KUOW to Purchase KPLU

[Ron Thorne]

KUOW to Purchase KPLU

Feature, January 2016 Magazine



Protestors hold a demonstration at Pacific Lutheran University on December 3.
Photo by Dave Ellgen.

By Andrew Luthringer

When the announcement went out in mid-November that KUOW (94.9 FM) was in the process of purchasing KPLU (88.5 FM), it sent shockwaves through a wide range of KPLU listeners as well as the jazz community.

KPLU has maintained a loyal listenership for its excellent local news reporting alongside its extensive jazz programming, and the announcement took many by surprise. Though there have been rumors about a merger with KUOW for years, the apparent secrecy with which the process unfolded left many KPLU loyalists feeling blindsided. There are a number of efforts under way on the part of committed KPLU listeners to try and hold off the transfer and find an alternative solution (see savekplu.org for an overview), but it will likely be a difficult process, and need to be executed on a short time scale.

In an era of intense media consolidation, the loss of a committed and experienced core of local news reporters is unquestionably a huge one. However, there is currently a great deal of duplication of programming between the two stations, which are both NPR affiliates. Both stations carry the nationally syndicated programs All Things Considered and Morning Edition among others, which results in about nine hours of overlap a day.

And for those listeners for whom KPLU’s jazz programming is the primary reason for tuning in, there is a tantalizing silver lining: KUOW’s stated plan for 88.5 (the new call letters are TBD) is to convert it to a 24-hour outlet for jazz.

If the transfer is successful, 88.5 would become one of a very small number of remaining full-time jazz stations in the country. That is obviously a big potential positive for the local (and national) jazz ecosystem, but the questions will quickly arise: What kind of jazz station? What styles of jazz? Will there be local music included? And who makes the decisions?

On these questions, there are some initially hopeful signs pointing to a sensible strategy. I spoke with local broadcast icon Jim Wilke (the originator and host of Jazz After Hours on Public Radio International from 1984-2014 and producer of Jazz Northwest for KPLU since 1988) about his impressions. Wilke was encouraged that KUOW had taken an early step in posting a survey to get input from the local community about what they would like to see in a revamped 88.5 (accessible at kuow.org).

“That indicates that they’re already thinking about how they would program that station…Conducting a local informal survey, a survey that is getting in front of the present KPLU listeners, is a very positive step.”

Wilke noted that the genre choices on the survey were not very forward-looking (choices included both ragtime and Dixieland, and nothing more recent than bebop), which conjures fears of an overly institutionalized notion of jazz. However, there are plenty of spaces for personal input, so presumably KUOW management will integrate the individual feedback they receive.

“KUOW is obviously thinking about ‘What sort of direction should we be going with this?’” said Wilke.

Another potentially positive indicator came from Caryn Mathes, General Manager of KUOW, who informed me that the station has hired Steve Williams of WBGO in Newark as a “transitional Program Director for 88.5” WBGO is one of the most successful and visible full-time jazz stations in the country (the station helps to produce the syndicated Jazz Night in America show, hosted by Christian McBride), and Williams has played a considerable role in their success. Williams has already asked for an increase in the initial budget for the new 88.5, and clearly has a deep understanding of the current jazz broadcasting landscape.

In addition to the online survey, which Mathes told me had received over 5,000 responses, KUOW is soliciting input from the Puget Sound jazz community (what she termed “jazz influentials”) in a series of local meetings and listening sessions, at which Williams will be present.

Mathes indicates the goal is to “take input from the community, jazz educators, people from venues … to figure out, how can we build on the best of the current KPLU and take it to the next level?”

A looming question is what happens to the tremendous wealth of talent, experience, and local knowledge in the current KPLU jazz programming corps, figures such as Wilke, Abe Beeson, Dick Stein, and the many others who have given so much to our local jazz ecosystem. It would seemingly make obvious sense to shift them over to the new 88.5, but the path is not a straightforward one: Since KUOW is licensed by the University of Washington which is a State Employer, all positions have to be publicly posted. In essence, they could all be rehired, but nothing is a given. Mathes said KUOW can’t post the new positions until they receive FCC approval for the deal, so 88.5 may have to hire music talent staff on an interim contractual basis.

There are many other remaining questions, such as the fate of KPLU’s Jazz24.org streaming service, and the timing and rollout should the deal receive FCC approval. Jazz fans should stay tuned and keep involved in the coming weeks and months – the future may be in your hands.

