October, 2015
Dear Friends of KUSP and KUSP Forward Folks,
As you may know, KUSP is engaged in its Fall fundraiser. It's a very crucial and pivotal time as the funds raised now will determine whether the station can reinvent itself in a new format and to build its audience and funding back to sustainable levels. The board will revisit a sale option in six months if things haven't turned around significantly. That is up to listeners and the board, staff, and volunteers of the station.
Many of folks have asked me if I think they should donate now or not. That is a personal decision, but I will share my reasons for giving at this time.
Since May when the KUSP board considered selling the station's license, our group KUSP Forward has been engaged with asserting two major goals: Keeping KUSP local (the prospective buyer was a classical music network from LA), and returning it to being a community radio station with local volunteers. It has been a long and sometimes frustrating process. So far, we can claim success in the first goal and a tentative optimism about the second goal.
In September KUSP's board hired a consultant to analyze the market and determine if a different program strategy would work to keep the station solvent. You may recall that KUSP Forward, from the very beginning has advocated removing most if not all of the redundant NPR programs from the airwaves and reviving the station's community mission. The consultant's report (which I encourage you to read at: http://kuspforward.weebly.com/documents.html) supported our assertion about the consequences of duplicating services with KAZU.
With the recent staffing changes, I have been much more optimistic about the chances to bring back community involvement and investment. The station simply has to become more relevant to people's everyday lives. When I first began volunteering there, KUSP was a lively place full of ping-pong games, political debates, and live music. With care and by welcoming community involvement, it can be that again.
Now to what's ahead: On November 1, I've been told that listeners can expect the change over to a "Triple A" format during peak listening hours (4am-7pm). For more information on what this sounds like on other stations, see:
Austin: KUTX http://kutx.org/
Philadelphia: WXPN http://www.xpn.org/
Pittsburgh: WYEP http://www.wyep.org/
Louisville: WFPK http://wfpk.org/
Ft. Collins, CO.: KUNC http://www.kunc.org/
Note: These cities are all quite different from the Monterey Bay Region.
I'm not a big fan of tightly scripted mic breaks or canned formats. I love the KUSP model that places on air host as the knowledgable curator of good music who connects us to the people they know in the local and touring music community. I love to be surprised. I got into radio because I have a passion for music and ideas, and celebrating what connects us. We need things that feed our souls. Let's hope this format is broad enough to encompass what we love.
I am donating all I can at this time because I want to keep this media resource in our community. I feel this will buy us time to return the station to community radio.I hope you will join me.
Aside from the main weekday block, it appears the rest of the schedule is somewhat in play. So far, there are no plans for talk programming other than arts and cultural topics, but listeners could influence that if they feel strongly about it.
That's where you come in.
Please consider making a pledge along with a letter or phone call stating your strong support for returning KUSP to a community station with local volunteers on the air. If you have feelings about specific programming you would support, now is the time to express this.
I am ultimately an optimist and believe that if listeners want this station to succeed and there is an open door/innovation culture among the staff, there is no end to the great things that can be done. First we have to keep the lights on. I will be contributing now to keep this crucial media resource in local hands. I hope you will make a leap of faith and join me.
Pledge online at: www.kusp.org
Sincerely,
Rachel Anne Goodman
www.coastridge.org
Dear Friends of KUSP and KUSP Forward Folks,
As you may know, KUSP is engaged in its Fall fundraiser. It's a very crucial and pivotal time as the funds raised now will determine whether the station can reinvent itself in a new format and to build its audience and funding back to sustainable levels. The board will revisit a sale option in six months if things haven't turned around significantly. That is up to listeners and the board, staff, and volunteers of the station.
Many of folks have asked me if I think they should donate now or not. That is a personal decision, but I will share my reasons for giving at this time.
Since May when the KUSP board considered selling the station's license, our group KUSP Forward has been engaged with asserting two major goals: Keeping KUSP local (the prospective buyer was a classical music network from LA), and returning it to being a community radio station with local volunteers. It has been a long and sometimes frustrating process. So far, we can claim success in the first goal and a tentative optimism about the second goal.
In September KUSP's board hired a consultant to analyze the market and determine if a different program strategy would work to keep the station solvent. You may recall that KUSP Forward, from the very beginning has advocated removing most if not all of the redundant NPR programs from the airwaves and reviving the station's community mission. The consultant's report (which I encourage you to read at: http://kuspforward.weebly.com/documents.html) supported our assertion about the consequences of duplicating services with KAZU.
With the recent staffing changes, I have been much more optimistic about the chances to bring back community involvement and investment. The station simply has to become more relevant to people's everyday lives. When I first began volunteering there, KUSP was a lively place full of ping-pong games, political debates, and live music. With care and by welcoming community involvement, it can be that again.
Now to what's ahead: On November 1, I've been told that listeners can expect the change over to a "Triple A" format during peak listening hours (4am-7pm). For more information on what this sounds like on other stations, see:
Austin: KUTX http://kutx.org/
Philadelphia: WXPN http://www.xpn.org/
Pittsburgh: WYEP http://www.wyep.org/
Louisville: WFPK http://wfpk.org/
Ft. Collins, CO.: KUNC http://www.kunc.org/
Note: These cities are all quite different from the Monterey Bay Region.
I'm not a big fan of tightly scripted mic breaks or canned formats. I love the KUSP model that places on air host as the knowledgable curator of good music who connects us to the people they know in the local and touring music community. I love to be surprised. I got into radio because I have a passion for music and ideas, and celebrating what connects us. We need things that feed our souls. Let's hope this format is broad enough to encompass what we love.
I am donating all I can at this time because I want to keep this media resource in our community. I feel this will buy us time to return the station to community radio.I hope you will join me.
Aside from the main weekday block, it appears the rest of the schedule is somewhat in play. So far, there are no plans for talk programming other than arts and cultural topics, but listeners could influence that if they feel strongly about it.
That's where you come in.
Please consider making a pledge along with a letter or phone call stating your strong support for returning KUSP to a community station with local volunteers on the air. If you have feelings about specific programming you would support, now is the time to express this.
I am ultimately an optimist and believe that if listeners want this station to succeed and there is an open door/innovation culture among the staff, there is no end to the great things that can be done. First we have to keep the lights on. I will be contributing now to keep this crucial media resource in local hands. I hope you will make a leap of faith and join me.
Pledge online at: www.kusp.org
Sincerely,
Rachel Anne Goodman
www.coastridge.org
