WFIU-WTIU Community Advisory Board Meeting
In the Kelley Dining Room, DeVault Alumni Center, and via Zoom
Thursday, February 6, 2025, 12:00 p.m.
Joan Curts calls the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
Welcome & Introductions
Attending: Sharon Sung Andrews, Michele Bergonzi, Tom Bunger, Joan Curts, Pamela Davidson, Lauren Dexter-Burns, Sally Gaskill, Nicole King, Cullen McCarty, Lynn Schwartzberg, Adrian Starnes, Judy Stewart, Nathan Watson. Staff: Laura Baich, John Bailey, Eric Bolstridge, Mary Ducette, Amy O’Shaughnessy, Joan Padawan, Kevon Wilson, Marianne Woodruff, Lisa Robbin Young.
Approval of November minutes
Pamela Davidson moves, Judy Stewart seconds. Motion to approve passes.
Working Group Updates
John Bailey offers an update on CAB recruitment: a “pre-stocking” effort will get underway in 2025 to allow for significant crossover with current board members in advance of a mass rotation out in 2028. FIU and TIU will begin soliciting prospective board members with a promotion schedule on air and on social media.
The CAB’s advocacy team members, Pamela Davidson and Lynn Schwartzberg, are slated to join John Bailey for the annual APTS Capitol Hill Day event in late February. The trio will join station managers and lay leaders from around Indiana in a series of IPBS-scheduled conversations with elected officials.
Engagement Update
Mary Ducette reviews recent outreach and engagement successes, including a live Noon Edition in Columbus, a 40th-anniversary Just You & Me event, and a Soul Kitchen Dance Party; and previews events in 2025, including Bloomington Showcase, the Day at the Fair, and the annual Conference on Aging. CAB involvement is encouraged.
Mission Statement
John Bailey presents a revised mission statement for review and feedback. CAB members offer suggestions for refinement.
2025 State of the Stations Report
John Bailey leads an overview of the current health of the stations and the public media ecosystem: federal funding has been level and is forward-funded by two years, but could be imperiled in a new Congress; state funding has been level, with IPBS setting its sights on enhancing the appropriation; institutional support from the University remains robust.
Over-the-air audience figures on TV and radio remain strong; the most recent audience estimates indicate more than 90,000 viewers and 50,000 listeners weekly. Radio streaming, web visits, and NPR app use are steady; smart speaker use and social engagement are on the rise.
Some stations in the system are stronger than others, which may lack licensee support and/or reserves. A major change in fees or a loss of public funding could force those stations into joint operating agreements or off air entirely.
Amy O’Shaughnessy surveys the year just past in FIU/TIU Development, with more than $1.6 million in revenue thanks to corporate clients and 10,000 radio and TV members.
Other business
Adjourn
1:19 p.m.