Salacious Snob-on-Snob Action

Brad Weismann, of the Colorado Daily, gives us some salacious snob-on-snob action. Be damned, broadcasting boffins of Colorado Public Radio! How long before CPR turns KVOD into NPR News too?

Switch off KVOD, Switch on Internet Radio?

Colorado Public Radio encourages listeners in Boulder, Colorado -- where KVOD on 88.1-FM is "spotty," according to CPR's Sean Nethery -- to switch to HD radio. Failing that, there is Internet radio. In this article from the Boulder Daily Camera, a "peeved listener" by the name of Carla Selby, finds that there are 127 classical music stations for her to listen over the Internet. And, she says that she won’t be listening to her old favorite anymore; that she "feels betrayed, and that [she] probably will never forgive them [Colorado Public Radio]."

It make you wonder. With 127 different classical music choices on internet radio, will Carla find yet another reason -- besides irritation and disappointment with CPR's decision -- to tune out KVOD? Why spend money on an HD radio -- especially when it won't work in Boulder anyway -- if for the same price or less, you can get an Internet radio and use the broadband connection you already have at home? And, what if Carla finds better classical music content on the Internet besides? What coy or evasive answer does Sean Nethery of Colorado Public Radio have prepared for that?

KVOD Kvetching Continues . . .

Longtime KVOD listener and Boulder, Colorado resident, Carole Bayer, has this to say about Colorado Public Radio and HD radio. I guess the next round of advice from CPR to Carol will be that she NEEDS to buy a computer and get broadband access? Well, she had a good run -- 33 years of listening!

Carol also managed to get her complaint letter in The Denver Post, with yet another complainant.

Colorado Public Redundancy

Here is another complaint from The Daily Camera regarding Colorado Public Radio's move of KVOD to 88.1-FM in Denver. Roger Cichorz, a KVOD listener, asks some important questions regarding the downgrade of KVOD. CPR celebrated -- and to some degree, warned about -- the move "back to FM." But if 1490-AM is still on the air (it is), carrying NPR news in northern Colorado including Boulder, and if 90.1-FM covers both Denver and Boulder, then there seems to be an overage of KCFR news coverage while there are enormous gaps KVOD classical music coverage. As a matter of fact, you can now get NPR news from Centennial-based, Colorado Public Radio on three different and over-lapping stations in the north metro area: 1340-AM, 1490-AM and on 90.1-FM. Sounds like Colorado Public Redundancy to me.

In the immortal words of CPR President Max Wycisk, more public radio IS better for everyone -- especially when part of CPR's mission is to blast KUNC listeners with KCFR's competing content from National Public Radio throughout northern Colorado. It sounds to me like CPR knows exactly what it is doing -- LITERALLY!

NPR Board Election Results

National Public Radio released the results of its Board of Directors Election on July 9th, and Colorado Public Radio Blog received the results on Friday, July 18th. As CPRB Readers know, Max Wycisk, President of Colorado Public Radio threw his hat in the ring during this round, but his own peers (or as NPR refers to them, authorized representatives), who make up voting constituents from public radio rejected him (1 station, 1 vote). As you can see from the results below, Member Station diversity is spread geographically. This year; however, was not Max Wycisk's year to represent the Rocky Mountain Region. Perhaps because he COMPLETELY LACKS DIVERSE EXPERIENCE.

The current NPR Board of Directors consists of 16 members: 10 of whom are General Managers, Presidents, CEOs, etc., of NPR Member Stations; The Chair of the NPR Foundation; and 5 prominent members of the public. Staggered elections for new Board Members are held every year, and Board Members serve 3-year terms. This board-member distribution and ratio goes back several years, to a time when Member Stations bailed out NPR during a financial crisis in 1983, and subsequently demanded a stronger say in the strategic guidance of the network. In short, NPR Board Membership is about power -- about the leadership and management of the network in general, and about the network's relationship to Member Stations, specifically.

From some of our previous posts, it is the opinion of Colorado Public Radio Blog authors that Max Wycisk lacks the ability to represent Member Stations nationally on the NPR Board, BECAUSE his past history shows that he lacks the fundamental skills necessary to deal openly and ethically -- to deal publicly -- with NPR and non-NPR radio stations within the State of Colorado. For their own reasons, it appears that Member Station Authorized Representatives -- the Member Stations -- agree.

While CPR membership on the NPR Board potentially gives Colorado a higher profile at National Public Radio and in public radio affairs, it's better for our state to have creative, open-minded representatives in place to guide public radio during flattening times -- irrespective of region, state, or station affiliation. Public radio in America needs true creative visionaries to guide this medium into the future if it is to survive -- if it is to thrive. We think people like Max Wycisk represent public radio's past -- a past to which public radio should rightly look back, but also to a past which public radio can ill afford to move back.

JJJ

*****

NPR Board Election Results
July 9, 2008

To: AREPs
From: Joyce Slocum, NPR Secretary
Michelle Shanahan, NPR Assistant Secretary
Re: NPR Board Election Results

We are pleased to report the results of the balloting for the election of four Member Directors to the NPR Board of Directors, as well as the confirmation of three Public Directors, and the ratification of one Non-Board Distribution/Interconnection Committee Member.

The following candidates were elected as Member Directors of NPR, with terms beginning in November 2008:

1. Steve Bass, KOPB-FM, Portland, OR
   
2. Jon McTaggart, KSJN-FM, Minneapolis, MN
   
3. Marita Rivero, WGBH-FM, Boston, MA
   
4. Roger Sarrow, WAFE-FM, Charlotte, NC

In addition, voters confirmed the Board’s election of the following Public Directors:

1. John Herrmann
2. Lyle Logan
3. Howard Stevenson

On a separate ballot, PRSS representatives ratified the Board’s election of Loris Ann Taylor as a Non-Board D/I Committee Member.

Thank you to all of the candidates who sought to serve in the Member Director positions. NPR is honored to have had such a strong slate of candidates willing to serve as Member Directors. Thank you also to all of the Authorized Representatives who exercised their membership rights by voting in this election.

KVOD Lives Up to Its Name

Colorado Public Radio's upgrade of KCFR to 90.1-FM in Denver and downgrade of KVOD to its lesser signal at 88.1-FM has KVOD living up to its name -- or rather, living down to its call letters. The Voice of Denver is now truly, the classical voice of Denver, as well as all of the smaller, automated CPR-driven satellite stations across the state. As one of two complaint letters to The Denver Post suggests, shouldn't Colorado Public Radio simply change its name to Denver Public Radio? Sounds logical to me. But my guess is that, like many other CPR decisions, this one follows its own logic.

In the meantime, KVOD management will probably hunker down to weather all the criticism. Since most classical music listeners are older, perhaps CPR is hoping the geezers will eventually tire of shaking their fists and complaining. And maybe -- just maybe -- the rich ones will continue to mail CPR checks out of habit. After all, some of the old farts are senile too, right?

The Switch and Bait!

