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"We can't compete in any way, shape or form with the public stations that narrowcast," says KBOO Program Director Chris Merrick. "But that's not our goal."This Saturday, KBOO radio will end its annual three-week spring pledge drive. In an effort to entice new members, Portland's grassroots radio station has junked the traditional coffee mugs and tote bags for more exotic premiums including subscriptions to Mother Jones, an elixir of Unisex Pheromone Sex Attractant Perfume and a live pig. Pledge drives are a necessary and annoying feature of non-commercial stations (even if pig premiums aren't). But this year's spring cash call has an added urgency for KBOO. Unless the 30-year-old station can meet its pledge drive goal of $120,000 by week's end, it could lose its public funding and fall victim to new federal guidelines that fail to recognize the unique community service the station provides Portlanders. Membership pledges make up the bulk of KBOO's annual $300,000 budget, but, until this year, the station also relied on $60,000 from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Born in the early '60s, CPB was created to channel government funds to community radio and television stations across the country. In those days it was easy. Standards were set, stations, including KBOO, became "qualified," and annual grants were dispersed. When Newt & Co. took over in 1994, however, things changed. CPB, like the National Endowment for the Arts, came under attack. Concerned for the future of public radio, CPB created a task force to study ways in which stations might become more self-sufficient. Studies suggested that listeners placed the highest value on national news and information and were less interested in locally produced music shows. Schedule changes were outlined with an emphasis on narrowing a station's format to one or two kinds of programming. In 1996, new guidelines were set to qualify for CPB funds: Stations must bring in a specified amount of money from listeners, members and underwriters and/or have a certain number of listeners as dictated by the commercial rating service Arbitron. KBOO failed to meet both criteria and was put on probation. Half of its '97 federal grant was cut, and future government funding is in jeopardy. There are several reasons for KBOO's financial woes. First, Portland is considered public-radio heaven. Oregon Public Broadcasting is one of the most successful public radio stations in the country, and its recent switch to a news and information format has paid off in more money and new members. Other non-commercial stations, like classical KBPS and jazz station KMHD (neither of which receive federal funds), also have the advantage of single-format programming. Predictable schedules attract more listeners and more members. A station like KBOO, with 15 or more formats trying to serve diverse communities, will always struggle to build a large audience. "We can't compete in any way, shape or form with the public stations that narrowcast," explains KBOO Program Director Chris Merrick. "But that's not our goal. In Portland, Oregon, public broadcasting is a success. [OPB] has a huge audience. They raise lots of money. They are 'successful.' KBOO is not. But we have two different philosophies and ours is not secondary to theirs. In our opinion we're equal." KBOO is also penalized for is its commitment to alternative programs for "diverse communities and unserved or underserved groups." The station's schedule features shows like "Hel Hollands Uurtje: The Holland Hour," the only live Dutch-language show in the nation, accessible to a mere 1,500 Dutch expatriates. Another program, "Persian Music & Art," broadcast in Farsi, gives Portland's 10,000 displaced Iranians a weekly dose of Persian music, local and national news and announcements about current events. Additional shows are broadcast in Vietnamese and Spanish. According to Arbitron, 0.00 people are listening to Hel Hollands Uurtje and KBOO's other foreign-language programs. The commercial Arbitron rating system is not set up to measure audience numbers for programs broadcast in languages other than English. But through surveys and generous contributions during pledge drives, the staff believes there are loyal listeners, even if they're not reflected in the Arbitron ratings so important to CPB. KBOO staffers say they've been told that to qualify for CPB money, they'll need to bag the shows that appeal to such a limited (and unmeasured) audience. "Operationally, that is really at cross-currents with some of our objectives," says Mike Broderick, KBOO's PM news director. "No, it doesn't make any sense to program in Vietnamese; however, that's an underserved audience. Spanish-language programming in our broadcast area? No that's not a smart programming move. Is it part of our mission statement? Is it part of what we say we're all about? That's why we do it." But some of KBOO's problems are its own. Even staunch supporters of the station like award-winnning radio journalist Barbara Bernstein think KBOO could use a good dose of professionalism. Bernstein, a committed volunteer since 1971, is "pissed as hell at CPB" but also believes KBOO really needed "a kick in the butt" to increase membership. "We've been sliding by with a certain kind of self-satisfaction and not really getting an outside eye on what we need to do to improve our programming," Bernstein says. Some of the folks on KBOO, she says, dedicated though they may be, sound painfully like the amateurs they are. "There are people who can barely do a decent air sound," she complains. Bernstein would like to see better training and oversight, plus the addition of more national programming from sources such as Public Radio International, Pacifica News and the Alternative Radio Service. "I think having certain anchors throughout the day of the best national programming available gives local programmers something to listen to and be inspired by," Bernstein says. She contends that by learning more about how people use the radio, KBOO can improve its schedule. Merrick and members of the programming committee agree. They have spent a long and difficult year talking with programmers, the board of directors and members to create a tighter schedule that will keep many of the current programs but place them in new time slots or user-friendly "listening blocks." As of May 1, most of the foreign-language programs will be moved to daytime hours on Sunday; the evening will be devoted to KBOO's programs by, about and for women. But the changes may not come fast enough for CPB. D-Day for KBOO is Oct. 1. This is the fiscal year '99 deadline by which the station must prove that it can not only meet the new guidelines but also begin to show yearly increases in audience growth and membership. If CPB decides to disqualify KBOO permanently, the one station that has brought Portland 30 years of local voices and alternative programming could go under. After two weeks of heavy pitching, staff and volunteers have raised $83,000 of their $120,000 pledge drive goal. With one week left, they're desperately hoping for "a really good week." General Manager Alan Bailey has filed an appeal with the CPB, and Bernstein is currently in Washington, D.C., for a public radio convention where she will meet with the president of CPB. Merrick believes the argument is simple. "Should minority programming in a white city be defunded because we can't commercially compete?" he says. "I don't want to antagonize CPB. I just want them to consider what they're doing." He sits quietly for a moment then continues. "I want them to say, 'We will give you your money. We will support community radio.'" |
