The Finance Committee provides recommendations and feedback to the board on budgeting, accounting and finance. We review monthly and annual reporting.
**Finance Committee Meeting Change (May 2013)**
The Finance Committee is on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 4:30 pm this month. The committee will meet again on Tuesday, June 18th at 4:30 pm at KBOO radio station.
Please e-mail Paula, Treasurer of the Board, at kboopaula at gmail dot com or Debbie Rabidue, Finance Coordinator finance@kboo.org, with any questions.
The 2009 fiscal year runs from Oct 1st 2008 to Sept 30th 2009.
* Please note that documents posted here may include drafts and other management materials that are not intended to represent a legal or final record of the corporation.
KBOO Finance Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Meeting Time: 6 pm
Meeting Location: Old Wives’ Tale<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
Attending: Bob, Rolf, Steve, Mel, Debbie Chris Merrick (interim Station Manager)
& Paula
Absent: Arthur, Genevieve
Visiting: Nicole Andrae, Anthony Petchel, Nia Lewis, Judy Fiestal
1. Check-in/intro
- There was a check-in and introduction of all meeting attendees.
2. FY09 Staff Bonus
- Judy presented information regarding the staff bonus line item on the FY ’09 budget. Also wanted the FC to consider bonus on FY ’10 proposed budget.
- Discussion about staff salaries, COLAs & definition of “bonus”.
- Vote taken to recommend full bonus amount budgeted ($15,000), an adjusted bonus amount or eliminate bonus amount from FY ’09 budget.
- Bob asked the FC to examine staff pay structure for FY ’10.
Motion passed to recommend an adjusted amount of $10,000 staff bonus to Board. Finance Committee will begin reviewing staff pay structure at first meeting of FY ’10 (October 2009).
3. Investment/Re-investment Presentation
Debbie presented an overview of investment vehicles used in the last year, as a result of market conditions. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />
Per Anthony, investment strategies were safety measures and to make sure all funds FDIC-insured. The FDIC limit increased to $250,000 and insurance extended through 2013.
Discussions among attendees regarding viable re-investment strategies, other than CD. CD closed out to short-term account, until FC discussion and recommendation.
FC agreed to table decision/further discussion until first meeting in October 2009.
4. FY09 Staff Survey
The FC Staff Survey originally facilitated by Genevieve, before being reviewed by Paula for discussion among and presentation to the FC.
Bob asked how staff felt about surveys. Paula explained that staff viewed this survey separately from the Jim Ayala project and was for use by the FC.
Paula explained that the summaries were mostly for informational purposes; a few factors staff considered were no longer applicable, such as balancing the budget and maintaining staffing levels, as of the meeting’s date.
Comments and results of survey distributed to all attendees and briefly explained.
5. FY10 Budget Presentation
Debbie presented new Budget Narrative summary, which highlights key areas as requested by several Board members. The FC will continue to review financials by line item. The FC acknowledged Budget Narrative made review easier.
Paid memberships increased in the last month and a half, perhaps due to upcoming election.
New Development role a risky proposition for KBOO, but could yield significant benefits.
Debbie presented revenue items highlighted on Budget Narrative, then asked the FC to review revenue items on operating budget line-by-line.
Anthony recommend a more conservative budget for interest (line #34) to $10,000, as interest rates lowered in the last year. He suggested 2%. Debbie to recalculate line item at 2% rate instead.
Debbie to double-check with Andrew Geller (Membership Director) re: KBOO’s GiveGuide status.
Debbie to keep the FC apprised of major giving funds and will most likely treat them similar to grants.
Anthony asked about differences between “Unsolicited”, “Contributions” and “Major Giving”. Both Anthony and Rolf suggested possible renaming, to better communicate types of funds and purposes of funds.
Debbie is looking to streamline chart of accounts with Linda Barkus.
Debbie asked the FC to consider the effectiveness of promotional spending.
Anthony thought strategic planning consultant should be considered. Debbie asked the FC to recommend Board consider that option.
Chris explained replacing the AP newswire with a French service, especially regarding the current/renewing contract options and costs.
The FC discussed the need for Arbitron. Chris explained that KBOO could use \ estimates based on historical data retrieved from Arbitron and postpone renewing Arbitron for FY10. He also said staff recommended postponing Arbitron for a year.
The FC will review progress with Andrew Geller during traditional mid-year review.
Debbie and Chris said that staff rescinded offer of 1.5% pay cut. However, staff agreed to an increase in prescription co-pay of medical insurance benefit and addition of a vision rider, which resulted in some savings on the budget.
The FC approved recommending the operating budget to Board.
Debbie presented FY10 auxiliary budget to the FC. The FC to review FY10 auxiliary budget in October.
She included some potential legal fees due to continuing status of lawsuit per attorney.
Chris discussed emergency status for server replacement funds, as quotes received within the same range. Explained that previous repairs made with shortcuts, but proposals included solid changes. Also, no backup to temporary server option currently in use at station.
The FC approved recommending the Board approve the funds for the server repair/replacement estimate, as well as potential legal fees.
6. July/Aug Financials (Management Report)
The FC agreed to table review and discussion of June, July, August & September financials until October, in the interest of time.
**The Finance Committee welcomed Anthony back as a Committee member.**
Summary of Recommendations to the Board for FY10
- Review of staff wage structure
- Payment of FY09 staff bonus at a percentage equal to the deficit percentage, which was under the budgeted deficit. Amount recommended: $10,000.
- Approval of FY10 Operating Budget
- Consideration of a strategic planning consultant, in conjunction with Auxiliary Budget review (pending amount on aux. budget of $20,000).
Post-meeting note: Debbie would like the FC to review potential revenue, in coordination with staff salary review.
Next Finance Committee Meeting: Tuesday, October 20th -
The 2010 fiscal year runs from Oct 1st 2009 to Sept 30th 2010.
* Please note that documents posted here may include drafts and other management materials that are not intended to represent a legal or final record of the corporation.
Finance<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
October 20, 2009
Attending: Paula, Debbie, Arthur, Rolf, Mel, Steve, Bob,
Absent: Genevieve, Anthony
Visiting: Robert Barncord, Nia Lewis
1) Check in
2) Investment/Reinvestment:
a) MOTION: move $25,000 from KeyBank to qualify for 1.95% interest at Bank of the Cascades money market account. APPROVED by general acclaim.
b) Debbie will transfer funds.
c) Key is only giving .98% Advantis 1.8%
3) GiveGuide: Finance doesn’t really have to do anything. Andrew is working to promote it and involve other groups in the station to promote it. We got $14,000 last year, and Andrew hopes for $20,000 this year. It’s not in the budget, but it can help us reach our budgeted membership goals. It appears as Unsolicited membership revenue. Andrew put together our application to Willamette Week. Paula will confirm that Andrew is doing on-air promotions.
4) FY10 Auxiliary budget
a) Arthur presented auxiliary budget draft from staff.
b) Discussion of live remote equipment. We have $24,000 in capital campaign money that can be spent on a limited range of hardware. This is reflected on the budget.
c) MOTION: Finance recommends auxiliary budget to board. APPROVED by general claim.
5) Year-end financials
a) Presented by Debbie.
b) Debbie will add a line to the chart of accounts for Winter Drive for FY10 and FY09.
c) Arthur will forward Project Censored KBOO fundraiser e-mail to Finance Committee.
d) $55,000 cash deficit for last year.
e) Debbie will post financials and minutes to web.
f) Discussion of steps for making strategic changes at KBOO by Arthur and revisiting staff pay (increases) by Paula. Discussion of brining Sun in for Development ideas. Arthur will ask Sun to come to Finance with work plan and other ideas.
6) Pacifica Financial Research Project: Mel has a new project to look at Pacifica, what works and doesn’t work for them. Mel will recruit Finance and Development volunteers.
7) Finance Committee Chair: Paula is current chair and board agenda will include making Paula a volunteer liason from Finance to Board.
8) Future Meeting: Pay Structure, Alternative Wealth
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Finance
November 17, 2009
Attending: Paula, Arthur, Rolf, Mel, Bob, Anthony, Nia
Absent: Debbie (sick), Steve (sick), Erin (sick), Genevieve,
Visiting: Sean Ongley, Sun Lee
1) Check in.
2) Strategic Planning. Paula will contact Anthony regarding coming in next month to present on strategic planning.
3) Development update: David Barsamian event netted $3,700. Amy Goodman expenses will be about $1,000 and Sun has already raised more than that. Sun has raised $5,600 in FY10. Sun is working on the raffle. John Nichols (The Nation) and Bob McChesney (media issues) will be doing a major donor event. Sun is going to try The Portland Trailblazers program where we get $5 per ticket sold and the organization sets up in the concourse. They require us to purchase $200 of tickets. Sun is planning on Square Dance jan 30th, feb 5th or 6th. Sun is doing a major donor training program with Jim Lewis. Dark Horse wants to do something in April, possibly movie night at the Hollywood. Maybe kid-friendly in afternoon and adult in evening. They’re also discussing donated artwork to sell on e-bay. Mambo lounge on Fridays is a monthly music jam. Sun’s working on $1 per ticket. Sun will discuss a monthly event idea with microbreweries. Sun will talk to Marc about making sure all the Finance Committee members are on the e-mail list. Bob asked if there was a major artist in town who might support KBOO. Sun is talking with several people.
4) Aug/Sep/Oct minutes approved by acclaim.
5) October Financials. Arthur and Debbie will touch base with Justin about additional underwriting slots for bluegrass and how that’s working. We noted that the underwriting price increase was effective since underwriting increased but advertising (no price increase) went down. Membership is lower than last year. Andrew hopes to make this up with GiveGuide and the letter that went out to members post-drive. More on that next month. Salaries increase is due primarily to moving Underwriting & Advertising commission moving from the contra income line—Debbie will footnote this in the future—and also from increasing finance salaries. Finance is offset by decreases in professional services bookkeeping.
6) Historical Analysis of expenses. Debbie will prepare a report on what has been increasing with the expenses. Will include salaries and salaries that have been moved from auxiliary.
7) TABLE Membership Analysis.
8) Alternative Currency: Presented by Mel. Can be like a barter system but it can also be an alternative method of exchange beyond barter systems.
9) Common Good Bank. Presented by Sean Ongley. If this bank opens, Sean would like KBOO to accept the cards, promote to listeners and be a depositor.
a) How does KBOO benefit? i. When we ran their card for people to donate to KBOO, we wouldn’t be charged a fee. ii. The people with accounts decide where to send the profits. They could decide to send money back to KBOO. Don’t know how much. All profits are sent to nonprofits. iii. KBOO would also be compensated for signing people up.
b) The bank is seeking investors. Sean gets a commission. The minimum investment is $1,000 for shares in the company. Investors get the average inflation rate. Investors shouldn’t be interested in profit. They’re supporting the bank more as a philanthropic venture.
c) Commongoodbank.com from Massachusetts. There’s no local corporation; its Sean is acting as a contractor. He’s aiming for 2011.
10) Fiscal Sponsorships. No.Fest: We are doing a fiscal cosponsorship again. They aren’t doing Underwriting due to the KBOO admin fee plus underwriting commission. Our nonprofit purpose stated to the IRS is radio broadcast. We’ll either live broadcast or rebroadcast portions later. However, the attorney said that if this was going to be a regular thing, we’d have to restate the purpose of our charitable activities.
11) Finance Committee approvede request for $1,700 EAS unit and endorsed the AFP purchase as proposed by staff and passed by board. AFP will include on-air material and website headlines. News services will be $4,500 under budget.
12) Next meeting is December 15th. Mel will bring materials.
Finance<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
December 15, 2009
Attending: Erin, Arthur, Bob, Paula, Debbie, Nia, Mel, Anthony
Absent: Steve, Rolf
Visiting: Alicia Olsen
1) Check in.
2) Minutes: November minutes approved by acclaim with one change from Mel.
3) Action Items: October/November action items reviewed. See “pending” below.
4) Alternative Banking: Discussion of Sean’s alternative banking presentation. They don’t have a bank yet, so we’re not taking any organization at this time.
5) Strategic Planning:
a) Anthony is on the board at Willamette Valley Development Officers’ Association (WVDO), a membership organization. It’s been all volunteer, but it tripled in size. At the end of 2008, they sent out an RFP for strategic planning. They received about 15 responses. They picked the Canoe Group for their consultants. This was a brand new firm that no one on their steering committee was familiar with them. They were the only group that really offered answers to the questions and also didn’t fit WVDO into their pre-made model. Canoe got to know the organization before making the plan. Marta and Michael are from nonprofit arts organizations and had a lot of consulting experience. It was a ten-month process. Everything was on the table, even the organization’s name. The board was very involved; it’s primarily a board-run organization. They surveyed internal and external stakeholders: members, similar organizations, non-member organizations to find out why they weren’t members. It was data driven, but they also walked the organization through the process so that they could make their own strategic plan. They worked through the emotional components of change, navigated heated conversations. They’ve helped with implementation They changed their board structure to make it less siloed. They were able to understand how they benefit members, how to communicate that, what program changes to make, who else is doing this work and what are our gaps. They work with large groups with lots of differing opinions and they do market research. We had budgeted $100,000 for the grant application for planning and marketing. WVDO spent about $50,000. Anthony recommended doing decision making and organizational structure first. Arthur discussed the need for understanding our listeners and marketing as soon as we can, but we also need clarity on staff and board roles and participation so we don’t spend the money without results. It took about 75% of the WVDO’s board’s time over a year. There was a concern of our organizational capacity and willingness to change but also concern about our budget deficits. Anthony recommends having them do an initial assessment and have them propose a timeline and steps. Discussion of not being ready for whole process now, but needing to do foundational work. Discussion of open bidding process. Anthony had recommended Canoe because he’s worked with other consultants. Discussed the need for commitment, deadlines and followthrough. We applied for Meyer grant to do a project like this, but we didn’t d the grant. This was board approved. However, we still have items like marketing and strategic planning that need to be done. Finance recommends bringing Canoe group in to speak with a group of board and staff. Erin will bring to December board meeting. Arthur will let staff know Finance is working on it. Anthony will bring more documentation of the WVDO RFP process.
