General Manager's Report 2009-05-14

2009: RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

SUMMARY

• Finances: Income 13% off budget. Will probably need line of credit in Sept.

• Fundraising: Major grant application. Summer fundraising strategies. 

• Personnel: Volunteer Appreciation dinner: May 30th

• Programming: Sound Living -new local call-in show pilots in June.

FINANCES

A review of our finances shows us about 13% behind budget as of April 30th. This is due mostly to two factors: 20% drop in Tower income and a 15% reduction in listener income. I’ve re-adjusted my projections for the remainder of the year to account for this and other expected shortfalls. If my projections for the next couple months are correct, we will be seeing negative cash flow in September of about $6k. A drop over the summer is not unexpected, as summer typically represents the nadir of our bank account. But the shortfall in the first quarter pushes us into negative territory before our Fall pledge drive.

We have fundraising plans for June and later this year (see below) that attempt to address this shortfall. My conservative projections for the remainder of the year still show us returning to positive territory by October, so the issue is primarily a temporary shortfall. I am recommending we use our line of credit to address the shortfall, while we make every effort to make our June fundraising successful. The service on the debt is inconsequential.

I want to underscore that, from my perspective, this is not a crisis. This is what the economy is doing to everyone and we just need to make the most effective plans we can for the future and ride out the storm this year. It does however, point to the need to push into new fundraising territory in the coming months and years. Accordingly, staff’s focus is on our long-term strategy, rather than short term bumps.

FUNDRAISING

Summer Fundraising

In order to address the income shortfall in the summer, we are planning on having a special 1-week on-air fundraising campaign that will take a different approach than the usual pledge drive. The summer campaign is called the Tell-A-Friend campaign, and has three areas of focus: short-term fundraising, mid-term promotions, long-term membership development. The week of June 14th-20th, we will ask listeners to call or pledge online to get KSER merchandise (custom T-shirts, Hats, etc.) at special summer discount prices. We’ll offer various incentives for purchasing more than one item. The message will be “ Help promote KSER by wearing a T-shirt or hat and proudly displaying your support for KSER whenever you’re out in public this year. Buy 2 and we’ll mail one to a friend.”

The short-term goal is $6k-$8k in donations. Medium term, the campaign will begin promoting KSER out in the community. Long-term, we will be gaining new members and new member prospects. More details to follow as we set-up this campaign in the next 4 weeks.  

Boeing Grant application

I have been working on a major grant application to the Boeing Co. in support of a new afternoon public affairs program called Sound Living, airing from 3-4pm on Fridays, starting June 5th. The program will be the first local news call-in program specifically targeted to listeners in Snohomish and Island counties. A brief project description is attached below, and I will share the detailed grant proposal with interested Board members at the meeting Tuesday, May 12th.   The total cost of the program will be around $80k per year, with $39k coming from Boeing each year for two years. The remainder of the cost will be covered by KSER, mostly in-kind. We will, however, need to raise additional funds to support the program (approx. $6k per year).   Our plan is to use our Voice of the Community Award fundraiser to launch a short campaign for matching funds from the community (underwriting and donations). We believe focusing the Voice of Community Award on an exciting new program will generate interest and enthusiasm from local donors and business sponsors.   There is still much work to do on this campaign, but our preliminary work suggests this can be a very successful fundraising strategy.

PERSONNEL

Volunteer Appreciation Party

As mentioned before, the Volunteer Appreciation Party is scheduled for Saturday, May 30th from 4:30-6:30pm. The dinner is potluck and we’d like to recognize the many years of service by our volunteers. I would very much appreciate Board presence at this event, as it will be a great way for Board members to meet a large number of our volunteers, and vice versa.

PROGRAMMING

As mentioned above, this June we launch a special pilot of a new local call-in program in the 3:00-4:00pm timeslot to be called Sound Living. 

Sound Living will have 3 significant impacts: 

• Fill a void in media coverage of the local community and provide a live forum for civic dialog
• Improve KSER's service to our community and raise awareness of KSER's important role.
  
• Increase support from community leaders and decision makers.
  

Below is the brief summary I prepared for our letter of inquiry to Boeing. Our plan is to pilot the program in June and July, and if we receive the Boeing grant, work towards weekly broadcast in the first 6 months, then slowly expand to multiple days per week over the next 18 months.

Sound Living A Public Radio Forum for the Sno-Isles

Vision

To engage Snohomish and Island County residents in a participatory experience, on the radio and the Web, which explores the culture, ideas and issues that make the Sno-Isles a unique place. Sound Living is our “Town Hall."

Mission

§ Sound Livingfosters civic engagement to help people in our community lay a sound foundation for a sustainable way of life.   § Sound Living helps us explore the ethical, environmental, cultural, and political issues that affect the way we live.

Strategy

Sound Living uses a pioneering new technique called “Public Insight Journalism” that connects radio listeners and Internet audiences with live in-studio guests to surface critical needs, important ideas and compelling stories in our community.   Public Insight Journalism recruits online community correspondents who share personal experiences and intimate knowledge of their communities. This network of correspondents broadens the range of views and expands the diversity of people that make up the news.   Listeners hear from important thinkers, artists, and public figures that are grappling with the complexities of modern life. Listeners are invited to call-in with their questions and experiences.   Simultaneously, a live online discussion brings others into the conversation. Online participants can hear a live web-cast and post real-time comments to our discussion board. Questions and observations are fed by the web-producer to the on-air hosts and guests, stimulating further exploration.   The result is a 3-dimensional public forum – in person, over the air, and online – that brings a diverse range of participants to the democratic dialogue that shapes our daily life.

Resources

Sound Living is an interview program with opportunities for the audience - radio and online - to participate in the discussion. The program requires a range of technologies and resources to bring these elements together.   Specifically, Sound Living is built on a team consisting of a Host, Lead Producer, Online Producer and Call-Screener. To reduce costs, the Lead Producer will also serve as Engineer for the program and the call screening will be handled by volunteers trained by KSER staff to handle callers.   Technologically, the program relies on a phone system that can receive and que multiple phone callers, as well as a website management system for online the forum. KSER has purchased and will install the phone system, and train volunteers in its use. KSER has also invested in a sophisticated website content management system (CMS), which will handle online discussion boards, user registration, and listener-created content.

Responsibilities

Host – Research topic. Research prospective guests. Write script. Host program, interview guests and respond to online and on-air comments. Lead Producer – Identify and research topics with community correspondents. Schedule guests. Review script. Produce and engineer live radio program. Online Producer –Promote program online. Monitor live discussion board and chat. Feed appropriate comments to Lead Producer. Prepare program audio for podcast and website archive, upload to website, create website program details. Maintain community correspondent database. Call-Screener –Review script and program topic. Take phone calls. Note comments. Feed appropriate comments to Lead Producer.

Annual Budget