Boulder-area 88.1-FM KVOD listener reports (and complains) about his HD radio coverage in the north metro Denver area. Just so you know, HD dropouts are VERY common at the edge of the analog coverage area, which is why HD radio gamers -- like iBiquity Corporation, NPR and NPR Member Stations -- are asking that the FCC boost the signal of HD radio broadcasters. Right now, the limit is 1% of the analog signal. HD radio supporters want 10%.

Colorado Public Radio, KCFR on 90.1-FM, broadcasts at a maximum of 44,000 watts (actually 34,000 watts because of their radio frequency "hot spots" at the base of Lookout Mountain, where their antenna is located). So, their maximum HD radio power is 1% of that; 340 to 400 watts. So, if your HD radio cannot "lock on" to a clear signal, it just drops out completely. Stephen Vahl of Superior, Colorado has done his homework, and has written a pretty succinct letter to the editor of the Boulder Daily Camera explaining what all listeners can expect of KVOD just north of Denver. I wonder what other listeners are hearing -- or not?

The potential drawback to allowing HD radio broadcasters to increase power output to 10% of analog strength is FM (analog) interference to stations adjacent to HD radio channels. For Colorado Public Radio, this would mean increase to KVOD on 90.1-FM HD2 could interfere with stations on the dial to its immediate left and right -- in short, other non-commercial broadcasters in and around Denver.

So, how many classical KVOD listeners are going to heed his advice " . . . not to run out and buy an HD Radio thinking that will fix things," and " . . . to encourage them to stop donations to Colorado Public Radio until this situation improves."? Makes you wonder why didn't Colorado Public Radio executives just come clean with listeners in the first place? Instead, they hoped to persuade you with wiggly advice like this.

To be fair, CPR doesn't guarantee that HD is a solution -- just suggests that it may be a option. And for your local public radio station, that amount of broadcast clarity is about all classical radio listeners can expect. Gotcha!

Westword Weighs in with the Latest 'Word

Michael Roberts of Denver Westword gives us the latest about the Colorado Public Radio frequency changes (and, he give Colorado Public Radio Blog a plug in the process -- THANKS!). So, how come it feels like I have heard this one before -- the death of KVOD? Oh wait, I CAN'T actually hear this one, because 1200 watts of isn't powerful enough to reach my home? Well, never mind.

By the way, you can tune in to KUNC at 91.5-FM and listen online at KUNC.org for some classical music in Northern Colorado, or tune in to or KUSC-FM in Los Angeles, online at KUSC.org, if state or region is unimportant to your classical music listening. After all, so long as you are online, why should I be limited to just KVOD on 88.1-FM RADIO, right? Use the internets, like CPR says.

By the way, -VOD stands for Voice of Denver. So, too bad much of Denver cannot actually hear KVOD on 88.1-FM. Nice job, McWycisk! Gene Amole would be proud. Hey Wycisk, we have heard that you had only met Gene ONCE in your 35 years in public radio -- with much of that time spent broadcasting classical music. Is that true? If so, how is it that you and CPR are the heir to his legacy? Just because you own the call letters? C'mon Max, tell us a story! Isn't that what your classical music hosts on KVOD do? Tell stories? So, enlighten us -- please!

The Sound of Silence (and Static)

Yesterday was the day for Colorado Public Radio to move KCFR back to 90.1-FM. Except for the 30-40 or so seconds of DEAD AIR just after 10:00 a.m., it sounds like it went OK. My guess is that one of the engineers fat fingered one of the buttons or ham handed one of the cables. Please, stand by . . .

I heard Monika Vischer and David Rutherford on 90.1-FM KVOD with the countdown for the move to 88.1-FM. The 88 keys on the piano metaphor was pretty clever, but that creative device pretty much got lost when (a) KVOD ran its last station ID on 90.1-FM, then (b) ran a promo and some fill music, and then (c) when KCFR failed to fire at the top of the hour! Houston, we have a problem. Launch is at T + 10 seconds, and counting . . .

Immediately after the switch-over, I quickly tuned to 88.1-FM on my 1-year-old clock radio and heard, well . . . BUPKIS! Actually, that is not entirely true. I actually heard static! So much for 1200 watts of KVOD power. If KOA-AM is the Blowtorch of the West, then the new-and-unimproved KVOD is a candle in the wind. Not in a gay way, though. Not that there is anything wrong with that, except for a certain CPR host who refuses to read CPR underwriting credits for the Gill Foundation because of, well . . . THAT!

As for the 88 keys on the keyboard banter, CPR is counting all of the white keys and the black keys! How precious is that? It's almost like they are making good on their diversity effort (kinda like the ongoing news initiative). Speaking of diversity and the piano, when I heard them playing the keys to simulate the countdown, I immediately thought of the classic Ebony and Ivory sketch from Saturday Night Live.

Also, watch a snippet of Seinfeld's The Outing here.

KVOD 88.1-FM Coverage Area on July 9th

Here is the coverage area for Colorado Public Radio's new-and-unimproved KVOD 88.1-FM (formerly K-Love's KFDN-FM Christian radio simulcast in Denver). Until CPR engineers get FCC approval to boost the signal, this map shows the BEST CASE SCENARIO for listening to KVOD in the Denver metro area. You may want to test the boundaries of the coverage area and try out an HD radio in your car and in your home BEFORE you commit to buying not one but two new HD radios at $100 apiece--minimum--because you may be more than a bit disappointed with the promise of HD radio coverage in and around Denver, despite the (wiggly) language used by CPR managers to cover their asses.

From the Colorado Public Radio website:

"HD Radio: Both KVOD and KCFR are also available on HD Radio, a new technology that allows Colorado Public Radio to offer two distinct channels on one frequency with consistently high sound quality. In addition to its new location at 88.1 FM, KVOD classical music will also be available on HD Radios at 90.1 FM HD-2. KCFR news and information will also be at 90.1 FM HD-1. If you receive 90.1 FM clearly, without interference, HD Radio may offer a good solution in your home or car. Learn more about HD Radio [emphasis added].

So, during these tough economic times, how much money do you have to spend on new radios for your home and auto? Also, with gas prices hovering at or above $4/gallon, how many of you who are spending less time commuting in your cars; opting instead for public transit, actually have portable HD radios? None of you? Well, you can buy one of those too. The Visteon-brand Jump Radio costs $170 on the Shop NPR website. And if HD radio just never pans out, you can always tell your kids (who have never heard of public radio) that you bought a 21st century version of the Betamax; something else they have never heard of!

Colorado Public Radio Blog is told that the reason that KVOD at 88.1-FM cannot raise power beyond 1200 watts from Mount Morrison is because K-LOVE has a station at KLHV 88.3-FM in Fort Collins that is powered at 150 watts. KGNU is at 88.5-FM in Boulder, and it presently powered at 4000 watts. If Colorado Public Radio raised power for its new KVOD at 88.1-FM, it might interfere with one, the other, or both.

CPRB has also learned that 88.1-FM might be able to raise power slightly; from 1200 watts to a few hundred watts more, but to raise it further would require Rocky Mountain PBS, Channel 6 TV in Denver, to power down (or off) its analog signal, giving KVOD more room on the left side of the FM dial. However, that may still not help KVOD's analog signal reach farther north because the frequencies immediately adjacent to KVOD on the right side of the dial are both up north; located in much of the area that Colorado Public Radio loses by moving KVOD from 90.1-FM in the first place.