6) November Financials: Review of good news/bad news and financial statements. Debbie will see how the GSB charges for the EEO report this year compared to last year. Debbie and Anthony will revisit our banking costs. Underwriting & Advertising commission were moved off of the contra-income line and into salaries because we weren’t getting an accurate picture of costs. The CPA’s recommended to move it if we weren’t getting good info because it will now make reconciliations. Debbie will do an mid-year and end-of-year analysis and presentation for Underwriting, Membership and Development. Salaries is running under due to commissions being included and being under budget. Premiums looks high, but it’s actually on track due to the large t-shirt purchase. The training expense was Sun’s development training that starts in January. We’ll see $4,300 from OCF in December. Anthony asked if we’re getting a higher return on endowment versus bank accounts; in that case we may want to cancel distributions and take money out of the bank accounts instead; Debbie will research. Debbie will check with John to see if we’ve tracked all the server expenses. Arthur is meeting with Radio Korea tomorrow.
7) Credit card security: PCI-DSS compliance. We installed the scanning program and filled out the profile, but there is a long questionnaire that we haven’t completed, so we got a notice of noncompliance. We have to write a security policy. Debbie and Arthur will develop a security policy and Debbie will complete the questionnaire with input from Zale. Anthony said they’re looking to see if the data is protected, what happens to it when its finished, who has access at each step, how long do we keep data. Anthony said it’s critical to get this done ASAP because having a problem will have serious consequences. Debbie will talk to them on the phone again to find out the timeline. She took the webinar a month ago.
8) TABLE Historical expenses: Tabled to give Debbie more time to prep.
9) TABLE Membership Analysis: Arthur and Debbie will get from Andrew in January.
10) Membership Dues policy: Presented background and propose policy. Discussion on whether $20 is too low, perception of low price diminishing value. Arthur will ask Andrew. How many members and new members do we get at $20, and do they upgrade over time? Would we lose new members if we increased? Finance would like board to examine basic and low income numbers as being potentially too low after 20 years. Finance Committee supports the policy with feedback to the board that the rates may be too low. Passed by consensus.
11) Policy 15-ownership and distribution: Presented background and propose policy. Finance committee supports policy by consensus.
12) RACC Grant: Former volunteer Ryan White approached us about doing an opportunity grant with RACC. This means that we wouldn’t be able to do an opportunity grant for two years, but after speaking with them, it appears highly unlikely that we would qualify during that period for an opportunity grant. We can still do project grants. Committee discussed that this is a good opportunity for publicity and developing relationship with RACC. Also good for Youth Coordinator position. More next month.
13) Development committee: Request for development list of upcoming events. Paula has been to two Development Committee meetings. Development is doing a lot of activities. Big 100 Art Sale, DJ benefit tomorrow night at the Report for $5 donation, Square Dance is Saturday, January 30th at Mt Tabor Theater. Only cost is $100 for sound person, we may also offer square dance ticket premiums on the drive, Bob McChesney and John Nichols major-donor event on January 20th, Blazer game April 12th—we get $5 per ticket that we sell. We commit $200 to tickets. If we sell 50 tickets, we can offer a special item like after-game free throws. We also get a table near the front door. Raffle application is being submitted. Grand prize $2,500 vacation, second airfare to b&b in Mexico, and third prize is New Seasons gift cert--$25 tix. A restaurant night is also being considered for a benefit.
14) TABLE Alternative currency
15) Next Finance meeting is January 19th .
16) Pending: Paula posting minutes and financials to web, Debbie will do historical analysis, Mel is working on a KPFA finance analysis.
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| Finance Committee December 2009.doc | 26 KB |
Finance Meeting – January 19th, 2010 approved February 16th, 2010
Meeting starts 6:07pm
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Present:
Arthur Davis
Rolf Semprebon
Mel Reslor
Erin Brand
Nia Lewis
Paula Small
Absent:
Debbie Rabidue (sick)
Anthony Petchel
Steve Weiland
Visiting:
Andrew Geller
Scott Forrester
Check in
Note: Scott Forrester asked to audio record the meeting. With no objection, he recorded the meeting in its entirety and offered copies of the recording to anyone interested.
Membership Analysis – Andrew presents
Fall Membership Drive report created 6 months after drive; down 22% from last year but after follow-up letter, only down 10 or 11,000.
Arbitron figures; Metro line is the count in the Tri-County area, Total is for all areas (Gorge, Valley, etc.), on average the metro area is 93% of total, other 7% is for the other areas. The average listenership is just under 49,000.
Drive Performance for Weekday Evening; old schedule vs. new schedule (took place in Fall of 2008), percent of total from all pledged dollars has not changed since the change (either up or down)
Scott brings up that we are emphasizing higher giving amounts, and may be reflected in the data
Arthur believes it is positive that it has stayed relatively flat, with changes and economy
Paula was concerned about the impact of adding the winter drive, but is encouraged by the data
Analysis of $20 donors; on average about 1.5% of all donors and 1.5% of all money donated, about a 40% renewal rate after the first year with about 40% of those people increasing their donation to $40 or more, about 27% continue renewing after the 1st and 2nd year
Scott asks how many gift memberships there are; Andrew believes it is 1% or less
Review December Meeting Minutes
Paula asks to amend the section regarding the credit card security policy to be drafted. It should read that Zale’s input be sought
Regarding development committee report and the squaredance event, that we will also consider making tickets to the event a “thank you gift”
In the same section, at the Blazer event, “we will get a table near one of the main entrances”
Possible restaurant night considered
Minutes approved
Update on December Action Items
Strategic Planning – Arthur brought it to board, still working on Ayala process, unless there is strong support and commitment from board it will be hard to pull off
No update on EEO GSB charges- table Debbie’s update
Debbie still working on credit card security item
Paula posting minutes and financials on web, minutes from August to November 2009 have been posted to the web
Mel doing Pacifica finance analysis; not an update at this time
Finance Department Update – tabled until next month
December Financial Statements Review – Arthur presents
Good news is bottom line; a couple of thousand ahead of budget for the quarter, membership has been over budget ($12,000), GiveGuide netted about $10,000
To answer Scott’s question, the Listener’s Guide will go out to by request for February and March, probably move to quarterly after that
Newswire service is currently $800 under budget
Professional services is still over budget but has slowed
Bad News; bankcard fees and service charges are up $1,500 from last year
Underwriting and advertising revenue was $5,800 under budget
Events and Development income is $5,400 under budget. However, it is also up $12,000 from last year YTD, so we are seeing a positive trend
Paula noted that there was not a full-time Development position to compare for trends. Current progress in Development department very encouraging.
Bottom Line revenues are exactly on budget. Expenses are slightly under budget.
Further discussion on year to date line items, balance sheet, liabilities and capital, fund balance, auxiliary, grant ledger, accounts receivable and accounts payable, job ledger
RACC Grant Discussion #2 – Arthur presents
Applied for opportunity grant because KBOO probably wouldn’t qualify for one under other scenarios.
The grant is for an oral history project working with Ryan White, Erin Yanke and Roosevelt High School.
Sean Ongley Proposal – table until February
A Look at the FDIC- Mel presents
FDIC insures approx. $5 trillion in bank accounts. ($4.8 trillion in 2009)
They had $30 billion at beg. of 2009, dropped to under $10 billion at end of year. FDIC funds reduced by $20 billion. They have $1 for every $500 insured.
Add'l note: FDIC will have update on their fund bal. at end of Feb. Last time FDIC borrowed from the treasury was around 1991, during the S&L scandal.
FDIC ensures a huge amount more than they have. What’s the chance there will be a serious run on banks?
Looked at NCUA, and what their status is, how do they compare to the FDIC
FDIC has a line of credit from US Treasury for $100 billion
Commitments
Debbie - add yields to balance sheet
- present development income summary (car donations, specific events, etc.)
- check with John about server expenses
- on ledger report, footnote that the quality grant has an additional $4,000
Scott has offered assistance with grant writing for tape archive project, Arthur will notify Bruce Silverman of his interest
Sean Ongley will be asked to attend February meeting to discuss his proposal (Paula)
Meeting adjourned at 8:05pm
| Attachment | Size |
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| Minutes - Jan 2010.doc | 34.5 KB |
The 2010 fiscal year runs from Oct 1st 2010 to Sept 30th 2011.
* Please note that documents posted here may include drafts and other management materials that are not intended to represent a legal or final record of the corporation.
The following documents comprise the Fiscal Year 2010/2011 Operating and Auxiliary Budget as passed by the KBOO Board of Director's at the September 2010 Board meeting.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| FY11 Budget Narrative.pdf | 65.67 KB |
| FY11 Budget Notes.pdf | 28.64 KB |
| FY11 Operating Budget.pdf | 73.22 KB |
| FY 11 Auxiliary Budget.pdf | 36.39 KB |
| FY11 Staff Salaries.pdf | 35.69 KB |
The 2012 fiscal year runs from Oct 1st 2011 to Sept 30th 2012.
* Please note that documents posted here may include drafts and other management materials that are not intended to represent a legal or final record of the corporation.
Finance Committee Minutes (approved November 15, 2011)
October 18th 2011
In Attendance
Rolf Semprebon
Erin Brand
Mel Reslor
Kurt Lauer
Debbie Rabidue
Meeting starts at 7:35pm
September Meeting Minutes
Minutes are approved.
Finance Reports
Tabled until November meeting.
Finance Department Update
New computer in finance office and is working well and fast. Debbie is learning how to use the updated version of Excel. Currently it is cumbersome to get to the Peachtree archives, Debbie will talk to Tom about fixing this issue. Also an issue with creating reports using Crystal.
Debbie has ordered the 2012 Peachtree version and will reinstall Peachtree using the newer version. The 2012 version comes with fixed asset software that can manage 200 assets. Debbie thinks we can make the fixed asset software work without purchasing anything else.
Mel has volunteered to work on the inventory project, he will work on formatting the information that has been collected.
All but $1,000 of the Bank of the Cascades Money Market was transferred to the BOTC checking account to save money on service fees. The interest rates were so low on the money market that the fees on that account did not make sense. We earn a small amount of interest on our checking account there.
Staffing Work Group Update
Jenka, Judy Fiestal, Bill Michtom, Debbie and Erin Brand are on a work group to consider staffing levels and needs in light of the 2012 budget and the strategic plan. They hope to have a proposal to the Board by the December Board meeting. Research will be done about other stations, as well as gathering work plans from current KBOO staff in regards to the strategic plan.
Meeting ends at 8:00pm
Next Finance Meeting will be November 15th, 6pm at KBOO
Finance Committee Minutes
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
(approved December 15, 2011)
6:10 pm – 8:23 pm
Present: Rolf Semprebon, Mel Reslor, Andrew Geller, Debbie Rabidue (by phone), Paula Small
Excused Absences: Erin Brand, Alex Roberts, Kurt Lauer
The Finance Committee members present nominated Erin B. as new Chair of the Finance Committee.
In the event that Erin B. declined the nomination, the Finance Committee members present nominated Kurt to be the Chair.
October Meeting Minutes
The Committee approved the October minutes.
Action item: Paula to post the approved minutes to the KBOO website, under the Finance Committee webpage.
Proforma FYE11 Financials Review
Debbie working on year-end prep for FY11, to get to Kern & Thompson in December; she’ll work with them to get adjustments done and adjusted financials to the Finance Committee.
She stressed that the Committee will need to REALLY keep an eye on cash balance. It’s currently at $101,000.
Andrew & Debbie said that the Membership & Finance were pretty tied closely.
Action Item: On behalf of the Finance Committee, Debbie will work with staff to do more research on the Chehalis CP & on the legal costs associated, including reimbursement and possible collection of reimbursement.
October Financials Review
Andrew provided a summary on the Fall Membership Drive 2011.
Per Andrew, if we hit ~90% fulfillment, as we’ve done often during the past 5 years, then we’ll have a cash shortfall from the Fall Membership Drive of approx. $4,000.
Historically, KBOO’s calculated fulfillment based on the % of pledges paid against, but doesn’t include dollars received versus dollars pledged.
New first-time donors still at a low level.
Andrew perceived that web pledges higher at ~15%, instead of 10%.
There was a general discussion about historical fulfillment rates.
At the request of the Committee, after the meeting, Andrew provided a snapshot of the trends in membership drive fulfillment rates (see end of minutes).
Winter Membership Drive 2012 is going to be a long drive, a little over 2 weeks. But, the Spring Membership Drive 2012 will be less than 10 days.
It’s a chance to see if the Winter Membership Drive is a better time for members to give. Over the last few Winter Drives, there has been more membership giving than during Springtime.
Andrew will look at an electronic Oregon Cultural Trust add-on to his year-end letter to members, to hopefully inspire & encourage more year-end giving.
Staffing Needs Workgroup Update
Debbie e-mailed a summary of the temporary staffing cuts and financial effects, in advance of the meeting.
She also updated the Committee on the Staffing Needs Workgroup progress.
Paula mentioned the use of interns, as a possible solution to meeting some needs in the Strategic Plan. She discussed internship options, based on other local non-profits. The other Committee members were interested in exploring those options.
Action item: Paula will research intern options.
Action item: Debbie will relay the recommendation (below) & concerns raised at the meeting to Erin B., who will share that information to the Workgroup, on behalf of the Finance Committee.
Finance Committee recommendation to the Board re: Development Director role:
If the Board chooses to conduct an open hire for the role of Development Director, then the Board can direct the staff to initiate the open hire process by the end of November 2011.
Update on Switching Accounts and Results in Savings
Mel updated the Committee on the switching of accounts & effects.
