[FFCF-PNA] FW: [Nuts And Bolts] ZNet: Guma On Pacifica

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Subject: [Nuts And Bolts] ZNet: Guma On Pacifica

ZNet | Alternative Media

Imagining Pacifica's Future

by Greg Guma; June 08, 2006

The following are excerpts from a report delivered to the Pacifica National
Board by Executive Director Greg Guma on June 3, 2006 at a session held in
New York:

I'd like to begin by asking you to imagine the Pacifica radio network a few
years from now. Start by imagining an audio production center with multiple
channels and schedules open to frequent change, a place that breaks down
distinctions between listeners and producers, a hothouse for the cultivation
of talent and a laboratory for new ideas, a place where people converge,
contribute - and then move on, a center for the development of informative,
educational and entertaining programs with community partners and
like-minded organizations.

But it's more than that. It's also place where people learn how to
communicate, an audio resource center that offers state-of-the-art training
and a variety of platforms to get messages --- news, information, opinions,
music, humor, drama and more -- out into the world.

While you're at it, imagine a workplace where people look forward to the
challenges of each day, where the discussion is vigorous and dynamic, and
where disagreements aren't feared but rather welcomed because those involved
realize that they can lead to creative solutions. And imagine a staff that
sees its job as nurturing, teaching, and enabling others to freely and
effectively express themselves.

Now look beyond that, and imagine a network where diversity is a cause for
celebration rather than conflict, where programs offer people hope and
alternatives, a clearinghouse that shares ideas, talent and programs with
more than 200 affiliates, a truly national network that educates and
entertains by stimulating dialogue and asking hard questions - and does this
with a combination of irreverence and respect.

This is some of how I envision Pacifica in the future, and I hope you can
imagine something similar. But however our visions may differ, we obviously
have some challenges, significant work to do and key decisions to make to
get from here to there.

A changing landscape

There is no time to waste. The evidence suggests that, at the moment, the
audience for public radio appears to have leveled off, and some stations are
even losing ground. Meanwhile, Internet stations, podcasts, MP3s and iPods
are changing the way people around the world listen. Increasingly, they have
more control over their audio consumption. They can listen to programs and
stations from other areas, and at times more convenient to their schedules.
They can even carry their favorite radio shows and entire music library
around with them.

Recent studies indicate that within five years a third of public radio's
weekly audience will listen at least two hours a week to programs delivered
through a platform other than a primary broadcast channel. The shift could
go even further - half of the entire audience could be using new platforms
up to four hours weekly. That translates into somewhere between 8 and 25
percent of public radio's total service.

The question is: Will Pacifica be ready to provide these new platforms and
services? We are beginning to gear up, better coordinate our efforts, and
develop new capacity for training and distribution. But we need to continue
investing - in equipment, concepts, and personnel -- if we are going to
create the reliable new infrastructure we need.

Another aspect of the change is high definition - or HD radio, which
piggybacks digital signals on existing analog signals and promises high
quality reception. So far less that 10 percent of US stations are
broadcasting in digital, and the cost of HR receivers remains high. But
eventually, the price will come down and radio stations will be able to
offer greater choice by multicasting on up to 3 channels. Imagine having not
only the current Pacifica station channels, with a mix of news, public
affairs, and music, but also a second channel, perhaps one on which we could
broadcast hearings, rallies and other specials events - a veritable
progressive radio version of C-Span, and even a third channel for more
experimental programming, Spanish language listeners, arts and humanities
shows, or perhaps to lease or sell to pay for new initiatives.

Before long the cost of HD receivers for both homes and cars will drop below
$150. They'll have jacks for iPods and CD players, and before you know it,
beginning in urban areas, the face of so-called traditional radio will be
transformed. The question is: Will Pacifica make a sufficient and timely
investment to be at the leading edge of this transformation? I would argue
that we must.

That's the technological side - the delivery mechanisms. What about content?

Troubling trends

Let's start from where we are. On average, our five stations currently
devote less than 20 percent of their airtime to network news and public
affairs shows - less than five hours a day -- even though this form of
programming has fueled public radio's growth over the last decade. In
comparison, we devote almost 40 percent to local news and public affairs,
and another 40 percent to music.

The percentages obviously vary from station to station. According to a
recent report for the Radio Research Consortium, called "Audience 2010:
21st
Century Trajectories," two stations - WBAI and KPFK - devote substantially
more time to local public affairs shows. At WBAI, it's around 63 percent,
almost two thirds of all content; at KPFK, it's 56 percent. And two other
stations - WPFW and KPFT - devote considerably more than the average to
music: 59 percent at KPFT and about 71 percent at WPFW.

And what's the result? In general, both the Audience 2010 study and recent
Arbitron reports indicate that both listenership and, more worrisome,
loyalty are on the decline. Loyalty - measured as our share of our listeners
' total radio use -- grows from sensitivity to what people want to hear, and
correlates strongly with financial support.

Pacifica listeners are loyal to and enthusiastic about Democracy Now!, a
show we launched 10 years ago that has proven that combining solid
journalism, sensitivity to breaking news and a strong personality are a
winning combination. Programs that have sustained the most loyalty also
include Flashpoints and Sunday Salon, two shows that focus largely on
national and international issues and are identified with strong
personalities; morning shows and the evening news at various stations;
programs like Explorations with Michio Kaku and Background Briefing on KPFK,
and TalkBack on WBAI; and some of our music programs, particularly those
aired on Saturday and Sunday and hosted by a well-known local personalities.
A half hour program featuring Alan Watts on KPFK also has a loyal following,
which suggests a role for proven programs and voices from the past that are
available from our unique archives.

