations from the Community Leadership Planning Group. After careful consideration, the board will make decisions about programming, staffing, and fund-raising – short-term and ultimately long-term.
It is likely the station’s general direction would, after more research and refinement, parallel one of the four most viable alternatives that emerged over the course of the spring and summer – but new approaches will be considered as well.
To reduce expenses immediately, some changes in KUSP programming, staffing, and behind-the-scenes operation have been implemented, and more are expected. This post in the About KUSP blog discusses programming changes we made at the end of June.
KUSP has a fundraising campaign under way to ensure you will be able to enjoy the programs you love while we reach decisions about the station’s future and begin a transition to that future way of operating. We are grateful for the gifts to this campaign we have received so far this summer, and invite you to join the donors who are already on board.
Thank You!
Terry Green,
General Manager
Send an email to the KUSP Board of Directors.