Most of the money market funds at Bank of the Cascades (BoTC) switched to the checking account at BoTC. The switch would offset account fees. The savings in the account fees offset would be greater than the interest earned, due to low market interest rates.
Mel reported that for October, KBOO Foundation saved over $50, which included offset of fees.
He included a report outlining the savings (see end of minutes).
Interest rate was 0.15% in the checking account compared to 0.10% in the savings account.
Now paying 12 cents for each ACH item, used to be 10 cents. Adds ~$34/mth, due to increased ACH activity. It’s a result of increased membership EFTs.
BOTC charged an FDIC assessment of $20.95 fee. We’ll research options to possibly offset that fee.
Review of OCF & KBOO's Fund
Mel suggested that the Committee look at possible investment options next month. He said it was a good idea & good practice for the Committee to keep options in mind.
Finance Committee Responsibilities & Recruitment
Paula sent an e-mail to Committee members re: recruitment ideas & examples of Committee responsibilities. She mentioned that we always discuss making the Committee more robust, to decrease member burnout and increase knowledge sharing & perspectives.
Mel recommended that Paula draft ~25 – 40 words to use in recruiting new Finance Committee members, to include in the December bulletin.
Action item: Paula will e-mail draft for bulletin to Committee members, before e-mailing to Sun.
There was a general discussion about recruitment.
Action item (ALL): Brainstorm “ideal” Finance Committee members; further discussion in December. Review the e-mail Paula sent.
Andrew reminded everyone that first & foremost, potential Finance Committee members must be KBOO Foundation members.
“Move Your Money” and KBOO
Mel wanted to volunteer with the “Move Your Money” movement, but also thought it would be great to spotlight KBOO’s “Move Your Money” effort: we moved most of our funds to Advantis Credit Union & remaining funds to Bank of the Cascades (local bank).
The Committee supported the idea. Andrew & Rolf suggested including information from our most recent 990.
Action item: Mel will draft a blurb for the December bulletin about KBOO’s “Move Your Money” leap, which was ahead of “the curve”.
Bank of the Cascades (BoTC) Account Fees Comparison (presented by Mel)
Bank of the Cascades
KBOO transferred the bulk of the BOTC $ on 8/26/11 from Money Market to main Checking account. The reason was that KBOO can save more in lower account fees than the interest earned in the Money Market account.
Savings (Money Market Business account)
balance 10/31/11: $1,022.79
Interest for October 2011: $0.13
interest rate: 0.15% (APY earned)
Main Checking (Non-Profit Interest Checking)
balance 10/31/11: $135,987.70
Interest for October 2011: $10.32
interest rate: 0.10% (APY earned)
Service charge for checking account: $347.94
minus a balance earning (of .7%): 65.01
actual net charge: 282.93
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the money was kept in the Savings account,
the interest earned would have been: $13.67
the interest in the checking account would have been: $1.25
the balance earnings (fees reduction) would have been: $8.75
a total of $23.67
By transferring to the Checking account, the total is: $75.46
a net of $51.79 for the month of October
(this is figured with an average balance of $15,000 in the checking account)
note:
We are paying 12¢ per ACH item, raised from ten cents over the summer. With 1,735 EFT's this is $34.70 more per month, $416.40 more per year.
Each deposit costs 40 cents. Up from 35 cents. Each item (check) deposited costs 7 to 10 cents each, a total of $24.94 in October.
BOTC charges a FDIC assessment fee of $20.95, or $250 a year.
Advantis does not charge a NCUA fee.
Trends in Membership Drive Fulfillment Rates (presented by Andrew)
Finance Committee Minutes
December 15, 2011
In Attendance
Rolf Semprebon
Erin Brand
Andrew Geller
Debbie Rabidue
Alexander Roberts
Paula Small
Kurt Lauer
Mel Reslor
Meeting starts at 5:05 pm
Staffing Needs Work Group Update
Finance recommendations have cut an additional 14 hours from work group recommendation, with Andrew and Debbie as stand-asides for some.
To go to Board meeting on Monday the 19th
- Temp. for 12 weeks of maternity leave
- Need to start hire for Development position
- Approve money for contract (approx. $2,450)
November Minutes
Approved with edits from Andrew.
Meeting ends at 6:40pm
Finance Committee Minutes – January 26th, 2012
Commitments and recommendations in bold italics.
In attendance
Kurt Lauer
Alexander Roberts
Rolf Semprebon
Andrew Geller
Paula Small
Erin Brand
Absent
Debbie Rabidue
Mel Reslor
Meeting begins 4:15
Check In
Financials Review for the 3 months ending December 2011
Revenue is over budget and expenses are under budget.
Paula reminds us that April is the mid-year budget review time
Kurt wonders why dues are so far under budget. Rolf projects that they are not on a 12 month
pay cycle so they haven’t needed to be paid yet.
Paula points to ‘development’ line items and as of the last Board meeting the interim
Development/PR position was eliminated. There will be an open hire for a Development Director
immediately, it will be within the same salary structure. Andrew points out that Board (Paula and
Hadrian) and Volunteer (Nia Lewis) reps have been confirmed, Andrew and Debbie are chairing
the hiring committee. They are still trying to figure out how to announce the pay, probably a
range based on experience.
Personnel and Governance will be working on a job description for Finance/Admin
position once Finance gives them information. We have decided to complete this task by
email. Finance suggests having a consolidated title for the job, not a hyphenated title.
Erin will email out the report done last year about how the Finance and Admin positions
function and relate to one another.
Ads are now enabled on the web site, hopefully we will be able to see this reflected in future
financial statements. Paula suggests asking Justin for a report around mid-year review to
assess the success of online ad clients and how that relates to underwriters.
Paula asks about SCA contracts. Andrew reports that he is still getting old contracts to review in
order to get new month to month contracts in place.
Financial Summary for 1st Quarter FY2012
(October through December 2011)
Debbie Rabidue
Balance Sheet Highlights
Available fund balance is $349,500 of which $200,000 is the operating reserve.
Accounts Payable to be paid in January is $4,664
The OCF Endowment value is $190,308 and has had a small gain in the 1st quarter of FY12. We
received the semi-annual disbursement in December which was around $4,600.
Income Statement Highlights
Income
Membership income is $26,000 over budget, showing a real good fiscal start in revenue. The
finance and membership departments still need to reconcile membership revenue through
December and the income will be reclassified within the membership categories. Revised
financials will be sent to the committee.
Events and Development income is slightly under budget by $1,900. Events during the 1st
quarter included the Greg Palast event and the Grateful Dead Benefit.
Underwriting and Advertising revenue is under budget by $3,200.
SCA Contract income was not budgeted for FY12, but we got $1,800 in the 1st 3 months.
Expenses
Employee expenses Wages & Taxes are slightly under budget due to the temporary budget cuts
that the Board put in place through the end of January. Health insurance is over budget due to
funding an extra set of benefits through the end of January. Debbie needs to report to the
committee a new salary budget worksheet and analysis of the 1st 4 months of FY12 effects on
the overall fiscal budget. The Board approved a final budget for employee costs in December by
department. The Staffing Needs Work Group finalized the dept budgets in January.
Premiums are within the full year budget of $7,000 and will even out on the actual-to-budget in
the next few months.
Bankcard fees appear over budget, but this is due to allocating the annual budget evenly
through 12 months and having increased credit card payments during the Fall membership
drive. Debbie can look at making the fees more seasonal in the budget layout.
Operating Bottom Line
Revenues are over budget by $22,000, due to Memberships. Expenses are under budget by
$9,800, and down by $10,000 from last year. We currently have an operating surplus of
$52,000.
Upcoming financial information:
We anticipate legal bills of over $6,000 to come in due the appeal on the Chehalis frequency.
We anticipate wages and taxes to take a sudden increase over budget due to accrued vacation
to be paid out in January.
The hiring process for the new development position is starting. The hiring committee has
been selected and the job ad will be posted within a week.
The Winter membership drive will last longer than it traditionally has, so we can review that
in the February financials.
Debbie adds that the CPA filed an extension for our 990 Review, it will be completed in April.
Board Update from Paula
See above discussion on Development Position.
Kurt says Comp time is killing us, it defeats the salary versus hourly difference.
A Board retreat is planned to discuss Staff Management and Board Fundraising. A Board/Staff
retreat will follow.
Membership Update from Andrew
We raised over $14,000 online in December, the best month in a non-membership drive appeal
in history, over half the money was raised in the last 7 days of the year. December 2011 did
30% better than the previous December, it is 4% over the first quarter of last fiscal year.
The Winter Drive starts in a week and the goal is about $100,000. Hopefully the Winter Drive
does well enough to limit the Spring Drive to 7 to 9 days.
Discussion about compiling data and an online ad ‘kit’ by the end of the fiscal year to provide
prospective advertisers with information regarding online traffic, web pledges, listeners, etc.
Paula is going to request more information and a possible meeting time with OCF to get
more information about the socially responsible fund.
Meeting ends at 5:20
Next Finance Meeting will February 21st at 6pm at KBOO.
The 2013 fiscal year runs from Oct 1st 2012 to Sept 30th 2013.
* Please note that documents posted here may include drafts and other management materials that are not intended to represent a legal or final record of the corporation.
Finance Committee meeting: 11-20-2012
Attendance:
Debbie Rabidue, Erin Brand, Rolf Semprebon, Kurt Lauer, Paula Small, Alex Roberts, Matthew Bristow
Guest: Paychex HR Services: Mitchell Blake
Check In
Paychex HR Services: Mitchell explains what is included with the monthly fees for the HR services. This would replace our current price structure for payroll and 401(k). Set up fees are $1500. For an additional $500 a month they would include HR services:
Employee handbook with company policies and full state, federal and local law compliance language.. The handbook is updated quarterly as needed to keep it compliant.
Review and input on job descriptions and employee FSLA classifications.
Employee Assistance Program and S125 with FSA elections. Employee benefit program, unemployment and WComp administration.
Management and staff training in a hiring/firing, safety, OSHA, etc….
The Finance Committee does not have an official recommendation for the Board, but is impressed with and sees the need for HR professional support.
Internal Controls (Alex): Alex hands out monthly Internal Controls report and check list. He explains the procedures he uses for reviewing and verifying deposit activity to the check logs and to the bank statements online. He explains other internal cash control procedures such as payroll review, checking the online bank activity for disbursements and verifying authorized bills to checks written.
Financial Statements (Debbie): The Finance Committee reviews the FY12, September financial reports. (Financial summary is at end of minutes). The Finance Committee discusses keeping an eye on development income streams and looking at the amount of the Board designated operating reserve and what financial reserves should be budgeted for a disaster preparedness plan.
Erin: KBOO Operating Reserve Fund
My understanding is that this fund was established to provide financial security in the event of a major disaster or engineering meltdown at the station. Finance Committee is in the process of evaluating whether the current $200,000 (plus interest gained) is adequate. Here are some additional thoughts on the matter:
- This fund may be used in the time between an emergency situation (ie. Extreme equipment failure) and an insurance claim being made and money recouped. Is this fund adequate in this scenario given what we are insured for and the time it takes for insurance money to come our way?
- KBOO Disaster Plan, do we have a basic idea of what needs to happen in the event of major damage to the station? What staff are necessary during this time? What equipment? Do we have access to a generator and fuel? What size generator would KBOO need to run for a day, a week, etc.? Other things to consider for staff and volunteer needs; food, transportation, portable toilets.
- Beyond damage to the station itself, what is KBOO’s role in a major citywide or regional disaster? What would it look like for KBOO to provide information and resources to our listeners and web patrons during/after a major flood, earthquake, etc.? What are the absolute essentials for staff and engineering equipment? How far would $200,000 go?
There will be no finance meeting in December.
Commitments and assignments:
· Finance Committee will work on researching what extra costs would be incurred in the event of a natural disaster (such as generators, etc). Debbie will see if the staff has a disaster preparedness plan.
· Matt will work on reviewing the 3 month operating reserve amounts based on historical numbers. Debbie will send Matt historical financial material for analysis.
· Debbie will send Kurt and the FC a report on full time and FTE numbers for as many of the past years as she can locate. FC would like to look at the change in FTE and how many used to operate the station.
Financial Summary: September 2012
Debbie Rabidue, Finance Coordinator
Income
Expenses
$2,602.55 | Legal: General FCC | |
$8,931.48 | Legal: FCC regarding Chehalis frequency | |
$1,160.90 | Legal: General employment- Staff | |
$4,057.52 | Legal: Employment - Board or Pers. Com | |
|
|
|
$16,752.45 | Total |
· KBOO received a restricted grant of $25,000 from Meyer Memorial Trust. This will fund Board Training and Policy Development in FY13. The expenses will go in to next fiscal year. This will not affect the bottom line since the income will have matching expenses that were not budgeted.
Note: Numbers in the highlight summary have been rounded for ease of the reader; refer to financial statements for actuals
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Finance Committee meeting 11-20-12.pdf | 85.98 KB |
Per KBOO's By-laws, the Foundation requires an audit or review, which is a professional examination of the financial transactions of the Foundation by a CPA.
Independant CPA Review of the fiscal year 2011 financial statements
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| FY2011-CPA Reviewed Financial Statements.pdf | 597.72 KB |
For FY 2008, KBOO's bylaws required an audit. Attached is the result of that audit for FY2008.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| FY2008 - KBOO Foundation Audit.pdf | 67.13 KB |
For FYs 2009 & 2010, KBOO's bylaws required an audit. Attached are the results of that audit for both FY 2009 & FY2010.
- Management Letter
- Audit Letters
- Audited Financial Statements
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| KBOO Final Management Letter 9.30.2010 COLOR.pdf | 232.38 KB |
| KBOO Final Audit Letters 9.30.2010 COLOR.pdf | 2.6 MB |
| KBOO Final Financial Statement 9.30.2010 COLOR.pdf | 2.58 MB |
990 and CT12 filings for the KBOO Foundation
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| KBOO Foundation- Final 990 2010.pdf | 2.46 MB |
The personnel committee shall advise the Board of Directors regarding the corporation’s personnel policies and practices.