By the way, why doesn't Colorado Public Radio provide detailed frequency coverage information to its listeners -- the PUBLIC? My guess is that the average public radio listener is curious and intelligent enough to understand this stuff, right? So much for news and information!

Coverage Map courtesy of Radio-Locator.

A Loss of Classical Music on the Radio Can Turn into a Win-Win Situation for Everyone

July 9th is the day when classical music will go away for most KVOD classical music listeners in Northers Colorado. On the 9th, KVOD switches to 88.1 FM, which will only serve classical music listeners who reside within the 303 area code. Colorado Public Radio (CPR) press releases regarding their pending change for CPR's 90.1 FM station in Denver suggests that classical music listeners up north should tune-in to on-line broadcasts of KVOD, or continue listening to 90.1 FM with an HD receiver to continue hearing classical music that will now appear on one of Colorado Public Radio's HD channels.

Several options exist for Colorado Public Radio to continue bringing classical music to Larimer-Weld Counties when KVOD goes to 88.1 in Denver:

• For CPR, the most expensive ventures would involve the purchase of a commercial or non-commercial FM radio station serving the Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley area.
• But there is a simpler way for CPR to continue serving loyal listeners. By placing KVOD classical music programming on the KCFR/90.1 FM HD-2 channel, half of the problem is solved.
• The other half of the equation, from a PUBLIC relations standpoint, utilizes an example from another major market public radio station 2,000 miles away.

Several years ago, WAMU at American University in Washington DC ended its very popular, long-running bluegrass format, in favor of news/talk programming. Bluegrass was delegated only to Sunday evenings. The switchboard at the station was lit up constantly for months with complaints from disgruntled bluegrass fanatics.

Today, WAMU Bluegrass Country is back, 24/7, heard over WAMU's HD-2 Channel, while their main FM service continues airing its' News/Talk format. Last September, WAMU paid a little less than ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS-per-unit to buy 1,000 HD Receivers, which the station gave to the first 1,000 donors who donated $100 or more during WAMU's Sunday evening Bluegrass program. The offer extended over two fund drives for the station. WAMU went the extra mile; they set a very wise precedent. It raises a fundamental (yet essential) question for CPR brass:

In today's volatile radio world (where daily, weekly, and monthly, THOUSANDS of people are choosing satellite radio, I-pods, and other listening choices over conventional radio), can CPR afford to stand back and watch the erosion in support accelerate because they did not show true, good faith with their classical audience in Northern Colorado?

WAMU's break-even policy on the matter (no money gained by giving donors an HD receiver for cost, after receiving a minimal $100 donation) will pay great dividends down the road in terms of public relations and audience growth. For CPR, the numbers are simple. The Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley triangle is expected to have more than 700,000 residents by the year 2030, thus posing another essential question:

Can CPR afford NOT to take some positive action?

CPR Cans Community Outreach Coordinator

It appears as though one of the last tasks for Erica Stull, Colorado Public Radio's erstwhile Vice President of Community Outreach, was to produce the press release (see the blog post below) for the KCFR move back to 90.1-FM and the KVOD move to 88.1-FM on July 9, 2008. She is still listed on the CPR website, however.

The Community Outreach Position was a relatively new one for Colorado Public Radio; presumably created to soften CPR's corporatate exterior, repair strained relationships with CPR's critics, and solidify the radio network's partnerships with Colorado community organizations. In short, it was Stull's job to do what the rest of Colorado Public Radio's management and leadership failed to do for the past 35 years--go public.

However, that was no small task for a newbie, like Stull, among entrenched introverts, because the sum character of Colorado Public Radio management is entirely antithetical to the words public and outreach. In other words, CPR's management takes its behavioral cues from Max Wycisk; an insular leader who'd rather diddle with focus-group data than to meet actual members of the Colorado communities he so diligently serves.

The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay famously said, "I love humanity, but I hate people." That simple, succinct phrase describes the persona of Max Wycisk (and by extension, CPR) in a nutshell. In fact, it should be the official motto for the limousine liberals who rule Colorado Public Radio like an arcane little duchy. It seems, however, that the established nobility at Colorado's public radio empire secretly eschewed both Stull and her recent work. In corporate speak, "CPR is moving in a different direction . . . " That new direction for CPR is actually an old and tiresome one; however, as tiresome as the idiotic phrase itself. But that is the way Colorado Public Radio likes it; stolid, staid, and stupefyingly simpleminded.

Case in point; several years ago, well before Colorado Public Radio landed (by sheer accident) The Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO) broadcasts, CPR had a policy of "not running Public Service Announcements. PSAs," staff, listeners, and callers to the station were told, "are what commercial broadcasters run as an FCC requirement because the airwaves are owned by the public. Colorado Public Radio does not run PSAs because EVERYTHING Colorado Public Radio does IS (by definition) a public service." Maxims (or rather, Wycisk Max-ims) like this one are continuously parroted by CPR management as if these policies are definitional truisms, rather than simply convenient (and mailable) station practices. Soon after CPR penned its agreement with The CSO though, Colorado Public Radio suddenly started running promotional announcements for The Symphony and for several other classical music organizations (and events) throughout Colorado. In short, CPR moved in a new direction. How convenient!

About 1-2 years ago, Colorado Public Radio (Board and Management) decided that CPR needed to increase its public profile, which is why they created a new Vice-Presidential position for just that purpose. *CPR actually created two new Vice-Presidential positions at approximately the same time: Vice President of Community Outreach and Vice President of Human Resources. After several months of searching, Colorado Public Radio finally hired Ms. Erica Stull (a former employee of Colorado Public Radio, but most recently employed by Adelphia Communications), as CPR's first Community Outreach VP. Perhaps coincidentally (or not), Stull had formerly been a colleague of Ron Cooper, the Vice Chairman of the Colorado Public Radio Board of Directors, and (according to his biography posted on the CPR website) "the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Adelphia Communications."

Colorado Public Radio Blog authors have no information about what community-outreach projects or programs CPR initiated or engaged in (presumably through Erica Stull) over the past two years. Besides the endless on-air and website mentions of the Public Insight Network, a service that Colorado Public Radio subscribes to (and pays for) from Minnesota Public Radio, it's very difficult to determine on the air, on their website, or in the community what CPR's outreach plan actually entailed. One former Colorado Public Radio Board Member observed as late as the fall of 2007, that Stull had neither strategic plans nor new ideas for CPR's outreach efforts. As for KCFR's Public Insight Network, Colorado Matters Host and Producer, Dan Meyers, presides over that news initiative. Thus, PIN was not Stull's bailiwick.

So what is CPR President Max Wycisk's future plan for community outreach, sans Erica Stull? Your guess is as good as anyone's. But if past history, performance, and practice are any guides, a good guess is that Colorado Public Radio will create yet another tautological Max-im to explain away actual outreach. When asked, "Why doesn't Colorado Public Radio do community outreach?" the answer will likely go something like this: "EVERYTHING we do is community outreach." As for Erica Stull? No soup for you!

