WFIU Community Advisory Board Meeting
The Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, Kelley Dining Room
July 13, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
Notes Prepared by James Gray
Attending: Lewis Ricci, Miah Michaelsen, Laura Ginger, Mary Hall, Matt Pierce, Lynn Schwartzberg, Alain Barker, Charlotte Zietlow, Beth Watson, Sara Peterson, Janis Starcs, Pam Davidson, John Clark, Todd Nation, Daren Pitts Redman, Will Murphy, James Gray, Eva Zogorski, Joe Goetz, John Bailey, Nancy Krueger
Lewis Ricci calls the meeting to order.
Lewis Ricci: I want to welcome everyone to the meeting. There are a few new faces here. Let’s go around the table and introduce ourselves.
-Introductions-
Lewis Ricci: Great. First, I want to ask if anyone has any amendments for the minutes from the last meeting before we get started with new business.
Alain Barker: Yes. On page 3, strike where I say “old-world tradition.†I will email what I would like it to replace it.
Lewis Ricci: Can we approve the minutes with a note that this section will be changed?
Pam Davidson moves to approve the minutes. Miah Michaelsen seconds it.
Nomination Committee
Lewis Ricci: Will, would you like to get us started?
Will Murphy: Yes. We collected a couple dozen names for board candidates. We see a few of those names at this table now.
Miah Michaelsen: Also, Becky Cape has stepped away.
Will Murphy: Yes. And we will be losing 3 more folks at the end of the year.
Charlotte Zietlow: Are you looking for more names?
Will Murphy: Always.
Miah Michaselsen: Always.
Will Murphy: And before we go any further, I want to say thank you to Becky Cape. She has done wonderful work, and is very smart [applause].
Miah Michaelsen: She will be working with CASA.Â
Staff ReportsÂ
Will Murphy: OK. Let’s get start with big news. We have made an offer on a license for a radio frequency in Monroe County, and it was accepted. We now have the opportunity for two streams that would serve our audience. We have not determined if this is what we will do yet. An endeavor of this kind implies lengthy conversations with the board, staff members, etc. I want to underscore that we are nowhere close to programming the potential second stream.
Charlotte Zietlow: What are the pros and cons of starting a second signal?
Will Murphy: We can separate music and news programming. This is an option that interests many people. However, you do lose some of the diversity in programming. I will also mention that sometimes one buy licenses just to keep others from buying them.
Pam Davidson: This is exciting.
Mary Hall: I am happy we have the strategic plan in place as we go into this endeavor.
Lewis Ricci: What is the coverage area?
Will Murphy: It is not identical to our current coverage. Roughly Monroe County This would have an impact on our programming. Remember we have pending translators in French Lick, Seymour, and Greensburg as well.
Pam Davidson: When will the decision come?
Will Murphy: Ultimately, this is Perry’s decision, but the staff is in agreement that having two signals would be a good thing.
Janis Starcs: How much expense will it add?
WM: The license itself was not very expensive at $40,000.
Janis Starcs: What about staffing expenses?
WM: This is an interesting question. It could present additional expenses with regards to staffing.
Lewis Ricci: Have you looked at other models? One local station and one national station?
Will Murphy: we will be doing that. One station became the Idea Network (Wisconsin), and they have had great success with that.
Pam Davidson I’m glad you are putting local content in this.
Will Murphy: another cost is going to come through program subscription, but it won’t go up that much. The NPR bill will go up about 20 thousand dollars in the first year.
Pam Davidson: There could be overseas content on the second channel.
Alain Barker: Are there station pairings that haven’t split news and music?
Will Murphy: Yes.
Lewis Ricci: Sara, would you consider making examples out of other stations that could be used for focus groups?
Sara Peterson: I can do this.
Will Murphy: We can do that, but we have program directors that come from other stations.
Lynn Schwartzberg: Do we have info on how often people listen to HD radio?
Will Murphy: I can say that 125 people click over on their computers to HD-2 at 9:00 am, but that doesn’t account for the HD signal.
John Bailey: We can originate 3-4 HD signals, but we can’t originate programming for a translator. It has to be on a transmitter as well.
Joe Goetz: One thing about this transition that we should keep in mind is the importance of branding.
Lynn Schwartzberg: We are already dividing our listeners with our programming. We shouldn’t act like it is not already happening.
Charlotte Zietlow: Can we anticipate changes in programming?
Will Murphy: Just the addition of new programs and niche programs will be allowed more prominence. There may be more disc spin.
Lewis Ricci: Will, could you comment on news?
Will Murphy: There will be more real estate for news. We are working on better communication, but I have no control over news.
Lewis Ricci: What about timing and the importance of collaboration? Could you comment on that.
Will Murphy: Yes. There are 4 or 5 big changes in effect right now. One involves the M-School moving. We also have the organizational question now that Phil has left. We have a mandate for greater collaboration. Perry wants our building to feel like more of a radio/tv building. Currently, there are many moving parts, but there is not a formal plan.
Miah Michaelsen: What kind of timeline are we looking at?
Will Murphy: For the translator, it would not be up any sooner than spring of 2016, if at all.
John Clark: Will we (CAB) have a role in communication?
Will Murphy: Yes. Definitely. We’ll be talking about possibilities before October. This is a time when the board is essential. Also, it would be worthwhile for the board to look at the strategic plan.
Sara Peterson: I’ll send an email with a list of stations with multiple streams.Â
Fund Drive
Lewis Ricci: Let’s talk about the fund drive.
Will Murphy: The fall fund drive will run from October 15 to 21.
Lewis Ricci: I wanted to take this opportunity to ask the board if there is anything they want to do to contribute. We could make testimonials, a challenge, Etc. I would like it if we were more deliberate with our testimonials. What about working as a pitch partner?
Will Murphy: I think it’s a good opportunity.
Pam Davidson: I just want to say that I think Nancy’s spots are excellent.
Joe Goetz: Do we air too many of them?
Laura Ginger: Yes.
Nancy Krueger: I just heard a new strategy that recommends airing them heavily for a couple of months and then backing off, and then airing more of them.
Miah Michaelsen: Can we do a challenge? Please follow-up on this.
Charlotte Zietlow: I would like information about how my sustainer pledge and challenge pledge are different or the same.
Will Murphy: Thanks. That is a good question. Also, I do not think we have met since the fiscal year ended. I would like to go over a few numbers.
Let’s look back to our last fund drive. Our goal was 65,000, and we ended at 72,000.
Our goals in the fund drive have bedeviled me. It is complicated by our growing number of sustainers.
We will have two fund drives a year going forward. I’ve been thinking about doing something on September 30 for FIU’s 65th anniversary as well.
Overall, we met our goal for membership and underwriting on the year.
Lynn Schwartzberg: I would like to hear messages about bumping up your sustaining donation.
Will Murphy: Yes. That would be good. I would also like to put messages on that let people know how important it is to tell their people they know to donate.
Eva Zogorski: are sustainer numbers are good. About 20% to 25% of our listeners are sustainers.Â
New Members
Lewis Ricci: How should we handle having new CAB members?
Will Murphy: There used to be a formal process, but the language is now intentionally vague. I would be happy to have everyone at this table consider themselves a part of the board.
Other Business
Lewis Ricci: Any other business?
Nancy Krueger: I just wanted to mention that we have been having community events with some of our long-time members. It has been great to be in the communities.
Lewis Ricci: Thanks. If there is no other new business, is there a motion to adjourn?
Janis Starcs motions to adjourn. Lynn Schwartzberg seconds it.Â
Next meeting: TBA