If you have any questions, please contact Zale Chadwick.
The Programming Advisory Committee is made up of the Program Director, Program staff, a Board representative and volunteer members. The Committee is tasked with advising the Program Director on programming changes, schedule and evaluations.
Click here for a May 2010 update on the Programming Excellence project
Click here for information about the current schedule and process for programming changes.
The committee is trying to update the posting of our past monthly minutes online, and will try to post the future meeting minutes in a timely manner once they are approved by the committee.
The Programming Advisory Committee meets at KBOO 's studios on the second Tuesday of every month from 7 - 9 pm. Meetings are open to all members and volunteers in good standing.
Present: Roger Warner (Acting Chair) Chris Merrick (Minutes) , Rebecca Nay, John Mackey, Kurt Lauer, Paula Small, Per Fagereng, Vicki Creel (Redwillow), Becky Chiao, Daniel Flessas.
Absent: Jay Bozich, Samantha King, Ed Kraus.
Excused absence: Rabia Yeaman, Kathleen Stephenson.
Guests: Sekoynia Wright, Terrel Lowery, Cashis Game, Antone Jarrell, Mel Reslor, Shusli Baseler, Eugene Johnson, Bill Flood, Josh Harper.
Chris: working on MLK Day, Winter Drive specials, finishing the PRETC grant report, updating quarterly PTFT grant report, some work on management policy revisions, will be out of town end of December.
Rebecca: New recruits in training for Friday news, hoping for a weekly half-hour of “deep investigative pieces.”
Becky: Board meeting on December 20, the board would like to review the program committee schedule of renewing all programs only once every two years, is that enough?
John: Digital Editing Room is finished, back online, Studio Two next in January. Some public affairs such as talk shows can continue in the room but the mixing deck will be out of service for several weeks.
Josh (returning from November) presented written proposal and demo CDs. Proposal for a 16-part series of mixtapes. Questions about timeline, weekly? monthly? Language problems before 10:00 pm? Josh says edited content if necessary, he would aim at 7:00 – 8:00 pm for example. Would he continue the show after 16 weeks? Maybe yes, maybe no. Could put together a “mix” collective for a future proposal. Podcasting a definite goal.
Mel - proposal for “hot issues” at midnight, news, interviews, commentary, some rebroadcasting of daytime public affairs. Questions about late nights, would listeners tune in for P.A. at midnight? Maybe yes, maybe no. Mel hopes to stimulate a collective to produce more content in the future, though he has a lot of archive material. Mel also has a website entry called “The Language Room,” check it out.
Proposal by Sekonia, Paula, Keller Henry, and Nia Lewis for a new show to replace “Hard Knock Radio.” A new collective for African American news and interviews. Paula suggests every other Thursday to start, as a lead-in to her music show. If successful, maybe expand to weekly. “In the Kitchen” is tentative title.
Terrel, Cashis, and Antone presented their proposal for a weekly show (7:00 – 8:00 pm as well), for local, as well as international interviews of relevance.“Community Round Table” is working name. Possibly every evening? Weekly okay. They suggest a 50/50 mix of public affairs and music, à la “Hard Knock Radio.”
At this point Rebecca pointed out that “Hard Knock Radio” is on the Pacifica chopping block, so we are definitely looking for local replacement programming.
Bill Flood outlined the process and goals of the strategic planning committee. Some concern about whether all meetings are closed to the public, Bill suggests that the committee has specific things it meets about, but will have open meetings over the next twelve months, and will be interviewing staff and volunteers about how KBOO works. Will also produce a big honkin’ survey about all KBOO programming in 2011.
Rebecca states FSRN will cease as of December 23. They will offer “best of” reruns. What? We will need immediate replacement news at 5:30 – 6:00 pm each evening. Suggestions include:
News department will be meeting this week and work out a schedule. Jenka Soderberg may be in town, will join in if possible.
Update on proposals for “Mitakuye Oyasin” with Jim Craven and Dean Lookinghawk, and “Tillicum Wawa” with Shusli, Eugene, and Redwillow. Analysis of the two shows, note for record that MO was on probation as of the August program committee meeting, and that we asked TW for a pilot program, which turned into three pilot programs.
M/S/P to have “Tillicum Wawa” on every week, 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Rebecca and Chris will work out the schedule and talk to Jim and Dean.
Monday, January 17, 11:30 am – 6:00 pm. No producer as yet, everything else is pretty much the same. Paula asked about board members being there for outreach, why not? said the committee.
January 27 – February 5. Several music specials, a News and P.A. Day on February 4th. Goal is fifty big ones.
We all forgot that we scheduled a listening party on Sunday, January 9, to listen to a bunch of airchecks and get the ball rolling on critical listening and program renewals. Rebecca volunteered her house. Chris will e-mail the committee to get the schedule and list of shows together.
Adjourned at 9:13 pm.
Program committee meeting
Minutes of 5-12-10 Programming Committee Meeting
In Attendence:
Redwillow, Jenka, Samantha, Deena, Kathleen, Chris, Conch, Per, Rodger, and Ed
Drive report from Chris
Have received 78K toward a goal of 95K
Raffle tickets will possibly provide a net 48k. First time we have legally been able to do a raffle.
Lawsuit update
The suit was dropped. Legal fees of 48K to defend the against the suit.
PTFP grant update
Grant was applied for in order to replace for mixers and other equipment by John Mackey and ? Was approved and equipment will be in July.
Kathleen’s report
Has been working on drive and doesn’t have a report.
Jenka has been awarded a ? fellowship from Stanford and will be in Palo Alto in the summer.
Programming Excellence grant money has to be spent by the end of the year.
John reported that the remote control signal has down for about 2 hours this last week and he investigated the cause. No error messages were transmitted. Harris Field rep was checked with.
Remote control circuit may need to be replaced at a cost of 5k to 5500.
Live remotes
June 26th No Fest experimental music
Blues Festival
July 31st Hawthorne Bridge Festival Live on the Bridge
Pickathon Bluegrass Show August
Jenka suggested that we do some fundraising at the live remotes.
New equipment: have a new device a “tie line”. Used for bringing in audio for remote broadcasts.
A memorandum of understanding regarding the remotes.
Monday and Friday Schedule
Monday afternoon 2-4
All that airtime is up in the air
Auditions will be coming on at those times
Afrotainment
DJ Keiz
Redwillow and Samantha have a proposal in for a Native American show.
Folks will be putting in demos in through May.
Rabia suggested that we use drive pledge numbers from the last 3 pledges for the suggested shows and the arbitron numbers to guide decisions for the programs.
Proposals from Flower Elliot, Nick Walker and Matthew Clark and Feliz Pinquil were distributed.
Discussion about podcasting
Rabia talked to Lucia programming for the Italian Hour regarding being a model for biliqual shows and she has done an essay regarding this type of show. How she raises money through her show and this could possibly become a standard. Jenka asked for a copy of the essay for use for the station.
Chris said he would send Samantha and Redwillow’s proposal to the committee.
Marian? Wants to do a German show. Kathleen suggested that she submit a demo in June.
Question about Flower Elliot’s proposal. Was it complete or sent to Chris by e-mail.
Two two hour slot or 1 and ½ hour slots?
Discussion about blocks and strips.
Discussion about the website not being user friendly. Can’t find the entire programming grid easily.
Rabia discussed the programmer centric and whether it is listener focused.
Wants to have some decisions for Mondays and Fridays schedules maybe made by the end of June and the next programming committee meeting. Chris will send out e-mails about the proposed shows so that we can listen and evaluate the show.
Discussion about evaluation of programs and a four week review and critique done by Kathleen, Jenka and Chris so that programs could improve.
The committee members could do a minute by minute evaluation new program goes on 30 days after starting.
Chris wants the committee to consider compatible programming and would maybe like 3 shows as opposed to two hour ones.
For the June meeting we will invite the current Monday or Friday programmers to come to the meeting and speak for a short time to promote their show. Chris will send e-mail to the committee members to remind them to listen to those proposed shows.
Goal is to get the weekend time slots filled before Jenka leaves for her fellowship.
It was decided that Rabia would serve as chair of the committee, will take over for Jenka until she returns.
Web page database discussion.
Replacement for instant replay is operational. It’s the Booplayer and may be marketable to other stations.
Submitted by Redwillow
KBOO Program Committee
Minutes 6/14/2011
Present:
Rebecca Ney-pm news
Per Fagareng
Rabia Yeaman--chair
Roger Warner
Kathleen Stevenson-am news
Chris Merrick-program director
Mel Reslor
Becky Chiao—notetaker
Reggae Bob
Kris Thomas
We started about 7:15 and met in the hallway because there was a volunteer orientation in the big room in the back.
Becky distributed the minutes from the April meeting. The May meeting was cancelled because of the drive.
Reports
Kathleen--AM public affairs shows update and new programs
Old Mole Variety Hour completed, careful listening by volunteers and staff identified things that could be improved technological and content-wise. The hosts got the feedback.
The Dirtbag has been completed, the host also filled out the forms so there was some consensus about possible improvements. Kathleen may have found a volunteer to help some with the shows.
The Food Show is in flux, there is some feedback but completing it is is on hold
Voices from the Edge - 0 forms received
Presswatch - 1 form received
Between the Covers – Marianne Barisonek - 1 form received
Words and Pictures - 1 form received
Behind the Screen - 1 form received
Black Book Talk - 1 form received
Positively Revolting Talk - 1 form received
APA Compass - 0 forms received
One Land Many Voices - 2 forms received, evaluation in progress
It Takes a Village - 0 forms received
Community Grooves - 0 forms received
Digital Divide - 0 forms received
Most of the evaluation forms were completed by Per and Roger, one form was from Daniel.
It would be great if people would do more listening and fill out more forms for Kathleen.
Ed Goldberg is leaving he works at the classical station, so his Movie Talk slot will be open. Kathleen is thinking of having people apply/audition for any type of arts show. Rabia suggested something like reviews of websites.
PM News Report
This is Rebecca’s last meeting as the PM news rep for the committee but she will still stay on the committee as a volunteer and work on the program evaluation teams.
Ruth Kovach is moving back to Chicago and has been working to recruit new volunteers to host Prison Pipeline. There will be a meeting next Monday night at 6 pm of several people who will audition for shows with the goal of having a collective to take over this important show. We have 3 years of old show archives that we could also cull.
Reggae Bob said that he had been thinking about proposing a show for the Hard Knock slot but he will work on Prison Pipeline too to keep it on the air.
Roger agreed this is an important show. Chris and Rebecca talked about recruiting people who had been in prison.
Rebecca suggested letting Labor Radio expand back to an hour on Monday nights. Rabia said she has some reasons why she doesn’t support that, she thinks it is tighter now at 30 minutes. Kathleen said that is a good thing to consult with Jenka about
Program Director Report
Chris is working on closing out the equipment grant, PTFP last step is filing a lien in Mult. County on the equipment which is owned for 10 years by the govt. We have to file a report once a year for 10 years until 2021. Zale keeps track of the calendar/deadlines/reporting periods etc.
Jeff Lovell is contracted for 20-100 hours to evaluate our IT situation. Rabia said that he is brilliant.
We’re flooded with requests for live remotes—No Fest and Blues Fest coming up, 1 day at Cathedral Park Jazz, 1 day of Pdx Pop. Tom Hood is training people to do this.
There are also requests to go to shows, Rabia saw a show by the Sexy Water Spiders at a Record Store and said they were great.
We could use more volunteers who can do it, Tom can’t do them all himself.
Bob asked how many people do you need? 1 on site and 1 in the studio? People said 2 on site minimum because of the mics and equipment and an operator here at the station.
Tom, VJ and Chris met with the Oregon Food Bank about the Blues Festival and they were starting to talk about next summer which is the 25th anniversary and how to make it really special. The bottom line is that it is benefit for feeding hungry people. We will integrate that into promoting the event. We could also collect food here and get interviews from people who use the food bank and are hungry and play those on the radio-Kathleen said they are somewhat protective about identifying people who use the food bank’s services. Maybe it could keep people’s identities anonymous.
Bob asked about the 3 day Reggae Festival.
We’ll do some live broadcasts from the Pickathon.
New shows Monday 2-4 alternating Matt and Randall—Chris would like it if people would evaluate them. There is a new person Wednesday 3 am—Chris if anyone is up then. They’ll be preempted on the Monday of the 4th of July so there are only 3 weeks before our next meeting.
Per has listened Mondays a couple of times, Per and Rabia had some comments, Chris asked them to put them in writing.
Rebecca said another new show Evesdrop on Thursday night could be evaluated. Rabia said she thinks it worked when she listened to that they were talking about race, a tough topic in an informal way which was still substantive which she liked.
Rabia said she is looking for contributors for The Digital Divide. There is a flyer up and she has had one person contribute a 20 minute portion. It is anything about technology.
Staff has been talking about membership drive specials—music or public affairs, and Erin Yanke is working on a guide on what makes a successful special. She will take input from the program committee or anyone. Certain things don’t work and there is no reason to preempt a successful show with something that doesn’t work.
Rabia asked Chris what does work—he said is should be more special than what it preempts. If is it long there should be a group or team all working together on it, more people together doing segments keeps it lively and makes it seem more special. With music people like boot-legs interviews things that aren’t available regularly. The Bob Dylan 70th birthday special brought in more than it’s goal. Rabia suggested that it works having a familiar artist than when it is a more obscure artist. Name recognition helps.
If you do something like a history or a movement, you have to do a lot of promotion to educate the audience before hand. Last minute specials don’t work very well.
Bob said, how about having the late night shows doing a special during prime time?
Roger suggests that live music works well-bluegrass example. Artist theme which people don’t listen to much.