NOTE: Please see the post above entitled Westword's Best of 2008 -- Michael Roberts to see who is back at the helm of Colorado Public Radio's transparent propaganda machine. It sure didn't take very long for KCFR's resident nincompoop to re-seat his ample ass into Erica Stull's still warm community-outreach chair. Here's a question I have for Herr Nethery: Why isn't Kelley Griffin, the KCFR News Director, handling news-realted inquiries?

Colorado Public Radio can send its press-release replies in care of CPRB Managment. We'll have one of our many Vice Presidents read and respond to it here. Thank YOU!

Westword's Michael Roberts with The Latest 'Word

Thanks to Michael Roberts of The Westword for picking up this story from Colorado Public Radio Blog. Read his blog entry on The Latest 'Word here.

I Create Nothing . . . I Own

A wise friend told me once, "There are people of substance, and there are people of process. People of substance create. People of process control." Max Wycisk is a person of process, who controls objects--including people--by moving the pieces around on a big board. Clearly, he is not a significant person of substance.

As you can see from his brief resume below (a resume, I might add, that seems slightly longer than the entire history of Colorado Public Radio to which he has been a seminal and significant part), Wycisk has spent his entire public radio career (so far as one can tell) at one radio station; one radio network.

Of course, Max Wycisk presided over his organization (for 25 years) during its transition from university-licensed KCFR-FM at the University of Denver, to Colorado Public Radio (CPR) and back into KCFR-FM (on July 9, 2008), and he has done a lot during that time. Over the course of his tenure, Colorado Public Radio's state-wide network has become the biggest repeater of National Public Radio news in the entire state; reaching (according to CPR statement from Arbitron) 330,000 listeners per week. The substance of Max Wycisk--his particular genius--is creating radio stations. But, during the last 25 of his particular genius, what else has he created?

With large federal subsidies, he created the Classical Public Radio Network (see the post below). Next week, the Classical Public Radio Network experiment folds (for the most part). More recently, Max Wycisk created Colorado Matters; a 30-minute, 5-times per week (not including repeats) local news program produced by between 8 and 13 people. *Just a few years ago, Colorado Matters produced 1 hour of content, 5-times per week (not including repeats) with only 4 staffers. Most recently, Max Wycisk presided over Colorado Public Radio's conversion to HD Radio; conversions heavily subsidized (once again) by federal tax dollars channeled to CPR through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Finally, next week, CPR moves its news channel, KCFR, from 1340-AM back to its former home on 90.1-FM through an $8.2 million bond-financing deal arranged by Public Radio Capital, an organization which shares office space in Centennial, Colorado with--you guessed it--Colorado Public Radio.

Assuming that Colorado Public Radio can sell the (a) 1340-AM frequency, (b) the land it acquired at Ruby Hill in Denver, Colorado (the former home of KVOD), and (c) the AM antenna and equipment, it stands to reason that Colorado Public Radio will be able to retire some debt from the original purchase of 1340-AM (in 2001) or even offset the current, multi-million dollar deal. With all of this extra radio air space, it also stands to reason that Colorado Public radio could broadcast more diverse radio content on the side channels of its HD Radio-equipped Denver FM stations; KCFR on 90.1-FM and KVOD on 88.1-FM. However, CPR probably will not broadcast more diverse and interesting radio content, precisely because it cannot acquire or create more diverse and interesting radio content.

Why can't Colorado Public Radio seem to acquire or create programming? Follow the money. CPR pays a lot of subscriber dollars (in the form of NPR and other dues) to acquire National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media (APM) and Public Radio International (PRI) content; which is why CPR broadcasts endless repeat hours of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, the BBC World Service, etc. The price of these programs to CPR is based upon the population of the Denver-Boulder metro market.

Since CPR has not appreciably grown the Denver-Boulder public radio market (Denver and Colorado listenship and subscribership have simply increased as a function of people moving to Denver and Colorado from outside the state since the late 1980s), Colorado Public Radio has no more public radio programming to push from Denver to its series of stations and translators (its repeaters) throughout Colorado. Because CPR chose to acquire frequencies and build stations instead of creating distinctive, distributable content, it has no additional financial resources now to create local radio shows for the airwaves it so tightly programs--except, perhaps for KCFR (Sometimes) Presents with Dan Drayer (former Host and Executive Producer of Colorado Matters), and KCFR Showcase, a re-purposing of content from other public radio sources which Colorado Public Radio claims as its own by re-branding it KCFR. In short, it's about programming a radio format from a national distributor, not about programming local radio shows for a discrete audience--the same complaint listeners regularly make about commercial radio content from entities like Clear Channel! It's generic and automated.

So, what does Max Wycisk do when there is everything to do? He decides to run for the NPR Board of Directors, of course! As you can see from the bullet points from the questionnaire posted to the site if Western States Public Radio, an organization to which (it seems) Colorado Public Radio is a nominal member, Max Wycisk has big ideas:

*****
If elected to the NPR Board, on what Board Committee – or in connection with what issue – do you believe you have the most to offer NPR?

The primary issues I see for the NPR Board will need to be dealt with by the Board as a whole. These issues center on the need for clearer and more productive working relationships with NPR member stations. Examples:

• Improving the NPR governance and management process, with the goal of creating greater internal accountability at NPR and greater external accountability to NPR member stations.
• Marshaling the public radio system's capacity to support common activities such as news-gathering.
• Working to develop more effective ways of using new media to maximize the strengths of public radio's local/national structure.

*****
As is evident from his answers above, Max Wycisk is the perfect bureaucrat--a consummate man of process. I suspect that he will not be merely satisfied with NPR Board Membership, but rather, that he is actually running for NPR Board President. Since Colorado Public Radio spent a great of amount of time and effort dealing with its own Nonprofit Board Governance and Station Management last year (which came to light during embarrassing public airing of its own internal processes), Wycisk suggests that more efficient, complete and accountable processes are the perfect remedies for healing a rift among NPR Management, the NPR Board and NPR Member stations.

Let's be clear about what is happening with media in America--all types of media, not just non-commercial radio. Media is fragmenting. Fewer viewers are tuning in to broadcast television; most especially broadcast news. Fewer listeners are tuning in to broadcast radio; AM, FM, commercial, and non-commercial radio. At best, HD Radio is idling at the starting line despite its boosters' constant jawboning of it while simultaneously challenging the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger. Non-commercial television and radio have always had significantly smaller audiences than commercial broadcasters--which is one major reason why non-commercial broadcasters still receive federal and state subsidies. Of course there are notable exceptions. National Public Radio's Morning Edition and All Things Considered are #2 and #3, behind the Rush Limbaugh Show. And in some media markets, local public radios stations even compete in the Top 5 or Top 10 (Seattle, Washington and Boston, Massachusetts come to mind).

