WFIU Community Advisory Board Meeting
Indiana University Radio & Television Center, Conference Room
January 7th, 2008
4 p.m.
Prepared by Josephine McRobbie
Present: David Bowden, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Pam Davidson, Marty Donnelly, Peter Jacobi, Nancy Krueger, Christina Kuzmych, Nan McEntire, Michael McGregor, Perry Metz, Janis Starcs, Charlotte Zietlow, Lynn.
Janis called the meeting to order. The Board approved the minutes from the previous meeting.
New Members:
Nancy Krueger (Major Gifts and Grants Officer WFIU/WTIU), Lynn, Laura Ginger (Associate Professor of Business Law, Kelley School of Business), and Lewis Ricci (Executive Director of the Indiana Arts Council).
Station News:
The station is having a music sale. Will Murphy is leaving, so WFIU is beginning a search for a new News Director. Station will air the Governor’s State of the State on January 15th, and President Bush’s State of the Union in late January. There will be a legislative update during the new Ask the Mayor. A Prairie Home Companion ticket sales are going very well.
Sharon Beikman is retiring. Her position in traffic will be restructured as a Director of Integrated Media, who will be working with new technology and producing for new media such as podcasts.
The Radio Resource Coordinator position is also open.
Podcasting:
We are investing a lot in this format. IU is using out podcasts as prototypes for theirs. We are participating in the new NPR revenue sharing program for podcasts. This will be more beneficial for some programs than others, specifically the ones which can appeal to a larger, more global audience or a segmented niche audience. One month of A Moment of Science, the program with the highest number of plays on this new revenue sharing program, supplied the station with close to $300. Revenue gained from this endeavor will depend on the number of stations podcasting a program, and who the major underwriter is. Some shows, such as Harmonia, cannot be podcasted due to music copyright issues with music segments longer than one minute. Some programs, such as Congressional Moments, are already completed and take little to no extra labor hours to podcast. Others, such as Ethergame, take an average of one hour to process into podcast, and minimal editing and overseeing by producers. David suggests local business reports for podcasts, Christina says that those are generally archived on website, but Noon Edition and Ask the Mayor are on podcasts. Focused on using what is unique at IU – partnering with the Kinsey Institute and SPEA for podcasts. On the backburner is a series with Patrick O’Meara, talking about foreign countries not on the “front page”. Working with NPR to get Peter Noble Kuchera’s movie reviews as a vodcast in partnership with WTIU. NPR wants 3,000 hits, so more marketing and negotiating need to be done.
Technology:
Moving fast from radio to other formats, having an internet presence is crucial. Fundraising backbone is Morning Edition, that is at risk if more people get it through satellite. Ages 18-25 don’t listen to radio much, find music through downloading, recommendations from friends, Last.fm recommendation websites. Best way to deal with changes is to make use of resources, dabble in lots of different endeavors to see what works, use unique material to appeal to niche audiences, segment more, localize. You can niche easily through streaming. David suggests a Classical Lite channel, says many people want more variety than a wholly symphony.
Secondary Audio Channel:
Flier and sample schedule for SAC handed out. Will commence this summer. BBC news will be an important part of the news and features channel. There will be repeats of This American Life and A Prairie Home Companion. New programs will include Diane Rehm. The second channel will be mainly automated, so the staff will not have to be doubled. Working on streamlining schedule. As time passes, will localize news and features channel. Original channel will wean off news into being a music channel.
HD Radios
TV HD transition is mandated by the FCC but radio is not, so it will take longer to change. A possible idea would be buying HD radios in bulk, and selling them to members at wholesale. Look into Sony partnership with IU.
Major Gifts and Grants
Nancy has been working on getting materials out to estate planners, targeting major donors for special events, end of year fundraising push in e-newsletter and on website. Also working on WTIU event and WFIU / WTIU joint event, Al Cobine fund, outreach in translator communities, relationship building with major donors and community members. All members of CAB are invited to join a development committee. Pam suggests modest percent of TIFF, and gifts other than cash, such as stock.
Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations
IPBS is going well, Indiana is the only red state that has increased funding in public broadcasting. In the works is a C-SPAN type station covering Indiana legislative sessions. Technology will be difficult, Governor finally approved it, but will still take 6-9 months to set up.
NEXT MEETINGS:
April 7th (not April 14th)
July 14th
November 10th (not November 3rd)
Meeting Adjourned.