Rebecca experimented with public affairs special 7-8. She said the Water Special was the star of the experiment in terms of raising money. Going above and beyond what you ordinarily do—lots of extra work going into the special can be noticed by the listeners—getting more field recordings, big names.
Strategic Plan
Chris handed out parts that apply to Programming.
No one on the Program Committee is on the Strategic Planning Committee so we didn’t really know if the board is looking for feedback from Committees. If the board isn’t going to approve this right away, it would be helpful to have someone from the board or the Strategic Plan committee to let our committee know if we have time to look at it at the next meeting, maybe have a presentation. He will talk to someone and let us know if there is time.
Becky said that as an individual board member she isn’t looking to approve the plan right away and asked if the committee wants time to review the plan and have input and if the Committee wants to do that she will take that back to the board.
Chris said he would like for the Committee to provide feedback to the board about what roadblocks to implementation there might be.
Roger referred to Action Step 2 on page 34 about once a year Programmer work sessions. He felt it would be impossible to get everyone to come to a meeting. Becky said maybe there could be an annual meeting that was not mandatory.
Kathleen and Rebecca think it would be useful if we had someone from the Strategic Planning committee to come to our next meeting.
Per referred to the Action Step 3 on pg 31 about Hood River and Corvallis which is controversial. He says why not do mentoring to other communities, including Corvallis like with Pendleton—a network of local stations so that they can be self-sustaining. Kathleen said we need more information, since a translator can’t be an independent station—you need a different license and different equipment. Per said we should look into it because they have a spot on the dial.
Rabia expressed concerns about the grievance/appeal process mentioned on page 36. She thinks it is very wrongheaded and that the Program Director should have the authority to decide what is on the air. Kathleen said it could help if there was some way to direct controversies about cancelled shows that doesn’t take up a lot of Committee or Board time.
Becky said it would be good if the committee agreed with what will work or not work and them submit it to the board—that it doesn’t make sense to adopt a plan if the people who are going to be expected to implement the plan don’t have buy-in.
Chris talked about road testing—looking at some of the action plans and seeing how it might work or not work.
Roger said look at Action step 11 on page 36 about production teams.
Currently there are 125 different shows per month so to create the teams we’d have to recruit 250 more volunteers to be on teams as peers. Rebecca said there already are shows that have teams. Kathleen said that the teams can include someone to help with things like uploading the audio which some hosts do need.
Rebecca said that every public affairs show should have a production team, but that music shows might not always need that. She said it would help to have defined roles for people within a group. How do you get a peer group for a music show? Rabia said that it more for public affairs, to relieve staff.
Becky said since there is a lot of interest in people doing music shows, having teams would be a way to get more people involved and noted that this version of the plan is less specific than the draft which specified 4 people teams. This seems more flexible.
Rebecca said we need to delineate roles for shows and that if a show can’t get the roles filled it might say something about the show. Rabia said we could channel new volunteers in to roles. Rebecca said we could have a board where people could sign up.
Per suggested teams for boarder time slots, not just individual show.
Rabia said she likes the idea of a collective rather than individual ownership about shows, with rotating roles. But there can be difficulties. Becky said if you just have a board with sign-ups what if someone signs up to help with a show and the host doesn’t like that person. Rabia said that might help with people who have too much of a sense of individual ownership over a show. There could be benefits to the forced cooperation/collegiality so while it sounds impossible she is not opposed to it.
Bob said it is good for bringing in new people.
Rabia said it wouldn’t be one person’s show, it would be “the” show not “my” show and people collaborate and rotate through the roles.
Kathleen said that having a personality associated with a show can help to raise money. Becky said there are also situations in which it is more the show than the host like the Grateful Dead and Bluegrass shows.
Becky will ask the Board for clarity and say that the Program Committee would like more information and to have input. Bob suggested an on air discussion/debate about the plan.
Bob asked are you taking program proposals for the Hard Knock slot? Yes—he presented for someone who couldn’t come to the meeting because he is sick—Larry Collins an African American man who had a show called Collins Corner about 10 years ago. He is on the Youth Gang Task Force, he has been on Lisa’s show. He has some problems before in calling in when he couldn’t do his show and there was dead air. Bob said he can and will apologize to Chris. The proposal is a call in show for the African American community. 7-8 pm. He has his pulse on the community. Bob said he’d help.
The next steps for Larry would be to go through volunteer orientation, make sure he has been trained. The form shows the training path. If he goes through that, Rebecca said an audition would probably be possible. By then Jenka will be back and she will be involved.
Kris said it is his second time coming to the meeting, it will take him some time to get a proposal together for a different kind of music show. He has substituted on Afrotainment and got a lot of calls. He interviewed someone. He wonders where there would be a music slot like that. He would like to add in live remotes. He’s taken all classes. There might not be open slots. Rabia suggested buddying up with someone like Celeste. Becky said maybe that is why we need to create the teams.
Rebecca said fill out an actual program proposal. Half the people who come in want their own music show. Ani tells them you can be on a waiting list and suggests other ways people to volunteer in news or other things. We want to be realistic with people currently we say there are no openings but people can go on a substitution list.
Bob said there should be a way for new volunteers to get involved. Uploading shows, editing, engineering etc. Rabia said getting a lot of experience helps prepare someone to host a show.
Next meeting July 12
Program Committee
August 16, 2011
Present—Jenka Soderberg, Chris Merrick, Becky Chiao notetaker, Per Fagereng and Rabia Yeaman
Absent—Daniel Flessas is out of town, Kathleen Stevenson is on vacation, Mel Reslor is in finance committee meeting in the other room.
We changed the date this month. All members acknowledged the change. Jenka said one programmer took off work last week to come to the meeting, and can’t be present tonight. She had a question about a leave of absence that Chris addressed. Rabia asked who is subbing.
Rabia said the Hooligans may be available to sub when she is gone. Chris said he would talk to Toni.
Issue: Committee chair. Rabia took over for Jenka while she was gone. Chris nominated Jenka to be chair. Rabia seconded it. Discussion Becky said does Jenka want to do it? Jenka said depending on what happens with the budget, if she has enough time she will. Rabia said that she thinks chairing a meeting is different from giving a staff report. Becky said that the organization has to make sure that people are making more than minimum wage. Chris withdrew his motion. Rabia said we will talk about it next month. She’ll chair until then. There was a suggestion that Roger Warner may do it.
Mel gave Rabia some items—special programs 9/11? Program committee packet for new committee members? Chris said he will give Mel a copy tomorrow.
Jenka said she hasn’t made any decisions on Hard Rock Radio’s slot. Sequoinia withdrew her proposal because she is moving back to Salt Lake City. She is working with Craig on his submission. Board candidate forum will be August 30 and 31 7-8pm. Jenka is organizing a Village Building Convergence program on August 31 from 8-2. There is an all-day September 11th special on Friday September 9th from 8-8 there is a meeting about that tomorrow at 7. She is also thinking about Racism in Portland post-drive. Prison Pipeline has a collective of about 8 people. Jenka met with them. They have all been training. They are on Monday at 6:30 pm. Membership drive October 6-21st. She’ll be planning specials during that time.
Becky asked some questions about the candidate forum and the drive.
Chris’s report—he has been working on the budget and the collective management proposal. He and Erin Y are updating copyrights for a copyright class, and guidelines for what makes a good membership drive special, a checklist for live remotes which is different from the memorandum of agreement. Beginning work on the drive, notifying people and trying to get some music specials. He is revising the legal class with updated information from our attorney. He is also trying to catch up with programmers to make sure they have signed Programmer Contracts. Roger Leigh came in today to talk to the staff to explain what he has been doing, he gave a fairly detailed report including accomplishments and obstacles. He talked about hardware and software design and the future of the web. The sense was that he puts a lot more time in than he gets paid for. He did a four-page report. Some of the obstacles had to do with staff continuity and communication, they will be working with him.
July Minutes—Chris brought copies. Chris moves to approve the July minutes, Jenka seconded. No one objects to approve the minutes. Chris posts them on the bulletin board. Becky asked if we are posting them on the web. Rabia asked about the Programming blog, she would post them there and not just on her blog.
Jenka brought a proposal for Organic City Sounds from Evan Tenenbaum 7 minute-long pieces he is already producing on his website. She said this should probably go to Kathleen since it is for a daytime program. www.Organiccitysounds.com Rabia said she would try to listen.
Becky made some proposals via email—1st was to replace Spanish Language programming with AAA music over time and to offer assistance in developing an HD radio station or give them the second webstream. She said she talked to Larry Kleinman about Radio Movemiento in Woodburn and they are doing better than the commercial Spanish stations there. They are 24 hours and recently upgraded their frequency. We could work with them if we had a plan and could organize the latino community here.
Jenka said that in the next couple of years there will be multiple low power fm frequencies opening up and she has been talking to groups who are interested in getting a full-time low power Spanish language station. She said that Sunday’s programming isn’t much different from what is on El Rey. She also has the idea of doing live remotes from Saturday Market. She said if we just cut Spanish Programming there will be some resentment.
Rabia suggested a larger program change which is counter programming to OPB—6-9 news and public affairs 9-12 music and 12-7 news and public affairs in the afternoon and 7-night music. She said it isn’t working to keep doing the same thing. We could fill a music gap in the mornings.
Jenka disagrees that changing one day a week won’t make a difference. When we changed Saturday’s format we did get more listenership. Morning public affairs are currently the second biggest membership draws. We could do damage to that strength if we changed.
Chris said the NFCB sent out the question—are you a community access station or a community service station? Community access lets anyone in. Community service looks at what the majority of listeners want. The issue of Spanish programming raises the issue of whether we are community access or community service oriented.
If we get to having a second web stream for internet programming, then we should focus the fm programming to more popular programming and have the more controversial/fringe programming would focus on the web, podcasting. FM could be the middle of the bell curve, he presented that to the staff and they weren’t that interested. Web on one end. Jenka said that they way he presented it wasn’t very appealing.
We want to be true to the mission statement which is to serve underserved communities, social justice environmentalism. Per mentioned that there are a lot of political issues in Latin America that our listeners would be interested in hearing in English. He mentioned Carlos Chavez has done some good shows. Rabia said she heard a show Armando did with a political guest.
Becky said she was not suggesting an abrupt change, but she feels we should do something to reinvigorate our connection to the Latino community in Portland and she would continue to talk to people about it.
Strategic Plan follow-up—Plan mentions a Programmer meeting annually in September. We should start planning this. Part of this would be a survey—we can ask for ideas about how to use one fm signal, 2 HD stations, two web streams and podcasts on the web. Looking at a 5 year plan—we can start now to get input on how to increase listenership. We can address issues like Spanish language programming. Another example is WILL a classical music station that put all world music on it’s HD band.
Per asked what are the numbers on radio vs. internet. Jenka said that online is steadily surpassing the other media. Chris said people who like the radio will listen on their phone or computer if it is available.
Chris said the next step will be to get programmers together to start talking about these issues as detailed in the Strategic Plan.
Rabia talked about the difference between the Programming Charter and the Mission Statement and wants to the Program Committee to make the Charter more concrete and less vague.
Chris said some people think we should be more like Portland Cable access, where the mission is just to train people and let them put on whatever they want. Currently the public access model is contrary to the Program Charter. Jenka said she thinks the Charter and mission of KBOO are pretty clear. Becky said she would like to expand access to more people, but keep the mission of being an alternative to the status quo with the goal of making the world a better place.
Jenka said we could have the news as video.
We need to pick a day to have the Programmer worksession. The annual meeting is Saturday September 17th. What about Thursday night 7-9 or a Sunday 12-2? Rabia suggests 2 ½ hour meeting.
We can ask people to review ideas before the meeting. Rabia said she can set up a Survey Monkey and compile the results before hand. We will work on this via email in the next couple of weeks.
Chris suggested Sunday 18th. But Becky thought it would be too much for the staff to go to both in the same weekend. Sunday September 25 12-2:30. We will figure out where.
For consideration—Strategic Plan #5 Create and internal protocol to create a continuous feedback loop. Programmers have to respond to the feedback —what does that mean? We have 6 months to work on that. Does this mean online surveys? Does this mean using facebook, email/websites or formal evaluations? If there was a survey you’d then provide the information to the programmer. A small percentage of people would answer the questions.
#6 rewrite the Programmer Contract, add things like web posting
#9 programmer’s bill of rights and appeals committee—we already have policies. Is this necessary?
We don’t need another appeals committee when we already have the conflict resolution committee. Chris and Becky will raise this issue with the Strategic Plan follow-up group.
Meeting adjourned at 8:53.
Strategic Plan Discussion
KBOO Program Committee
Minutes 3/8/2011
Present:
Rebecca Ney
Per Fagareng
John Mackey
Rabia Yeaman--chair
Roger Warner
Kathleen Stevenson
Kris Thomas
Chris Merrick
Daniel Flessas
Mel Reslor
Paula Small
Terrel Lowery
Tone Jerrell
Becky Chiao--notetaker
Agenda
Reports
New Show Proposals
Renewal Schedule and Process
No minutes from January—meeting was “snowed” out
Reports
Ed Kraus and Vicki Creel have both resigned from the committee. Mel is a new member.
Committee heard reports from staff.
German Stunde is running as a pilot 9 am Wednesday 3/30
Beyond Normal is a pilot on Fridays not sure if they are being uploaded.
John Mackey asked if KBOO is going to move to the KPDX tower. According to Chris, we have a contract through 2016. This was deemed not to be a program committee issue.
New Show Proposals
Terrel and Tone brought back a show proposal they talked about in December. It is for a replacement of HKR. Hiphop in Portland and beyond, interviews with local people and basketball people around the world. They have been doing some subbing on music shows. They were asked to preproduce a 55 minute show, give a CD to Rebecca and she’ll air a pilot.
Josh (last name?) came to suggest a show called Psychic Juke box. This would be for a late night slot. It’s not clear if there are any openings but he has done a substitute show. The committee asked for a cd of a sound check from that show.
Program review process—how will we review each program at least once every two years?