Today, consumers have a wider variety of news and entertainment sources from which to choose--and many of them are available on demand-including a significant amount of NPR content. This new media landscape has created many dilemmas for the traditional National Public Radio/Member Station relationship. However, process-related solutions will not lead to the next evolutionary step in public radio network-affiliate relations. Creativity will. Onerous processes will simply consume more scarce resources during tough economic times. Process-believing bureaucrats like Max Wycisk love to talk about accountability, internal and external, but when the it comes to evaluating performance (otherwise known as laying blame), process-bureaucrats will just simply reshuffle or entirely remake the organizational chart to shift accountability elsewhere. Or better yet, they just move on to some other project, leaving former responsibilities forgotten or past duties undone.

As for marshaling the public radio system's capacity to support common activities such as news-gathering, one wonders what Max Wycisk is doing now with his existing "statewide network" capacity. As mentioned above, Colorado Public Radio has no shortage of airspace. See their coverage map here. What discrete content does CPR broadcast to the local markets its satellite stations occupy throughout Colorado? None! All content is pushed to outlying areas of the state from the Colorado Public Radio mother ship located in Centennial, Colorado.

Colorado Public Radio cannot even manage to broadcast localized weather to the four corners of its coverage area. Does Colorado Public Radio do sports reporting? No. Does Colorado Public Radio do traffic reporting? No. Does Colorado Public Radio do local news? Yes--so long as local is defined as Colorado, and so far as reading stories from the Associated Press newswire counts as local news. A search of the word "beetle" on the Colorado Matters website nets 23 hits. A search for "carbon" nets 21 hits. But to be fair, there is some overlap. Who'd have guessed that Colorado Matters could combine carbon footprint with pine beetle! Now there's local news you can use! But, I digress. Does Colorado Public Radio gather news? Yes. As mentioned above, their ratio of news staff to actual content is astounding--astoundingly embarrassing. How is Max Wycisk qualified to marshal all of this capacity as an NPR Board Member when he cannot seem to manage it meaningfully and measurably at the local and statewide level? Accountability indeed!

When it comes to working to develop more effective ways of using new media to maximize the strengths of public radio's local/national structure, Max Wycisk has an ace in the hole, however. His name is Jim Paluzzi; Colorado Public Radio's Vice President of New Media and Technology. He is very well known among the NPR and Member Station elite as a unique and valuable talent. So, Wycisk hopes to use Paluzzi--superimposing true creativity--upon the structures and processes of the National Public Radio and Member Station hierarchy. For Colorado Public Radio, this means that they may finally have to start playing nicely and fairly with other public radio entities. Since CPR is cash-strapped during recessive economic times, in a media market with no affordable non-commercial radio frequencies left to acquire (including existing public radio stations that it can bribe behind closed doors), it cannot continue to build stations--to own people and pieces and to manipulate them on the public radio terrain. Of course historically, Max Wycisk hates cooperating with other people--including people at other public radio organizations--unless he is left with no other choice. Has a new day dawned? Has Wycisk seen the light? Hardly.

Question: How many Vice Presidents does it take Colorado Public Radio to run a statewide public radio network?
Answer: Seven.

That said, want to wager that one of Wycisk's first goals as a Member of the NPR Board will be to pressure NPR Management (its Member Station Liaisons) to rework the due's structure to favor major-market stations and statewide networks like Denver-based Colorado Public Radio? Bet on it! After all, Wycisk can't afford to compete with stations like 91.5-FM KUNC in Denver so long as they continue to poach public radio listeners in Denver, Boulder, Greeley and Fort Collins while paying the small market rate for NPR, APM and PRI programming.

Membership within the Western States Public Radio consortium presumably lends Wycisk credibility (with voting members) just like control of a statewide public radio network gives him leverage and power with NPR. Can you say NPR News Rocky Mountain? In order to affect NPR policy on behalf of Colorado Public Radio, et al., Max Wycisk needs national prominence--the podium and the bullhorn. And yes, the other members stations he presumes to represent as a member of the NPR Board can expect the benefit of his policy- and procedure-heavy largesses, so long as they are willing to cooperate with a non-profit President who sees collective decision-making as antithetical to the good governance of public radio. In public radio, non-profit language, it's called "partnering." How sweet--as saccharin! For Wycisk; however, this is really about mergers, acquisitions, and hostile take-overs, Buddy Boy. Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel.

In order to maximize the strengths of public radio's local/national structure, Wycisk will return to an idea he dabbled with and then discarded several years ago--the novel idea of sharing. How quaint for Wycisk! You can read about the resuscitated plan on Current.Org here. Isn't it fitting that when NPR started bypassing member stations by distributing digitally (directly via its own website) that Wycisk finally decided to cooperate with public broadcasting individuals and entities he'd have sooner acquired than speak? How magnanimous! Why should other member stations in Colorado trust him? Member stations of Western States Public Radio? They shouldn't! This battle is about power; pure and simple. And right now Max Wycisk needs to change the balance of power of Member Stations vis-à-vis NPR and other larger, national content providers for the sake of Colorado Public Radio. And yes, hangers-on are certainly welcome.

Knowing Max Wycisk's history and habits and after reading the answers to the NPR Board questionnaire, it seems to me that he is vying for a position equivalent to that of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball; a perfect position for a passive-aggressive, authoritarian personality type like him--head of a nice, tight, white, elitist oligopoly. But, I think Max needs a more descriptive or regal title before his appointment/coronation. How about Commissar of NPR Affiliates, or maybe Member Station Viceroy? That is what $200K in pay and benefits and loads of conventional wisdom gets you--the 20th century brillance of Max Wycisk. He is the Bill Gates of Public Radio. So, how fitting that Gates retired from Microsoft today? Maybe Wycisk should follow his lead. But alas, Colorado Public Radio has no fat endowment to manage. A subject, perhaps, for another day.

Classical Public Radio Network Signs Off

The Classical Public Radio Network, an LLP between Colorado Public Radio and KUSC-FM goes off the air in Denver (and for many of it's client stations) next week. But, you won't find that information on the CPR or KUSC websites.

Referred to as CPRN, it is a 24-hour classical music service underwritten by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and marketed by National Public Radio (NPR) for distribution to public radio member stations across the US that never really caught on. In short, it was a more than 10-year failure for the LLP, except that it won some recent awards--quite ironically--listed on the Colorado Public Radio website!

I guess it is nice to know that your trusted source for news and information and for classical music prints (and presumably, broadcasts) the positive news about its operation. After all, by publicly admitting the abject failure of the development and distribution of CPRN's original classical music content, CPR and KUSC would have to admit having wasted hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars to produce a music service redundancy. After all, Minnesota Public Radio's (MPR) competing service, called Classical 24 (C-24) is still in business.

In two weeks (or so), Denver listeners will find CPRN's latest classical music iteration called KVOD on 88.1 FM, after Colorado Public Radio moves KCFR 1340-AM back to 90.1 FM. But, KVOD-FM listeners in Northern and Eastern Colorado are out of luck because 88.1-FM will barely reach outside the Denver metro area.

Denver-area listeners needn't worry; however, as they will still hear familiar voices on KVOD-FM, since all but one of their classical music announcers were given jobs with the dissolution of CPRN. And, the former head of CPRN-Denver, a woman by the name of Karla Walker, will be heading up the new-and-improved KVOD--the same leader who presided over the demise of the Classical Public Radio Network. Nice work!

