WFIU Community Advisory Board Meeting
Indian University Radio & Television Center, Faculty and Staff Lounge
February 9, 2009
4 p.m.
Prepared by Josephine McRobbie
Present: Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Laura Ginger, Peter Jacobi, Nancy Krueger, Christina Kuzmych, Perry Metz, Lewis Ricci, Jefferson Shreve, Janis Starcs, Charlotte Zietlow,
Absent: David Bowden, Becky Cape, Jane Clay, Pam Davidson, Marty Donnelly, Michael McGregor, Leonard Newman, Gwyn Richards, Lynn Schwartzberg.
Janis called the meeting to order. The Board made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting with no changes.
Fund Drive
• We reached our goals and the “sound” got a positive response. We made 330K, 30K less than last year. In real terms it was a loss, but realistic terms – it’s very good!
• Comments are appreciated.
• We worded pitches so that people would feel comfortable with giving less. Janis: I know people who appreciated this.
• We’re in cultivation mode, not upping dollars.
Election Night Coverage
• WFIU and all IPBS stations contributed. Marianne, our Statehouse reporter, contributed a lot of content.
• There were a few glitches, but overall, things went well.
• We have hired a news bureau chief for IPBS. We also would like a full-time reporter at some point.
New Programming
Community Minute
• We were not able to launch Making a Difference, so in its place we have Community Minute, which provides a forum for area non-profits to share their messages, while we also do our part in community service.
• It is a cost-effective program, as each episode is only a minute long. Josephine McRobbie is recording and producing these spots.
• Carolyn: How much information can you get into one minute?
• Christina: We get mission, scope, and an anecdote from a staff member, volunteer, or client. There will also be contact information and more content on the web site: http://wfiu.org/communityminute/
• Should we give phone number? Will people be motivated to find this information on their own?
Muslim Voices and Crash Course in Islam
• These are short podcasts, available here: http://muslimvoices.org/muslim-voices-podcast/
Earth Eats
• This is a podcast that will also be available on the air: http://wfiu.org/eartheats/
• Hosted by Chef Daniel Orr from Farm Bloomington, focusing on local foods.
Website
• Our site is now much-improved, more interactive and cutting-edge.
• There are revenue possibilities online, such as through online ads, and music purchases initiated on our site and sent to Amazon.com
• It is designed in a way that keeps people on our page.
Events
• We made $3,600 from our fall music sale.
• We will be hosting a Valentine’s Day brunch with Bill McLaughlin and Christopher O’Riley
• Planning an event with Scott Russell Sanders and Tom Roznowski
Budget
• Perry: This is a dire time for public broadcasting. NPR recently laid off 7% of its workforce. PBS has also been contracting in recent years. Major corporations are less interested in public broadcasting, and more in return on their investment and advertising. Corporate support is down 25% on some cases, cannot turn to member stations to raise dues because all are in dire situations themselves. 40% of public radio stations are operating in the red.
• Indiana has been one of the few states to increase funding for public broadcasting in recent years.
• The Governor indicated that 16 stations would not receive the yearly payment, but instead receive it quarterly. Then the state budget director indicated that there would be no 4th quarter payment. After some back and forth, a reduced amount was allowed.
• The Governor has proposed cutting public broadcasting all together for the next fiscal two fiscal years, this would amount to 440K for WFIU/WTIU.
• While many received cuts, public broadcasting was the only entity completely zeroed out.
• There are also proposed cuts (of about 4%) to all of higher education, and IU will also likely receive cuts.
• During this time, corporate and membership have held steady, but this only accounts for 40% of our budget.
• We started making cuts to anticipate this shortfall in December. We have curtailed purchasing, limited travel, and left several positions open.
• We are trying to preserve the full-time staff, and the character and services of the stations.
• We have received some new grants, places in wills, and a classical music endowment of 10K.
• So, there are some good things, but in general, these cuts are sobering. Don’t think we’ll be zeroed out, we’re hoping to be on the lower end of the cuts.
• CK: Miami of Ohio was zeroed out by their University, and two more stations are having the same problem.
• Jefferson: Are these cuts larger for WTIU? Yes.
• Charlotte: What about HDTV? Perry: This is a zero sum for us, but there is the added expense of keeping people around while the switch is happening.
• We are working on contingency plans of what we’d do if we were zeroed out. We must transition from a radio station to a media outlet. We have to be everywhere the next generation listens. What platforms will they use? What outlets?
• Jefferson: Is the cost of delivery lower? Yes, and faster.
• The new NPR head is a technology person. There is a lot of division in thinking about new technology versus terrestrial radio.
• Don’t be surprised if we do an online fund drive, collaborative fund raising, micro-payments
• Perry: We don’t intent to go with the more desperate fundraising, we want to preserve and protect our programming
• Lewis: We need to change the conversation, people don’t know the difference between for-profit and non-profit arts organizations.
• Christina: It’s the inequity of the cuts that hurt the most. The NEA was also taken out of the stimulus package, and this will trickle down to us.
Gifts and Grants
• We received $11,000 for a classical music endowment fund, proceeds from Valentine’s Day brunch will go towards this.
• We have already received $26,000 for the Cobine fund.
• We are reapplying for the Nakamichi and DeHaan grants for Harmonia
Upcoming meetings
• June 1
• September 14