Source

[bluenoter]

There are a number of efforts under way on the part of committed KPLU listeners to try and hold off the transfer and find an alternative solution (see savekplu.org for an overview), but it will likely be a difficult process, and need to be executed on a short time scale.

   

Fans of KPLU are expressing delight at news that the public radio station might not disappear after all.

Hundreds of KPLU listeners have been fighting the station's proposed sale to competing public radio station KUOW and its license holder, the University of Washington. This week they won a key victory.

Officials from UW and Pacific Lutheran University, which holds the license for KPLU, said they have been renegotiating their deal. They now aim to give the deal's opponents a chance to raise money to buy KPLU — and keep it on the air.

"It's essentially what we've been asking for several weeks now," said Stephen Tan, chair of KPLU's Community Advisory Council. "I'm grateful that the administrations and the regents at both universities listened to the concerns that were raised by the public."

Under the original deal, announced Nov. 12, the universities had a Dec. 18 deadline to finalize the purchase of the news and jazz station with its main signal at 88.5 FM.

Under that deal, KUOW — the news and information station at 94.9 FM — would buy KPLU for $8 million. Pending FCC approval, KUOW would operate a jazz station at the 88.5 frequency. The KPLU newsroom and brand would be eliminated.

On Thursday, the universities pushed the Dec. 18 deadline back to Jan. 15. UW spokesperson Norm Arkans said they needed more time to negotiate the details of an unusual two-track deal: one allowing a community group to put together an offer for KPLU at the same time the sale to KUOW continues to work its way toward FCC approval. The community group would get to buy the station if it can make an offer acceptable to PLU before the FCC gives KUOW final approval.

"It's stunning," said Keith Seinfeld, a former KPLU reporter who is administrator of the saveKPLU.org website. "It seemed impossible a month ago."

Rising Volume of Complaints

When the plan to purchase KPLU was announced, KUOW publicity materials emphasized the 65 hours per week of duplicated — and expensive — national programming airing on the competing stations each week. KUOW's website said the purchase "strengthens our radio community with a dedicated jazz station, and broadens the reach of our news and information station."

But criticism began soon after the purchase was announced, and the chorus of complaints grew louder in the following weeks.

"The idea that the public would have no voice at all in one of the major stations in the region disappearing, I think that that was wrong, and people realized it was wrong," Seinfeld said.

KUOW received hundreds of critical emails and phone calls. The station hired a crisis communications firm, Strategies 360, to help respond to the backlash.

"The vast majority of emails in the past week and a half were, 'you need to give the station the chance to be purchased by a community group,'” Arkans said Wednesday. "And the volume of that was rising."

(Full disclosure: Arkans sits on the KUOW board of directors.)

The loosely organized campaign of letter writing and phone calls — spurred in part by KPLU's Community Advisory Council's opposition to the sale — drew the attention of UW President Ana Mari Cauce.

Arkans said Cauce, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, was moved by the many complaints she saw about the deal's secrecy and its impact on the listening public.

"She said we need to be listening to the community," Arkans said. "And if this is what the desire is, then we should at the least give them a chance to see if they can pull the resources together, and if they can, then we will step back."

Coming Up Next: Fundraising

The question now is: Can loosely organized protesters of the sale shift gears to become multimillion-dollar fundraisers? Keith Seinfeld and Stephen Tan both said they were optimistic, having heard from many people asking where and how they could donate.

"I don't know that it's going to be any harder than what the last month was to get where we are today," Seinfeld said. "So that gives me hope that we can really do it."

The months-long process of gaining FCC approval for the sale to KUOW will continue even as supporters of KPLU try to put together the funding and other infrastructure needed to run a public radio station.

The nonprofit Friends of KPLU incorporated on Dec. 10. Tan said the group doesn't have any staff yet.

It remains unclear how much money supporters of KPLU would need to raise, what organization would raise it, or what else would be required for a successful bid to PLU. Arkans said what constitutes an acceptable offer is entirely up to PLU. . . .

http://kuow.org/post/kplu-supporters-get-their-wish-chance-buy-radio-station
 

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks for the update, bluenoter. You beat me to the punch.

I've been following this Seattle-based radio tussle for quite some time. KPLU listeners are a dedicated, loyal group, and I was pretty certain that they would take KUOW to the mat on this. I'll be eagerly awaiting the final outcome, which should be known in about 10 days.

KPLU Jazz