Tentative process—at 3 month intervals approximately ¼ of the approximately 120 non-syndicated shows would be reviewed. Roger asked if we would work during membership drives. To have a continual process, we probably would.
1st step (first month) –programmers in review group notified they have to apply for renewal. They will be asked to fill out renewal form and do a self-evaluation.
2nd step—people (members of the program committee? Special listening squad recruited from volunteers? Other programmers required to listen?) will listen to shows and fill out detailed review sheets (Chris handed out 3 different types). Rebecca has volunteered to start recruiting and training volunteers to listen to shows. We also talked about making it a requirement that programmers submit reviews for a certain amount of of other shows, but didn’t come to a consensus or vote about this.
We will announce to listeners that the specific shows are being reviewed and seek their input using forms and perhaps online surveys. Rabia volunteered to look into some sort of online form that would compile automatically.
3rd step (completed by third month)—Program reviews will be assembled, summarized (by whom?) and program staff will give programmers feedback. Three possible outcomes—1) program renewed all is good, 2) program has some issues to be discussed given time to correct, 3) program cancelled.
We didn’t set how groups of shows would be scheduled for review—it could be done in blocks of similar types of shows or not.
Kathleen has a list of shows that never had their full review in the Pittman grant process. We will test this review process on them. She handed out a list of shows. Per listens to Old Mole, Paula will listen to the Thurs. shows. Daniel, Becky and Roger will all listen to some shows. Kathleen will inform the group and ask for self-evals and new forms if needed. Rebecca will start organizing volunteers. We will see next month what progress has been made.
Draft
Program Committee
September 13, 2011
Present—Jenka Soderberg, Chris Merrick, Becky Chiao notetaker, Per Fagereng and Rabia Yeaman, Roger Warner, Mel Reslor, Rebecca Ney
We reviewed the minutes, Jenka made one clarification. We talked about absences and excused Roger and Mel’s since we changed the date. The minutes were approved. Kathleen abstained from approving them because she wasn’t here. Mel announced that he brought a bunch of plums that he picked this afternoon.
Joe Azevedo came as a guest with a proposal. Jenka congratulated him for a write up in on a website out of Austin Soundtap. Joe said other Kboo shows were also featured. And that we should make more connections between them and programmers here. He hadn’t heard about them before, they found him. They link to live shows.
Kurt Lauer passed by and said he missed this committee, it was his favorite and he would return.
Joe’s suggestion is that rather than having new music coming in to the station logged in a a physical book that they should be entered onto a blog. Rabia said that the new releases are being typed into a computer, she is currently putting the information on her personal blog—she doesn’t have access to make a bigger blog. Jenka said that she thinks VJ can create a new blog.
Chris said there is a volunteer who is currently working on incoming releases, but he doesn’t type in everything—what he sends Rabia is just a portion of all of the music that comes in. Joe said that it makes sense to just enter the information once. Chris said that he will look into this. He and Brandon currently label by Artist Title Label and Genre and record it in a book.
Becky said that when starting a new you have to make sure you use the right system. Jenka said that if you want the information available for the public then a blog, then she suggested adding it as a playlist called something like New Releases. Rabia likes that idea too, you can highlight special things. It would be a list and a way to promote the library, searchable and accessible. Chris will give a progress report next month.
Reports
Kathleen had a good vacation. She has been starting to work on Membership Drive books, specials and budget issues.
Jenka, October 14th tentative News and Public Affairs days. She is contacting filmmakers to get some DVDs as drive specials. We’re trying not to pay for any thank you gifts. She did two specials last week, the Village Building Convergence Special was 6 hours, live and prerecorded. It got good feedback. The second special was the 911 special that came off well, Jenka thanked the volunteers who helped. There were some glitches with the feed from Canada, but it wasn’t that noticeable on the air. We’re still playing Hard Knock Radio, there are a couple of proposals for that slot that she is still working with Programmers
Chris--Drive Thursday October 6-Sat. October 22nd. He is lining up Marvin Gaye and Jim Pepper specials It is the 40th Anniversary of Jim Pepper’s first record coming out. There is a live Remote at the Q Center next Tuesday, a one-hour show on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Jenka mentioned a contest to fill helium ballons to lift Chris into the air. He is working on copyrights with Erin Yanke for the audio archive and a copyright class. He is planning to get it done by the end of September.
There was a complaint about indecency for a program that is on after 10 pm. There was some pre-editing of the show before it was aired. A complaint was filed with the FCC, Chris told the person there is a First Amendment privilege after 10 pm. The complainant is an attorney who said he will then file an obscenity charge (for which there is no 1st Amendment protection.). So far we haven’t gotten anything from the FCC yet. Chris is confident that the language is lawful, but it is annoying to deal with. Chris is working with Tom on something. He is going through evaluations of the Folk Espresso shows, there are some new programmers and a lot of different people on the air during the month at that time slot Monday-Friday.
Per asked about the 5X5 email he sent out from NFCB. He said it is about listener based interactive programming and avenues for shared content like the site that featured the Melting Pot, the Yiddish Hour etc.
Chris informed us that Friday Midnight-3 am is now open. Daniel quit KBOO gave up his show. He will be auditioning people for the next couple of months. There are already people interested. He’ll try a variety of things, is not interested in just having it be an extension of Daniel’s show. Kathleen asked how do you post that, Chris said an email and post it on the bulletin board. The email will go out to all volunteers. Becky C. said what about opening it up to the Portland Music Community? Does someone have to already be a trained volunteer to audition for the slot? Becky N. said that people who have put their time in should have a preference for having put their time in, a factor. There was a discussion about whether there is some pre-requisite for coming in to audition for a show (there haven’t been that many music openings up over the years.) A DJ can come in and join a collective and then go through volunteer orientation etc. Becky C. asked is it better for listeners and the community to have wider publicity about the opening. People were concerned that we currently tell people who want to get on the air that they have to sign up as a volunteer and go through the training programs.
Roger agrees that there should be auditions over the next couple of months and that it shouldn’t just be given to “the friends of Daniel.”
Rabia said we should set the genre—keep it the same as the Outside World which is eclectic, she would like to see the genre remain the same. Chris said he hadn’t been thinking of that at all. He wasn’t going to try to replicate The Outside World. He was going to give people a shot to try something new. He is not concerned about losing the current audience. He would like people to have a chance to experiment.
Chris asked if people would prefer and eclectic or single format? Kathleen talked about how you have to go with what you get to a certain extent. She said it can be difficult to do a mixed format. Becky C. asked if it has to be 3 hours. Rabia said that the schedule was formatted to be consistent. Chris said the shows all start at midnight but don’t all end at 3.
Chris said that he wishes we could talk about drive time programming because there are many fewer listerners in the middle of the night. Rabia pointed out that it is drive time in Japan in the middle of night here. Chris said he will post it and put it online.
NEEDS ASSESMENT MEETING—Thursday September 22 for Programmers 7-9? Part of Strategic Plan Implementation. There could be up to 50 people. Not sure if there is space, there is a pitching training that night as well. Chris handed out a rough drat of questions to be discussed at the meeting.
The questions are not just brainstorming, they take proposals from the Strategic Plan and highlight potential barriers to making change.
Jenka said that the way the questions are written, they invite controversy. She pointed out that the Strategic Plan says to have meeting that gets Programmer input on community needs. How about asking less loaded questions: What do you as a programmer see as the greatest needs for programming in the next 5 years? What are your top priorities?
We might need some prompts . Are needs equipment or other things?
Becky N. suggests “How can we increase listenership while staying true to our Program Charter?” The Strategic Plan assumes that programming must be consistent with the mission of the organization.
Roger said that there can be a backlash when we change the schedule.
Kathleen said that we could as a group come up with questions. She worries about the timeline. If we want significant attendance and prep time. Chris did send out an email last week. With the pitch trainings and the annual meeting, it could get lost.
Rabia said there is a timeline goal in the plan. She said the Program Charter could change and there is a conflict between continued growth, existence and the charter. The charter is in conflict with the ability of the station to get listeners. This committee could discuss that.
Becky N. said the question “Can we grow the listenership with the current Program Charter?” is debateable and should be asked.
Rabia said some people might say there are things outside of Programming that could be done to increase listenership—promotion. She proposes the question “What would you need to do to increase listenership?”
Per asked, do we know how many people in Portland have never heard of KBOO? Can we get that information? What do people out there want? What are they worried about? What are their concerns?
Chris said, OK we can just ask a couple of basic questions and not anticipate the answers.
Rabia said that you could do an initial survey monkey with multiple choices—Sunset programs—never, every 2 years?
Becky suggested we come up with questions for an online survey to go out before 9/22 but not have the meeting until after the drive.
Rabia suggested:
1. Should we eliminate increase decrease or keep the same Spanish-language programming?
Becky said what about just asking increase decrease or keep the same (not say eliminate) Kathleen asked about foreign language programming in general.
How should KBOO’s programming be used to serve non-english speaking communities?
What communities are not served by KBOO that should be served?
2. Should programs sunset at 1 year, 2 years 5 years or never? Attrition policy
Per said sunsetting sounds like term limits. It is a lot of work to review all the shows annually or bi-annually and problem shows can be identified by listening. Jenka pointed out that unlike elected positions, programmers don’t have to run for reelection.
Jenka suggested:
3. How can KBOO connect to new audiences? Locally, nationally and internationally? New programs, promotion of new programs?
What do you need to attract more listeners to your show? Training? Equipment? Other types of help?
What are the three strongest shows or types of programs on KBOO, other than your own? Based on the standards of Programming Excellence.
What are the three weakest shows or types of shows on KBOO?
What are the types of shows that you think will increase KBOO’s listenership?
What are the three types of shows that you think are not effective in meeting community needs?
What are the types of shows that you think won’t increase listenership but that KBOO still needs to do?
We are currently at 70% music 30% news and public affairs—would you keep that proportion the same or change it—increase music, decrease keep the same?
What commitments are you willing to make to increase KBOO’s audience?
Should the format of KBOO be more mainstream if it would increase listenership?
Should the format of KBOO be more uniform/target a niche if it would increase listenership? Should KBOO switch to a single format if it would increase listenership?
Would a different format increase KBOO’s listenership?
How can KBOO utilize digital technology to increase listenership?
How can we address the current social issues in the broader world? Why is the world going crazy? Should we join them or resist?
Is there any music that KBOO plays that calms you down or drives you crazy?
Would you be willing to let someone sit in on your show or have coffee with you as a Membership Drive premium?
Per said we should also do a market survey of the general population of Portland to find out how we can reach people who don’t know about KBOO.
Becky will send out these notes, Chris and Rabia will set up a survey. Chris will send out an email cancelling the meeting and asking people to fill out the survey by the end of the week. Chris will send out the list of finalized questions before sending out the survey. Kathleen asked if there is a way to make sure that people only fill out the survey one time. Jenka said she thinks that you can keep a list of the email address of each person who fills out the survey.
What volunteer requirements should be required of programmers?
Should programmers be required to be volunteers for a specific length of time to get on-air?
If you are on the air, you have to volunteer. If you volunteer you don’t necessarily get on air?
What can KBOO do to make more opportunities to get more people on-the air?
Becky C. said that the staff should think about the answer to the question—what is needed to make more opportunities for volunteers to get on the air?
Next meeting—Roger asked during the drive will the meeting be rescheduled or postponed?
Jenka proposes 4th Tuesday October 25th.
KBOO Program Committee Minutes 4/12/2011
Present:
Rabia Yeaman Chair
Becky Chiao-notetaker
Rebecca Ney
Per Fagareng
Roger Warner
Kathleen Stevenson
Chris Merrick
Mel Reslor
Reggae Bob
Agenda
Reports
Public Comments
Mel had a great idea
Strategic Plan
Program Evaluations/Renewals
Reports
Kathleen’s report—attached in writing. Quarterly Reports, drive specials, food show maternity leave. The host/coordinator of the show is going on hiatus because she is having a baby. There are contributors, but none of them want to do the work of coordinating the whole show. Becky and Rabia suggested making an announcement looking for substitute producer for the food show.
Rebecca Ney—Right to Survive, Will Munger primary producer suspended for profanity there are still other people contributing to the show. Trillium will take lead responsibility for the show. Rebecca has been listening to the Eavesdrop and feedback. They are getting a lot of calls to the show. Recommendation is that that be a permanent every other Thursday night show. Needs something to alternate. Becky asked about Terrell’s show, Chris said they did a late night music sub show and there were some complaints about misogynistic lyrics. That is the progress on replacing Hard Knock Radio with something local. Rabia said it would be great if we could get something like that 5 nights a week. Rebecca said it is very hard to recruit for public affairs hosts. Rabia said how about starting up a mentorship program that brings in new people to produce shows by giving them mentors who are experienced.
Hard Knock radio will be preempted during the membership drive. Rebecca is going to let people create shows locally. Kboo news may expand into an hour just for the drive. Those are ideas to bring in more money, sometimes Evening News doesn’t bring much money in.
Chris Merrick—Membership Drive specials a bunch of music specials. Rabia is doing one about Muppets. Reggae Bob is doing one on Blacks to Britain. Chris has been working on some personnel issues and PRETC grant materials and strategic planning. Working with Tom. Lots of requests for live remotes. Tom is going to set up a training class to get people ready for the summer.
Public Comments
Reggae Bob came to visit and say hi.
Mel’s Suggestion
Mel has a suggestion that we have materials or a packet for newcomers to the Program Committee and some tasks for people to do with the committee even if they aren’t members. Rabia agrees that this is a good idea. Mel thinks the committee’s authority could be altered under the collective management. It is common for people to come from the public. Kathleen thinks it a good idea to have a sheet. Chris said that there is a packet for new members. It might be a little out of date. Becky suggested that Mel look at the packet and then try to boil down the information into one page and post it on the internet where the information about the Program Committee is. Mel said he would give it a try and pass it around for review.