Max Wycisk for the NPR Board of Directors

I guess Max Wycisk is doing such a bang-up job at Colorado Public Radio, that he has decided that he has a bit of free time on his hands. Now, he's running for the National Public Radio Board of Directors, which he served on 18 years ago. Read his questions and answer for the NPR position below. They are posted to the Western States Public Radio website.

I wonder why Colorado Public Radio didn't run a press release related to this campaign. Do the CPR employees even know? I doubt it. You'd think news like this would bring honor and prestige to (as the constant CPR promos say) "your community-supported source for in-depth news and classical music." Or perhaps this is just part of Wycisk's suspiciously secretive nature and painfully introverted character. Seems contrary to public radio to me. Good luck, McWycisk!

*****

Candidate: Max Wycisk – KCFR-AM (Denver, CO)

Please detail your qualifications for the NPR Board.

• 35 years of public radio experience: as a volunteer announcer; as a Program Director; and as a General Manager.
• Extensive non-profit governance experience: I have served on several non-profit boards, including the NPR Board (1984-1990), and have worked under a non-profit board for the past 25 years.
• Prior to working in a community licensee structure, I worked in a university licensee structure for 10 years and understand the strengths and weaknesses of both structures.

If elected to the NPR Board, on what Board Committee – or in connection with what issue – do you believe you have the most to offer NPR?

The primary issues I see for the NPR Board will need to be dealt with by the Board as a whole. These issues center on the need for clearer and more productive working relationships with NPR member stations. Examples:

• Improving the NPR governance and management process, with the goal of creating greater internal accountability at NPR and greater external accountability to NPR member stations.
• Marshaling the public radio system's capacity to support common activities such as news-gathering.
• Working to develop more effective ways of using new media to maximize the strengths of public radio's local/national structure.

What is your overall assessment of the NPR board? Is it responsive to stations? Is it sufficiently high profile?

Over the past several years the agendas of NPR and stations have slowly drifted apart. I see real potential at the present time to bring station and NPR agendas into alignment, and feel that the NPR Board is poised to take on this task in an active, meaningful, and productive way. The NPR Board has an opportunity to empower station managers by planning the Annual Meeting on behalf of the membership. The Annual Meeting should be a business meeting with real outcomes, a meeting at which directions are determined and decisions are made. At the Annual Meeting NPR management should report to member stations about its implementation of decisions affirmed at the previous year's meeting, and field questions from the membership.

NPR does not currently have a conflict of interest policy and procedure for Board members. What sort of policy should be established in order to handle conflict of interest situations when a board member has a primary duty as an employee or officer of a competing station, network or distributor?

I have not seen conflict of interest surface as a problem over the years. Working as we do in a co-op model, station managers' individual organizational interests often dovetail directly with the interests of NPR. The NPR Board's job will be to make sure that the interests of NPR are aligned with the needs and interests of member stations. (Note: Article 5.4 of the NPR by-laws does address conflict of interest in a general way.)

Since the institution of the A-Reps meeting format, NPR has not achieved a quorum for its Annual Meeting. Do you view this as a problem? Do you have any recommendations for engaging more stations in the citizenship of the annual meeting?

The Annual Meeting problem has to do with the fact that it has devolved into a one-way presentation rather than being a forum for discussion and debate. The Annual Meeting conversation should be a genuine two-way process, initiated as much by stations as by NPR management. Here are two specific thoughts to help remedy this situation:

• Planning for the Annual Meeting should be led by the Board, in partnership with management.
• Lowering the quorum from one-half of the membership to one-third of the membership would make it easier for the membership to endorse specific actions at the Annual Meeting. In the present situation the lack of a quorum results in paralysis and frustration.

If we can institute both of these approaches, I have every confidence that member stations will want to attend the Annual Meeting, knowing that each of us will have the opportunity to play a meaningful role in determining our collective future.

What suggestions might you have to add diverse experience and opinions to the board and management deliberative process? Would the reimplementation of working advisory committees with station staff members and others for specific topics and issues serve as a way to expand knowledge and increase awareness of station’s needs, feelings and reactions?

As I see it, the NPR Board does not lack for diverse experience, expertise, and opinion; nor does it lack knowledge of station needs. What we have not been able to do effectively these past few years—particularly as the media environment changes around us—is develop mechanisms (beyond the production of exemplary news programming) through which NPR can effectively support station needs.

As an NPR Board member, how would you distinguish between the types of business you believe the Board should conduct in Executive Session versus the business that should be conducted in Open Session?

Our guidelines for open sessions and executive sessions are clear. Executive session should be reserved for items of a proprietary nature, and for personnel issues. All other items should be addressed in open session. Having said this, it is difficult to understand why the NPR Board would ever want to treat its member stations as anything other than members of the inner circle—a circle that should always be privy to information that might not be appropriate for external release.

Crazy Eights: Taking off in 2008 with 88.1-FM in Play

Crazy Eights: Commentary by First Responder

Taking off in 2008 with 88.1-FM in Play: An under-utilized Denver radio frequency is gaining much-needed traction, but at what cost?

This is an eye-opening event to start what is bound to be a wild and crazy year in politics and mass media. With declining audience numbers for radio, especially for commercial stations, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) has bought 88.1-FM from a religious broadcaster based on the left coast; which has done nothing with this rare commodity except rebroadcast what Front Range listeners can already hear over KWBI’s main signal at 91.1-FM.

The industry works in mysterious ways. Two years after 88.1-FM began broadcasting, we see what simply sitting on a frequency (repeating another signal’s content, and operating with low overhead) can bring in these times: $8.2 Million dollars, the amount CPR (the only public radio entity in Colorado able to afford such a steep price) is paying for the frequency.

Under the “guidance” of today’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that sum of money is acceptable because it is what the market will bear. Under a previous version of the FCC, such financial speculation involving a rare public asset would be disallowed. If we go back to the days of FCC commissioner Nicholas Johnson, the religious broadcaster in this case would have had its license rescinded for lack of providing public service. 88.1-FM would have been placed on the block so any number of non-commercial entities could apply for the license. During the Lyndon Johnson era, community groups had equal access to the process. Today CPR is the only player that could realistically compete for the 88.1 FM frequency. What does this mean in today’s world? This CPR purchase marks only the beginning of what could be a CPR spending spree for radio signals along Colorado’s Front Range. While the 88.1 buy-out has no downside for listeners, the same cannot be said for future acquisitions.

CPR is the only public radio entity in the state with an estimated dollar value in the seven figure range ($12 to 15 Million), and it continues to throw its financial weight around Colorado. With this clout, they carryout an empire-building mission to provide two streams of programming to all of the significant population centers in the state. One of the places where the two-stream approach hasn‘t been realized is in Larimer and Weld Counties, but that could change in the near future with several options for expansion in view.