The point is that locally-focused public affairs programs, while
representing an important aspect of Pacifica's mission and a dominant part
of its program mix at three stations, currently don't rank relatively high
in terms of loyalty or listeners.

And what about the more music-oriented stations? According to Audience 2010,
although KPFT has climbed back from a listener slump, loyalty to its
programming is fairly low. The same is true for WPFW, except that the study
says it had fewer listeners in 2005 than in 2002. In fact, more than one of
our stations has been classified as a "diver." As the study puts it, a
"diver" may still be flying high at the moment, but its audience trajectory
is down.

Now, we can argue about the validity of the figures and assumptions, or the
fairness of such classifications. But what seems clear is that, on the one
hand, we are losing ground at the moment, and on the other, national news
and public affairs shows, along with credible and familiar hosts, engender
the most loyalty and are the most sustainable parts of the current mix.

Programming priorities

But Pacifica doesn't want to set priorities merely on the basis of what is
popular. Put another way, it chooses not to be market-driven. Instead, it is
committed to creating space for new voices, mission-based programming, and
identifying new and currently under-served audiences. And to do that, while
remaining relevant and fiscally sound, program schedules and mixes must
change. What we need is a fair and more effective way to set limits on how
long programs remain on the air, a review process that gives managers and
program committees the ability to open space and make needed changes.

For some time, the Board has been urging that Pacifica place more emphasis
on programming for the nation's growing Latino population. This is a very
appropriate priority, both in terms of outreach to an under-served audience,
demographic trends in our signal areas and nationwide, and the nature of
this potential audience.

According to Arbitron ratings, Latinos spend more time listening to the
radio than any other ethnic group. And although commercial Latino stations
have recently engaged in pro-immigrant advocacy, the corporations behind
many of these stations are less than thrilled, and the current emphasis isn'
t likely to continue. Pacifica, on the other hand, can sustain its
commitment, and attract a larger and more loyal Latino audience by
developing and strategically scheduling more programming.

At the same time, Pacifica needs to make a sustained commitment to national
news and public affairs programming. The first step, one I've been working
on, is a new and original network program that responds to current events
during the fall election season. I see it as a weekday show, a limited
series that combines serious discussion with humor and music, and showcases
talent from within and beyond our organization. Once election season ends,
we should use this time slot to showcase successful local programs from our
stations and affiliates for limited, but potentially renewable periods. In
2007, I suggest that we launch another series, this one focusing on race in
America.

Second, I recommend that the Spanish language news show we are launching be
scheduled to air with other Latino programs (music, public affairs,
immigration themed) to create a program bloc that can build a loyal
audience. All Pacifica stations should make a significant commitment to
serving this emerging audience by devoting at least 2 hours per day to
Latino programming.

In a more general sense, what I am suggesting is that we open up space in
all station schedules for the type of new programs that meet our mission,
weave together local and national elements, and generate greater audience
loyalty and additional financial support by getting infrequent listeners --
those currently on the fringe -- to tune in more often.

Reorganizing for change

These recommendations are part of an overall set of priorities that has been
presented to the National Finance Committee as part of the budget process.
But even these priorities don't answer all the questions that face us. For
example:

How much effort and investment should we put into broadcast services and how
much into newer channels and platforms? And how quickly can we shift
investments toward these new delivery systems?

How much should we invest as creators of original content and how much as
selectors and context-setters for content produced by others?

What content is most suitable for new channels, compared with the primary
broadcast signal?

What are the most promising avenues for shared research, development, and
investment? And who are the appropriate partners?

As Pacifica stations move from managing a single channel in each signal area
to operating as multichannel, multiplatform, interactive production and
resource centers, how will they acquire the needed knowledge and skills?

And, in a larger sense, can we recapture the humanistic spirit that animated
this organization more than a half century ago?

As I said earlier, time is short, and there is no time for distractions.
That's why it is so troubling to see both local station boards and the
national board devoting time to internal quarrels and procedural maneuvers
that have little to do with the challenges we face. And that is also why I
am asking you to imagine a different future.

So, I'll end as I began. Imagine Boards whose members contribute as much as
they demand, Boards that bring skills and resources together in a spirit of
cooperation and mutual respect, with members who offer as much positive
reinforcement as criticism, who actually enjoy their time together and see
their work more in terms of shared responsibilities than authority, and lead
by inspiring respect and being the change they wish to see.

And finally, imagine Pacifica Radio as an educational media organization -
not a tool of any movement, group or faction, no matter how just its cause.
Imagine an education organization dedicated to self-management of
information, to empowering people with the capacity for full
self-expression. An organization that understands it is possible to have
diversity as well as unity, and that operates on the basis of a simple and
yet profound idea: freedom of expression is fundamentally a personal and not
an institutional right, and freedom of the press means the right of people
to use all means of communication. Pacifica's job, as I see it, is to help
make that a reality.

One change leaves the way open for the introduction of others, a philosopher
once said. So, I say to you all, let's make some change.


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