Classically Speaking: Southern Colorado 2, Northern Colorado 0

Checking public radio sports, in the Classical Music League, in the third inning, it's Colorado Springs 2, Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Greeley NOTHING.

It's Only a Game, Right?

If Colorado Public Radio (CPR) were operating under the spirit and intent of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the score would be 2 to 1.

That's because listeners in Colorado Springs have KCME at 88.7-FM, A Voice for the Arts, and Colorado Public Radio (CPR) at 94.7-FM BOTH programming classical music, while people in Larimer and Weld Counties in Colorado have NO CLASSICAL MUSIC OPTION on their radio dials.

Game Analysis

The score is 2 to zip, because the public radio system has been GAMED -- beaten up for nearly 30 years. Public Broadcasting's funding arm, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was threatened with zeroed-out funding by the Reagan team, and ever since 1981, many in the public radio system have played things way too safe -- with some players playing with a sinister twist (quick, check that ball for foreign substances).

When CPR pulled the plug on Classical KVOD at 90.1-FM recently, and replaced it with KCFR News, CPR lost its connection with Summit County (see previous article), and it ALSO wiped out classical music listenership in Larimer and Weld Counties in Colorado. Now, public radio listeners there are treated to drive time news from KUNC at 91.5-FM AND KCFR at 90.1-FM which is almost identical -- save for local drop-ins from each station -- times at which KUNC has shined in recent months. Since KUNC is more localized than CPR could ever hope to be for this region, the only motivation for CPR to remove classical music and replace it with news is because they know it brings in more money, and it could weaken KUNC's base of support by just offering the same NPR news shows.

The intent of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 is completely ignored in this instance. It was created and funded so that non-commercial radio and TV could take chances; bring new programming and ideas to the airwaves, and serve UNSERVED audiences. Colorado Public Radio's recent removal of KVOD from 90.1-FM takes CPR in the opposite direction from that reason to exist in the first place! All that we may see from this reckless behavior is the support base for CPR growing a bit (at the expense of KUNC) while overall the PUBLIC loses content! Is that what Colorado Public radio means by news initiative?

Game Recap

Meanwhile, back in Summit County, the residents have scored big time with recent actions by the Summit County Translator Board. That's because they recently took the new KCFR-FM signal from 90.1 (previously KVOD) off their system, and replaced it with KCME music. In their own important way, the County -- NOT Colorado Public Radio -- is fulfilling the original intent of the Public Broadcasting Act, by reinstating classical music for its residents. WAY TO GO!

That's it from the public radio ballparks for now. There's still some hope for a rally.

Endowments and Public Broadcasting.

KCME-FM in Manitou Springs has an endowment fund which "serves as both a savings account and an income stream" for "unexpected expenses and contingencies." You can contribute to it by following this link.

Does your public radio station have an endowment fund? If not, why not? And if so, do you know how, when, and why money is spent from the fund? Call or email them to find out.

Selected Jobs in Colorado Public Radio.

In honor of Labor Day, here is a list of some current openings at Colorado public radio stations. As you can see, not of these positions is with public radio "management." So remember, if you interview for any of these positions, make sure you laborers find out about the managers for whom you will be working. Also, many public radio stations also offer unpaid, volunteer opportunities; some corporatized public radio stations; however, do not.

1. Corporate Support Associate at KUNC-FM in Greeley, Colorado. Job posting on the KUNC-FM site and job posting on the CPB website.
2. Disc Jockey at KLNX-LP in Minturn, Colorado. DJ Application on the Radio Free Minturn website.
3. Classical Music Host and Interns in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Music Host and Intern postings on the KCME-FM website.
   
4. Web Developer/Programmer in Denver, Colorado. Job posting on the Colorado Public Radio website.
   

Did You Ever Wonder?

Billy Crystal and Christoper Guest did a sketch (Willie and Frankie) on Saturday Night Live that began with, "Did you ever wonder . . ." Then they would go on to describe some painful bodily invasion like, " . . . what would happen if you stuck an icepick in your eye?"

In keeping with that theme, did you ever wonder what your local public radio stations are worth or what their employees get paid? It might be more (or less) than you think. Some of this financial information may be news to you. It certainly was news to me.

You can download and compare documents here. They are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

Colorado Public Radio Form 990 from 2003.
Colorado Public Radio Form 990 from 2004.
Colorado Public Radio Form 990 from 2005.

KUVO Form 990 from 2003.
KUVO Form 990 from 2004.
KUVO Form 990 from 2005.

Aspen Public Radio Form 990 from 2001.
Aspen Public Radio Form 990 from 2003.
Aspen Public Radio Form 990 from 2004.

KUNC Form 990 from 2003.
KUNC Form 990 from 2004.
KUNC Form 990 from 2005.

KDNK Form 990 from 2003.
KDNK Form 990 from 2004.
KDNK Form 990 from 2005.

KVNF Form 990 from 2003.
KVNF Form 990 from 2004.
KVNF Form 990 from 2005.

KGNU Form 900 from 2001.
KGNU Form 900 from 2002.
KGNU Form 900 from 2003.

KSUT Form 990 from 2003.
KSUT Form 990 from 2004.
KSUT Form 990 from 2005.

KBUT Form 990 from 2003.
KBUT Form 990 from 2004.
KBUT Form 990 from 2005.

KCSU Form 990 from 2002.
KCSU Form 990 from 2003.
KCSU Form 990 from 2004.

KAFM Form 990 from 2003.
KAFM Form 990 from 2004.
KAFM Form 990 from 2005.

KCME Form 990 from 2003.
KCME Form 990 from 2004.
KCME Form 990 from 2005.

KRFC Form 900 from 2002.
KRFC Form 900 from 2003.
KRFC Form 900 from 2004.

KYGT Form 900 from 2003.
KYGT Form 900 from 2004.
KYGT Form 900 from 2005.

Summit Public Radio and TV Form 900 from 2004.
Summit Public Radio and TV Form 900 from 2005.
Summit Public Radio and TV Form 900 from 2006.

*All documents provided by GuideStar.Org.