During the week of January 28th, the Fort Collins Coloradoan ran a story which in essence reported that CPR’s classical music service will be ending when KVOD switches to the 88.1-FM signal expected by April (due to public television’s Channel 6 audio interference issues, 88.1-FM in Denver is authorized to operate with less than 3,000 watts). The switch by KVOD will mark the return of KCFR to 90.1-FM (licensed for 40,000 watts); its original home, with News and Information programming. In a stagnant world, classical music listeners in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley would be out of luck. But the Coloradoan piece did not delve into the possibilities for CPR expansion into Larimer and Weld Counties. Options include:

1. CPR buys a commercial FM station in the Fort Collins, Windsor, Loveland area. FM stations in this part of the state do not have clear signals throughout Denver metro, but they adequately reach listeners in Larimer and Weld counties. This condition is the primary reason why KTCL (93.3-FM) is now a Denver station, instead of having its broadcast antenna atop Horsetooth Mountain, west of Fort Collins. FM stations here suffer the same problem that lower powered FM stations have in metro Denver which cannot reach Larimer and Weld counties. Two stations with such coverage problems at 101.5-FM and 107.1-FM recently filed for bankruptcy. The same economic forces affect commercial FM stations up north. It’s only a matter of time before one or more of them are ready to sell out. Since 88.1-FM will cover metro Denver with classical music, the commercial FM CPR buys in Larimer-Weld will be a perfect fit. Aside from staff lay-offs, the downside for this option is minimal for audiences, because the programming on Northern Colorado commercial FMs offer nothing that other stations on the FM dial from Denver metro also provide.
   
   
2. CPR President Max Wysick could pay another visit to the CSU President’s Office, as he did 15 years ago, when he had a closed-door meeting with CSU President Albert Yates. KCSU-FM Fort Collins and the other radio stations in the CSU system (KDUR-FM in Durango and KTSC-FM in Pueblo) could have been part of the discussion. Nothing came out of that meeting involving the sale of CSU system radio stations, but as with the situation then, the KCSU signal could be enhanced to cover the Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley triangle (with the proper investment and political savvy). CSU coffers could be filled with a few million dollars, and the CSU President could justify the sale by calling it a “community service” (especially after hundreds of classical music listeners in town become vocal over the loss of this unique music on the radio). If Wysick were to succeed with this option, he’d be following in the footsteps of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), which bought university radio stations across the state to help build their state-wide network. The downside for this option is high from a political standpoint. It involves a student-run radio station which started in 1964. The fallout from such a sale would produce very unsettling results, especially as the CSU President’s office deals with issues surrounding the possible sale of the student newspaper, The Collegian, to Gannett. *See this article by Michael Roberts of The Denver Westword.
   
   
3. Max Wysick puts together a package for financially-strapped KUVO, which includes the 88.1-FM frequency and a few million dollars for their 89.3-FM frequency which covers metro, as well as Larimer and Weld Counties. The downside here is immense because it involves a station with a rich history and legacy that was founded after a hard-fought effort spearheaded by key members of Denver’s Hispanic community, including U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. In this case, the sky is the limit on protests coming from all sorts of sectors along the Front Range, not the least of which is the fact that KUVO is one of only a handful of Jazz radio stations remaining in the country.
   
   
4. CPR carries its classical service over 88.1-FM and on an HD channel of 90.1-FM, which reaches Larimer and Weld. As part of this option, CPR agrees to pay a portion of costs for classical music listeners in Larimer and Weld counties to purchase an HD radio for their homes. This is the easiest and least invasive option for continuing classical music radio in Northern Colorado. The downside is the initial cost involved to CPR; a cost that over several years could be recovered in uninterrupted listener support from Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley. Those with the ear close to the ground say CPR has already panned the idea of placing classical music on one of their HD channels for 90.1-FM, in favor of adding more news and information programming instead. We’ll see.

Those are some of the possibilities, still to be determined. STAY TUNED!

Of Missives and Mission Statements.

A couple of weeks ago, we posted the Mission Statements; both old and new, of Colorado Public Radio. And today, I noticed that KDNK-FM, also referred to as Carbondale Community Access Radio, has its mission statement posted to their website. Seriously, how succinct or wordy should a mission statement be? What do you think it should include?

These details also caught my eye in Colorado Public Radio's proposed mission statement:

1. Highest Priority: Classical Music, and
2. Priority: Local Content.
   

As far as I know, classical music is what Colorado Public Radio broadcasts exclusively under its KVOD brand. If it is the highest priority, are they branching out into other music formats? If so, which ones? Triple-A, County Western, World Music, or Jazz? The word highest, also suggests that classical music is most important music format among a group of at least 3 like items; grammatically it does. High, higher, highest? Good, better, best? Remember grammar and usage?

Also, Colorado Public Radio produces exactly one, 30-minute local news show, called Colorado Matters, under its KCFR brand, which broadcasts 7 days per week for a total of 7 hours (including full-length repeats). There are 168 hours of news, information, and entertainment broadcast on KCFR every week. Colorado Matters accounts for 4.2% of the programming content, not counting the Colorado Matters redundancies during Morning Edition.

In terms of quantity, that seems that local content is a fairly low priority. Perhaps it's really the quality that matters; not the quantity? Or maybe I fail to understand the meaning of the word priority? By the way, Colorado Public Radio has some job openings, even one in the news department!

KUSC-FM Has Reason to Celebrate.

KUSC is Colorado Public Radio's classical music partner called The Classical Public Radio Network, which broadcasts throughout Colorado under the brand name KVOD.

KUSC CHEERING

Classical KUSC/91.5 FM station President Brenda Barnes had reason to cheer when the spring Arbitron ratings came out in July.

"We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to public radio in Los Angeles and all the public stations are doing well in reaching audience. The latest book for KUSC represents the largest audience KUSC has reached in its history."

"While that is good news, we also know that listeners are sampling our station because KMZT moved classical music to the AM (1260). So to keep those listeners, we have to ensure that we are doing a good job. It will take a couple more books for the audience picture to shake out for KUSC so we can determine what our audience growth will actually look like."

"In terms of audience, we saw an across-the-board audience increase in every day part. The largest audience for KUSC is midday Monday through Friday – the typical pattern for music stations. Our opera audience on Saturday morning and Sunday evening is also large as is the audience for our Sunday morning choral music program."

"(Demographically), 32 percent is between (age) 54 and 63. The number of people who tune in at any given quarter hour is 25,600 and our cume (number of different listeners) is 513,000 (weekly)," she e-mailed."

"KUSC also made two important hires: Dennis Bartel and Rich Capparela. The latter was with KMZT until it switched its FM to country."

--From the Orange County Register

CPRB Commentary, by Jimmy James Jr.

COMMENTARY PART 2 (with corrections)

CPRB Readers,

Today, I want to continue to address some great comments and questions from one of our many Anonymous readers of (and posters to) Colorado Public Radio Blog. You can read Commentary Part 1, by Jimmy James here.

Anonymous states: “Thanks to HD radio, today's FM stations have the capability to transmit multiple programs on a single frequency. On HD1, KVOD (90.1-FM in Denver) has never sounded better on FM. On HD2, KCFR (1340-AM in Denver) has never sounded better on FM or AM. And CPR's stations are not alone. Eleven (11) other Denver stations are multicasting with two channels. Others will follow.” {Hyper links, parenthetical additions, and other emphases added by CPRB authors}.