Rebecca said often people make proposals and don’t know what the process is for either getting a show or not. She gave Josh as an example of someone who is actively volunteering has made proposals. We could review proposals and make a decision at each meeting. Chris said he does talk to people about whether or not there is an opening and lets them be on a substitute list. We could tell people that whether or not they’ll get a show it will depend on if there is an available slot. Rebecca asked if we should tell people a definitive yes or no, or maybe only accept proposals when there is an opening. Chris says he doesn’t tell people to come to the committee unless they ask about it and then it doesn’t hurt for them to come to the committee and meet people. When people ask how do I get a show, Chris says submit something in writing, not come to the meeting. Roger says why don’t you just put someone like Josh into the Hard Knock Radio slot. Rebecca said there are lots of people who want to do music But it is difficult to find people to do public affairs, it would be a format change to replace a public affairs show with a music show.
Are we communicating clearly with all the people who would like to do music shows? Chris says we don’t want to shine people on we need to be honest with them when there is not an opening. Rabia recommends hanging around and networking with other music programmers around the station. Becky said if music spots are so coveted, what about an Open Mic type slot to let people get involved. We did have something like that in the past Friday nights and it ended up being just a few people signing up for slots people. Most wanted a permanent slot. Many people who come in the door do so to get on the air. We let new volunteers know that it is hard to get on the air, there is a lot of competition. People do have to get trained and involved first.
Strategic Plan
Becky asked if this committee is going to work on the things in the Strategic Plan that relate to Programming. She said it would be useful for the board if staff or the committee reviews the section about Programming and give feedback about what won’t get done and commitments for what people will do. Rabia suggested a work group. Chris said the plan suggests major changes to things and would want to hear from the board that the direction should change. For example, the plan says there will be a survey and then program changes in 5 months. Ani said today that there is so much cynicism that people don’t buy in to making any positive steps. Per asked what the group thought about the survey the Genevieve did a couple of years ago. He thinks that was a good survey. There were some programming changes that followed that survey. Becky says that it the kind input that is needed and it seems like the committee structure is what should work. 2009 changes were made. Per said there can be several surveys, internal and external.
Rabia and Becky are both interested in a work group. Becky said she would do it as a work group or in the committee. Per will volunteer for the subgroup too. We’ll meet in the next three weeks and arrange the meeting by email including all of the committee.
Program Evaluations/Renewals
Rebecca and Daniel have recruited about a dozen volunteers to join the PET—Program Evaluation Team. The next step is to round people up and get a few classes scheduled. Per and Roger did a lot of evaluations. Old Mole, One Land Many Voices and Dirt Bag have more than one. Some just have one-- Some don’t have any--. Kathleen will send out on email the programs that still need them. She won’t have time to meeting with all of them before the pledge drive. One who has submitted a new proposal. Other shows on the list still have to submit new proposals. Rabia asked if there is a penalty for not submitting the renew. Becky said that these am shows weren’t told that they have to renew the program but in the 2 year renewal process that we sketched out before would have submitting the renewal form as the first step of renewing a show and at the end of the 3 month process some shows might “fail” the review.
Roger provided some feedback on various shows he was listening to. The shows that he heard seemed like they could have kept going on for longer.
There was a discussion of the issues of preaching to the choir, hosting debates and what type of points of view the audience likes. Should hosts be partial or impartial. Kathleen said this is an issue of controversy in our community.
PROGRAMMING MEETING MINUTES, 9 June 2009
Present:
Rabia Yeaman (chair), jamilah bourdon (secretary), Chris Merrick, Rich Lindsay, Daniel Flessas, Per Fagereng, Jenka Soderberg, Linda Olson-Osterlund, Jade Pekkala, Kathleen Stephenson, Roger Warner, Bill Resnick, Ivonne Rivero, S.W. Conser
Guests:
Ivan Green, Trillium Shannon, Judy Fiestal, Jay Thiemeyer, Mimi Villarqui, Chris Andrae, Dmae Roberts, Kevin Card, Ed Kraus, Goudarz Eghtedari
The meeting begins at 7:00 pm.
jamilah made a motion to approve the May minutes. Jade seconded. All approved. Trillium Shannon is the substitute for Kathleen while she is gone.
REPORTS:
Kathleen was going to a meeting on website design. There was also a decision-making training. She met with half the programmers, and met with more for descriptions. She was organizing a collective of people for a focus on Friday talk radio. Fridays could be looked at as a possibility for people to try out for the talk radio spot. People with proposals could also be looked at. This would be a time for 'substitute status'.
Jenka said that the drive met 75% of the goal. There was also a bequest of $60,000; with this there is a look at budget considerations for next year's drive. Because of the bequeath we went over budget on the goal. There was a capital campaign major event which occurred on the 8th of June. On the 21st of June the 'Touch Of Portland' happened; it was a fundraiser for KBOO, to help with studio upgrades. She also mentioned that there was leftover money from the field recording grant for the laptop comrex system for the blues festival. In June, the specials were on 'Israel and the misuse of anti-semitism', and the U.S. Liberty. In July there was a Village Building Convergence special.
Chris mentioned that on June 27 there was a live remote for 'No Fest', from noon-10, and that we committed to the entire blues festival, which was on 2-5 July. Pickathon was on the first week-end in August. If we could afford it there would be an ISDN hookup for the Blues festival. We could negotiate with Free Geek. The (sound) engineering team would do live set-up and audio at sites. people ideally would be mentored for this, as there is a desire to get more people involved. Tom Hood was the person heading the Blues Festival. From the 15th to the 19th of June, Chris and Ani were out of town.
There was also a discussion of having a management analysis consultation. This analyzes a business' work and goals. This person is working pro-bono, looking at the primary, secondary and tertiary work and goals- the roles of paid staff and volunteers.
Jenka mentioned that the listening session has been moved, as not enough people have signed up. Chris mentioned that staff have been working on the trainings, incorporating more critical listenings, using the Marilyn Pittman trainings, the legal class. The Spanish speaking programmers' meeting happened as well. He was looking at how the schedules were put together. How does it serve people, and where has it been placed? There was a plan for someone to appear at the July meeting.
Kathleen thought of doing pre-emptions for the talk radio strip, but Chris and Jenka advised her against it since it would have been too much, as she was getting ready to leave. The issue will be re-addressed when she returns. Linda wanted to know how much the hosts are supporting the rest of the station. Jenka presented a current grid for genres, and not specific programs. That could be viewed for advertising purposes, to capture listeners.
The question was asked, how shows fit in terms of scheduling? Will programs on the air be taken off the air? The committee has been attemting to finish the schedule due to Kathleen leaving, and meeting with the board. Jenka's suggestion was to have a music block in the afternoon, moving the Native American programming to the evening. Also, there was discussion of possibly moving the Friday Spanish programming to Tuesday, as the Friday programming has been an 'orphan'. Ivonne suggested that Spanish programming be in two chunks of two hours, and possibly from 7am to the pm. She was worried about the time being reduced for programming.
Goudarz mentioned that his show was once a month, so it has been hard to get listenership. He puts the show online as a response to this. When KBOO was able to put programs online, he ended up putting programs on the site. Chris Andrae mentioned that people like listening at a certain time; they find this type of scheduling easier, as there is thematic consistency. She thought the blocks were good.
Dmae said the grid was 'a long time coming'. She could figure out what's going on, and how we are measuring the success of these changes. She mentioned that there has been a shift of listeners calling in. When we don't know information it can hold us back. Are we doing marketing and cross-promotion to increase the visibility of the station? How does this play out into how we are connected to one another? With the grid, there is the possibility of people supporting one another.
Chris mentioned of arbitron, that we could get a sense of drive time in the morning. Arbitron is just a tool, not a deciding factor. it takes 2-3 membership drives to know that a show has moved. We also don't have the money to do a mass advertising campaign. With three drives there is no window to see how we do. What exactly is a radical change? There will be a moving around of the schedule to see what shows connect with other shows. Dmae responded by asking how we measure what is or isn't successful now. Jenka mentioned that there was the follow-up community survey back in January that has been looked at. She also mentioned that there is a website re-design happening, and was coming in July.
Conch (S.W.) was interested in the idea of promotions: a larger structure to get plugged into larger promotions. Daniel mentioned that the free music archive is helping with promotions as well. KBOO has been getting more notoriety. Dmae added that polls are a good way of getting in touch with listeners. Judy added that Marc De Giere was doing a web group on the first Thursday in July. There was also a mention that there were mock-ups on the bulletin board (of the site's design) at the station.
Judy suggested a Spanish-speaking talk show.
Bill mentioned that the grid permits program improvements and reaching out to the community. He also said he was uncomfortable with not having 'Voices Of The Middle East','Africa On Fire' and 'Radio Free Ireland' on the air.
Rabia mentioned that the web presents an opportunity to broadcast information. Jenka mentioned that part of the capital campaign's goal was to have a web-only second stream.
Ed asked what the process was for new program proposals. Jenka responded that with the timeline proposed by the committee, in the context of what is being proposed for the Fall drive, the shows should be on by then. Linda said she would like to have more training for programmers on the use of technologies.
This was the last chance for the committee to make reccomendations for the scheduling to Chris, jenka and kathleen. Monday, July 6 was when it was said there would be a new schedule. There could be an announcement of a survey during 'Hard Knock Radio'. There was a suggestion to think of social and economic dynamics, as well as mode of listening.
With talk radio, the only thing open was Friday, for auditions. Rabia asked if there was a timeline for the new schedule.
Chris made a motion to end the meeting at 10 pm; Roger seconded.
(note: at this point a schedule has been decided).
Program Committee Minutes, 14 April 2009
Present: Rabia Yeaman (chair), jamilah bourdon (secretary), Jay Bozich, S.W. Conser (Conch), Rich Lindsay, Per Fagering, Bill Resnick, Chris Merrick, Roger Warner, Bill Zimmerman, Kathleen Stephenson, Linda Olson-Osterlund
Absent: Daniel Flessas, Tony Alabi, Jade Pekkala, Reggae Bob Hamilton
Guest: ani haines
REPORTS:
Kathleen: At the staff meeting, information was shared about the NFCB conference. She is also getting ready for the membership drive, which begins on the 1st of May. There will be a May Day special on that day.
ani: The spring membership drive pitching trainings are happening in the next thirteen days; there is a need for program hosts to sign up. The 'how to pledge' thing has changed. It begins on the 16th, for two hours. On Thursday it will be from 7-9 pm, on Saturday from 12:30 to 2:30 pm and Sunday from 2-4. On Monday it will be from Noon to 2 pm. On Wednesday it will be from 3-5 pm. The staff will send out information about this.
Jenka: She had a good time at the NFCB conference. $4000 was raised at the Amy Goodman event this past week-end. Next Friday there is a special on Political Prisoners in the U.S. There is help needed for the May Day special on the 1st of May. The theme for the drive is 'Spring Into Action'.
Chris: There needs to be some sort of standardizing, in order to show a checklist to programmers, to improve upon programming. He is also working on specials for the drive.He is working with Andrew on thank-you gifts for the drive. The deadline for the guide is this Friday. The goal for each day of the drive is $8,000 a day. He stated that the programmers need to work with pitchers to generate a response from listeners. He stated that at the NFCB conference it was stated that some stations hold programmers accountable, in terms of requiring commitments. There is a mid-year budget review; this year, there is a fairly large deficit. Chris stated that he is also dealing with personnel issues. This takes up a portion of his time.
Jay Bozich discussed the turntables in the air room being altered; neither John Mackey nor Toby (Dr. Zomb) Hardman were there to present proposals or ideas. The both of them are also involved with the changes in the air room. John is looking to move the first microphone in the air room; that microphone will be moved to where the turntables are. Toby wrote a narrative of what is going on in the air room. The turntables will ultimately move higher.
John Mackey wanted to state that there are possible failures in the wires when the turntables are moved; if a wire breaks, there will be a buzz. His concern also is if the turntables are moved constantly they will be out of balance. Chris added that a microphone is being moved in front of turntables, so a deejay could just announce while at the turntables. A fourth microphone may be added later. He mentioned that the money is in the budget; the committee is just be asked to approve.
Jay continued: Toby is building the structure. Once everything is structured, it should take a couple of days during the off-hours (during public affairs, 'democracy now', etc.). John will be working on microphones. Jay and Toby are working on turntables. This change will not be happening during the drive. This change is also not going to affect the board. All the boxes and shelves on the wall will be moved to the back.
CONSENSUS: The committee has approved this project.
Bill Zimmerman asked if there was any real way to contact the board operator/engineer during public affairs. Steve Nassar has been looking into chatting with hosts on the computer.
In the Marilyn Pittman training, there was a question of the ability as a talk show host to drop a call. If there is a possibility of putting in a line selector unit, the host needs to be aware of what line is on.
------------------------------
The next programming meeting is on the 12th of May.
Jay made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:29 pm; Roger seconded.
Programming Committee Minutes – March 10, 2009
Present: Rabia Yeaman (chair), jamilah bourdon (secretary), Per Fagerang, Bill Resnick, Chris Merrick, Jenka Soderberg, Kathleen Stephenson, Roger Warner, Jade Pekkala, Linda Olson-Osterlund, Daniel Flessas, Jay Bozich, Rich Lindsay, S.W. Conser
Absent: Ivonne Rivero, Bill Zimmerman, Kevin Card (all excused)
The meeting began at 7:07 pm.
jamilah motioned to table the February minutes until next month; Roger seconded. The committee will make a commitment to read the minutes (either through e-mail or the web) before the meetings; at the meetings there will only be one copy.
REPORTS:
Kathleen talked about the training and equipment grant. People to receive the grant were finally chosen. She has been meeting with programmers about the process of the program changes. She has also been meeting with Toni about the MacKenzie River Gathering, in terms of recording their members for oral history: facilitating short interviews for memories from key people. Meetings with 'talk show' people is ongoing. The staff also had a retreat..