Jimmy James responds: Colorado Public Radio Blog authors agree; multi-casting programs in digital-only format, using existing bandwidth on both the AM and FM band, is a sea change in terrestrial broadcasting. Colorado Public Radio Blog authors never suggested otherwise. Qualitatively and quantitatively, HD radio may provide substantially more programming at higher fidelity, but HD radio’s successes or failures will be measured by the degree to which listeners adopt and invest in upgrades (and entire replacements) of their existing and completely-functional equipment, and to the extent that listeners choose HD radio over other means of digital receipt (via computers, portable music players, podcasts, WiFi radios, and wide-area wireless networks).

Colorado Public Radio for example, became an early adopter of HD radio, through a substantial grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (for Vail) to upgrade to HD radio (CPRB could not find links to the CPB grants Colorado Public Radio received for Denver and Boulder). In other words, the CPB subsidized these upgrades, which were also undoubtedly paid for by CPR's members. Colorado Public Radio (like many other large, metropolitan public radio stations and networks), should be heartily commended for applying for and receiving these grants, and for properly joining that substantial financial largesse with the contributions from individual, corporate, and foundational supporters.

In the case of one Denver-area commercial station mentioned in the list provided by Anonymous, KBCO 97.3 FM (which broadcasts in Denver and Boulder, Colorado, and for which Colorado Public Radio’s KCFR 1340-AM likely possesses significant listener overlap), this station’s choice of discreet programming on 97.3-FM HD-2 is called KBCO’s Studio C; a separate service which is transmitted commercial-free. So, it is not simply a simulcast of what the radio station otherwise offers on another radio frequency or radio band.

By contrast KCFR-AM News & Information and KVOD-FM Classical Music (Colorado Public Radio's actual station call letters in Denver, and the brand names by which CPR identifies them throughout its statewide network) are serving up the same content, and perhaps different ratios of the same content (as is the plan for Vail), but they are not really serving up distinctly different content.

In short, qualitative difference and quantitative differences can and should be considered together--not separately--when one gauges the decision of transmitting in HD (not simply the capability to do so). Serving the same basic food in an upscale restaurant could certainly make one’s restaurant experience more palatable; however, it does not make the food tastier—especially when the check arrives.

Anonymous further states: “Ever since Frances Koncilja went public about her disagreements with Colorado Public Radio’s Board, the prospect of selling the AM stations has been represented as a travesty that would deprive listeners of service. Either classical or news programming would be broadcast on HD2, making it available only to listeners who own HD radios. Far worse things could happen to a format.”

Jimmy James responds: The above comments greatly gloss over the disagreements that Frances Koncilja had with the Colorado Public Radio Board and Management. Without speaking for her, I will briefly discuss each of her issue here. As well, she has many entries on Colorado Public Radio Blog where interested readers can view her opinions, observations, comments, and the actual supporting documents she uses to make her case. In sum, here are her disagreements, listed in not particular order or precedence:

1. HD Radio: HD radio (generally) and HD radio (specifically) in Vail, Colorado. Since we have already discussed many issues pertaining to HD radio generally, I will address Frances Koncilja’s issues with HD radio, specifically in Vail, Colorado. First, Colorado Public Radio broadcasts a mixed format of news and information (KCFR-AM) and classical music (KVOD-FM) on a single FM station in the Vail Valley (89.9-FM KPRE). This circumstance is likely due to the fact that there are no usable FM frequencies in the non-commercial band or affordable frequencies in the commercial band for Colorado Public Radio to acquire.
   
   Second (according to Frances Koncilja), the planned move to HD radio by CPR in the Vail Valley was decided by Colorado Public Radio Management, with insufficient Board discussion, without supporting research, significantly devoid of community dialog, and absent listener and listener-subscriber input. CPR broadcast changes will greatly affect Vail listeners, because owners of standard AM/FM radios will receive either 24 hours of news OR 24 hours music; whichever CPR decides to broadcast on the primary, FM frequency. The same deprivation will happen in Denver, Boulder, and Pueblo, Colorado if Colorado Public Radio makes the same decisions on behalf of its listeners and listener-subscribers in these markets too.
   
   Thus, Colorado Public Radio lacked diligence in its decision to rollout HD radio in one of its affiliate markets. So, to represent this disagreement as a criticism of HD radio per se, is fallacious, in that it is overly general. As a Colorado Public Radio Board Member, what Frances Koncilja expected from the Colorado Public Radio Board and Management was transparency and inclusion. What novel ideas in public radio!
   
   
2. The Board: Board Membership total size and diversity representation are two related disagreements that Frances Koncilja has with Colorado Public Radio. During her four years on the Board, it shrunk from more than twenty (20) members to just eleven (11). And, it was Colorado Public Radio’s tentative plan to further decrease the Board to nine (9) total members (*this item was withdrawn on motion); presumably bolstered by and unknown collection of members who comprise CPR's Community Advisory Group. And while gender diversity is well-represented on CPR’s Board, racial diversity is not—it is absent. Thus, shrinking the total size of the Board will further reduce the opportunities for people of color to represent Colorado’s diverse constituencies. Real inclusion and genuine diversity--brilliant!
   
   
3. Board Subsidy of KCFR Content Development: In addition, Colorado Public Radio’s newly-formed, but substantially smaller Board of Directors, may require that each member of the new-and-improved Board to commit to giving or getting contributions to Colorado Public Radio at or above the $25,000 level. In the past two years for example, Colorado Public Radio Board Members have authorized a combined amount of $500,000 to be spent on the the so-called KCFR News Colorado News Initiative, allowing management to dip into reserves if necessary. *CPRB does not know however, the exact amount of money Colorado Public Radio has spent thus far on the two-year-old News Initiative.
   
   In Frances Koncilja’s opinion, the investment so far has not netted the quality and quantity of news content expected, given the high contribution costs by the present Board Members. Will future financial infusions result in substantive news or music programming changes? Fiscal discretion and oversight--outstanding!
   
   
4. Board Governance, Company Mission Statement, and CPR Control: Finally, Frances Koncilja believes that the Colorado Public Radio Board spent inordinate amounts of time, effort, and financial resourses (in the form of consultant costs paid to Bill Charney of Charney Associates), to re-work Colorado Public Radio’s Board Governance Rules and Company Mission Statement (this board governance item was also withdrawn on motion, and it was agreed to commence a new governance process). Further, she believes that Colorado Public Radio management inefficiently and ineffectively spent these scarce resources on onerous administrative details when other issues appeared to be more urgent. Leadership and guidance in governance--unthinkable!
   

We will leave it to the readers to review past posts and comments on Colorado Public Radio Blog and in Denver Westword to determine the veracity of Frances Koncilja’s statements, claims, and arguments. If you post your comments on CPRB, Frances Koncilja will attempt to answer each one, as best she can and as time permits.

At Colorado Public Radio Blog, we welcome discourse about the issues surrounding public radio in Colorado. Once again, thanks for reading CPRB.

--Jimmy James Jr.