Jenka mentioned that over 200 people attended the training which Marilyn Pittman facilitated. The staff then discussed how to carry forward and follow-up on the training. The NFCB Conference is from April 1-4. An open house is on the 2nd at the Holocene- there will be a shuttle between KBOO and the Holocene. On April 24 there will be a political prisoner special. It is also worth re-visiting the 'Davey D-like' hip hop promo. There has not been talk about developing this local content. There has been mostly positive feedback about Hard Knock Radio, and the few negative comments were about the music in the background.
Chris mentioned that the Spring Drive was coming up, in six weeks. There is a plan to apply Marilyn Pittman's training to how we pitch. There is a possible plan to look at more programmer involvement in pitching.
REPORT ON MORNING PUBLIC AFFAIRS SWITCHES
The 9:00 am to 12:00 noon program changes were implemented on the 2nd of March. There are more attempts to work on the flow of the programming. The changes that happened are as followed:
-9:00 –10:00 am (this is a strip oriented around the political)
-Monday- Old Mole Variety Hour
-Tuesday- To Be Announced
-Wednesday- Alternative Radio
-Thursday- Presswatch
-Friday- APA Compass/Veterans' Voice/One Land, Many Voices
-At 10:00 am, Air Cascadia comes on, instead of 11:00.
The idea is to connect arts and performance on the same day, in order to have less patchwork, and more categorical scheduling.
MARILYN PITTMAN FOLLOW-UP
In terms of the Marilyn Pittman training, there were mostly good things to say about the experiences from the committee. Conch (S.W.) mentioned that it helped him make more conscious listening in terms of what does and does not work. He found through this experience that things can be problematic in even good work. Bill said that the second half of the training (listening to air checks) was helpful. There was a point made that there were tips to be stronger, and more critical and constructive- be more direct!
Linda mentioned that the most interesting aspect was the critical listening part. Be friendly about critiques. There is always something good in an air check; the point is to get better, and to "be in it together to produce better radio". These trainings have also made her re-think the detailed checklist that's been developed. She asked if there will be a follow-up questionnaire/feedback at the end of the training; questions such as if people would do it again, and what they got out of it. Chris responded that there will be a critique of Marilyn's performance.
A few of the critiques:
Bill mentioned that in some ways her training was asking everyone to be like her. Daniel countered that, mentioning that she wanted more coming from us; not necessarily wanting us to be like her. She wanted us to be more aggressive. She emphasized that we should let go of the outcome. Per mentioned that there was an issue of form v. content. If you prepare a set of questions, what happens when the interview takes another turn? Conch responded that the training discussed the freedom to 'riff' on the questions; the questions are a base, and should not be set in stone. Rabia said that the trainings were beneficial for all of the programmers. It also shows that KBOO is serious about improving the quality and sound of the programming.
Kathleen made a suggestion that there be revisions to the form, now that we have had these trainings.
EVALUATIONS OF MORNING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Chris asked if there was going to be a list next month of compelling/non-compelling shows. There will be a retreat on the 24th of this month- it will be an evaluation meeting. Rabia mentioned it will be a self-critiquing of the current evaluative method, as well as listening to new proposals. Kathleen volunteered to make a checklist based on things that were dominant in Marilyn's discussions. She also mentioned that she learned a lot how to listen to people through the trainings. We could use this as a guideline. Rabia asked if all the programmers have been counseled; and Linda asked if all the programmers have been spoken to in terms of the changes. Kathleen responded that programmers have been informed, but some are more receptive than others.
Per suggested that for the evaluations, instead of doing them minute by minute, just look at what 'jumps out' at you, then do a general evaluation. Linda said that this session is to train ourselves to listen; the best thing is to only evaluate about 10 shows for quality, not necessarily listening in order to cut shows. Kathleen mentioned that the priority should be on shows that are on more often: once a week (or once a day). Bill said that we should make a 'semi-informed choice' on which shows are chosen for the evaluations. Rabia suggested that two of the most recent recordings of the shows be evaluated, in order to be fair to everyone.
Committee members will listen to one show, and bring the evaluation of that show to the meeting on the 24th.
SOLICITING NEW PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROPOSALS
In the conversation on getting more proposals, there was a suggestion to utilize the web (Myspace, etc.) to get new proposals. jamilah will make an announcement to be aired. Per asked which community we are speaking to for these proposals? What do people need to do to go out and get proposals? One suggestion that was made was to make flyers; Jenka already made some in relation to getting a local 'Hard Knock'-type show on the air. Chris said that he gets 1-2 cold proposals per week, but it is usually a proposal for something that already exists on the air. Exactly which community needs are not being addressed? What are we looking for? Kathleen mentioned that there used to be an 'internship program': a place on the radio where people could try out their skills. With this, there is a development of people from a general level, in order to train people for the air.
Kathleen will also be gone on a sabbatical for three months beginning in May; there needs to be a temporary replacement for her.
SPRING MEMBERSHIP DRIVERSHIP DRIVE
Chris stated that the Spring Drive was from May 1-16. If we are going to catch up on the deficit, we must go over the goal (which is $115, 000 this time). Andrew and ani are looking at re-training programmers for pitching for their own shows. This is different from simply getting 'people who pitch good'. There is an action to look into getting an on-air coordinator: a supervisor for the pitchers and hosts; and a 'table person' who deals with the phones and paperwork. Linda then mentioned that we ought to do a better job with the table. We should make it consistent with getting the money in. We should get the focus to be more on the show, as opposed to gossiping around the table. Bill responded that in these lulls around the table, he's had experiences in contacting lapsed members. Chris then responded that more work needs to be done in order to make the drive successful. Various distractions (such as the NFCB conference) exist, therefore that the
drive cannot get the complete attention it should. Chris also asked about specials that should air during the drive. Bill suggested there be a May Day special, with an emphasis on the economy. He also suggested there be marching bands, guests who are international workers, and a street party, with mass singing of songs from a 'radical songbook'.
SEGUES/COMMUNITY CALENDAR/I.R. SPOTS – HOW TO USE THEM
Chris mentioned that there are programmers who think that the segues/community calendar/etc. get in the way of their shows. Jay made the suggestion of seeing if the listeners need the calendar; in terms of this evaluation we could also do this with the calendar. Rabia stated that we should enforce the policy of 'less personality' in the community calendar, and more announcing. Jenka suggested we do training on how to do promos and the community calendar. Chris then suggested there be a 'tip sheet' for training, on how to get in and out of shows.
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS (By board request)
The board, during the staff/board retreat, made a request for all the committees to follow the 'decision making process proposal'. There will be a decision made at the April board meeting after feedback from the committees about the process and decisions to follow this process of consensus, which basically follows 'Robert's Rules'.
Chris made a motion to end the meeting at 9:28 pm; Roger seconded.
Program Committee Minutes, 10 February 2009
Present: Roger Warner (vice chair), jamilah bourdon (secretary), Rich Lindsay, Bill Zimmerman, Jade Pekkala, Kathleen Stephenson, Per Fagereng, Kevin Card, Chris Merrick, S.W. Conser, Daniel Flessas, Jay Bozich
Absent: Jenka Soderberg (excused), Rabia Yeaman (excused), Tony Alabi, Ivonne Rivero, Linda Olson-Osterlund, Bill Resnick, Bob Hamilton
Guests: Stephanie Potter, Scott Forrester, Chris Andrae
The meeting began at 7:04.
REPORTS:
Chris stated that he is working on a number of big projects. The board is giving the committee projects to follow up on, such as a re-training on how to do radio. On Sunday, the 8th of March there is going to be a 24-hour special for International Women's Day. For 4-5 days in April the NFCB conference is happening. There is a 30-40% discount by February 20th (the 'early bird discount'). The Winter pledge drive reached $34,000. Most days did well. There is a slightly higher percentage of new members, as well as the highest percentage of online pledges. From April 30- May 16, there is going to be an 18-day drive. The goal is for $115-125,000.
Kathleen stated that the time was filled with dealing with the membership drive. Chris did a lot more for the MLK and inauguration specials. She also took the last week and a day off. The upcoming specials are the homelessness marathon (4pm February 23rd to 6 am on the 24th). The focus is on people of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, namely, the people still reeling from hurricane Katrina. There is work to do a better job of pre-emptions, in terms of specials like this. There is another challenge in terms of International Women's day; there was lateness around organizing for that day. This is also the day Marilyn Pittman is here.
Chris stated that a focus for the program changes deadline is for July-December. The hope is that things will be smoothed out by then. We also have to work around the membership drives for the program changes. If the drive is in May, we have to have new programs on by June the 1st, so the new programs an be known by the September drive. We also have ot get work done by the time Kathleen takes her sabbatical.
There is a $20,000 grant in order for Marilyn Pittman to do a training for 175 people in 5 days. Some of the funds from this grant also go to administrative overhead. During this training there is a party on the 7th of March. The basis for the training is: Techniques on how to produce and present radio. There was a question asking why Ms. Pittman was the one chosen to do the training. The response is that she has been highly reccomended and is experienced with community radio. Chris will discuss with Arthur about getting Marilyn's programming on the website, so the membership could hear. Ms. Pittman will also hear some of the programming on KBOO. Chris' suggestion is to talk the training up and make it a positive thing; to learn radio from somebody outside of KBOO. The trainings will most likely be first come, first served. It may not be at the station, in order to accommodate everyone. Information will come soon about volunteers signing up.
Kathleen presented a 'Logic for the proposed grid for Public Affairs'. She looked at a 'focus group' asking how thy listened to radio. People relied on the political//public affairs programming, then tuned out when there was 'arts & culture' programming. The 'radio zine' by default, is what we have today, and there is not much thought behind it. Kathleen said that it would be of benefit for listeners to have a 'political strip'. 'Community' or 'how-to' programming would be later in the day, around 11 a.m. She also stated that the goal is to look at what we have. The next step is to evaluate it. The deadline in March is the first step.
Chris has also been speaking to programmers about the changes, and those who have responded have essentially supported Kathleen's proposal. Stephanie and Chris Andrae (who attended the meeting) supported Kathleen as well. Chris Andrae was also looking at ways to obtain money to look at market trends and content. She is looking at KBOO to lead, as opposed to following trends. Kathleen responded that part of the grant money requires Chris, Jenka and herself staying home and listening to the programming. $20,000 is the full amount of the grant, and not the full amount going to Ms. Pittman.
jamilah made a motion to support Kathleen in implementing the proposal she has set. Kevin seconded. All were in favor. The true work of the proposal begins in March, and we have until April 30th to heavily promote it.
In a discussion about pre-emptions, Chris asked that if a person has not been notified of a pre-emption within a certain amount of time, does a programmer still have the right to still be on the air as originally planned? He also noted that specials should be announced within a month in advance, and most definitely, immediately after the program guide lists the special. Conch (S.W.) makes a mention of common courtesy- notifying others about the changes. Scott made a suggestion to have notation on recurring specials that require pre-emption, as well as a location to list future pre-emptions; and a contact for programmers.
Chris noted that there was a staff meeting where they discussed improving the process with on-air staff about who confirms pre-emptions. Kathleen mentioned she was hoping to make a calendar of regular pre-emption times, as a reminder for staff. Chris noted that membership drives were also opportunities for pre-emptions. Scott suggested that comments and ideas be taken from members for special programming; keep the communication open between staff, programmers and members.
Kevin suggested the committee listen to one particular program in order for there to be a consensus. The committee will bring this back to Jenka in the next meeting. Kathleen agreed, emphasizing that it is important that a 'common group of shows that everyone has listened to' be discussed. Scott reiterated Daniel's point of placing the shows on the web page to discuss which ones are being discussed, to promote transparency. Kathleen and others mentioned the difficulty to get all the content on the web, due to copyright issues with music.
The committee looks for all of this to be implemented by next month. Kathleen and Chris will bring all of this back to Jenka.
Roger made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 p.m.; Per seconded.
13 January 2009, Programming Committee Minutes
Present: Rabia Yeaman (chair), jamilah bourdon (secretary), Chris Merrick, Jay Bozich, Linda Olson-Osterlund, Per Fagereng, Ivonne Rivero, Jade Pekkala, Kathleen Stephenson, Roger Warner, Tony Alabi, Bill Resnick, Bill Zimmerman, Rich Lindsay, Jenka Soderberg, S.W. Conser
Absent: Kevin Card (excused), Daniel Flessas (excused), Bob Hamilton
Guests: Scott Forrester, Shireen Farrahi, Bobbie Carrie
The meeting began at 7:04 pm.
REPORTS:
Chris stated that the MLK special is coming up; production will be from 11-7pm on Monday. The Winter drive will be from January 26-31. The goal is $50,000- about $8,000 a day. This is to make up for some of the loss from the Fall drive, and to look to the Spring drive. With the Winter drive, the Spring and Fall drives will be shorter. There will also be fewer specials and thank you gifts, and more emphasis on programmers. The goal of the Spring drive will be 14-17 days long. There will be more training for pitchers for the Spring drive. There are sign up sheets for volunteering for the drive out front in the hallway.
The NFCB conference will be from April 1-4. There will be various workshops on management, engineering, etc. There is an expectation of 200-250 people at the conference. There will be an live electronica special at the Holocene. The deadline for the February guide is Friday, the 16th of January. There will be some public affairs and music specials for 'BLack History Month'. International Womens' Day is in March, as well as the Homelessness marathon.
Jenka stated that from 7 am to 7 pm, Tuesday the 20th is the 'inauguration special'. On January the 26th is a teach-in on the economic crisis, and alternatives. There are still spaces to contribute to specials. On the 28th, there is a special on 'shifting gears for a carbon-free future'. On Friday the 30th from 8 am to noon: Sustainable Cities. The drive specials are tentatively themed 'new beginnings'. The board/staff retreat next month (on the 21st of February) will happen to see whether things can be more effective for everyone.
In April there will be a mandatory training for on-air programming excellence. This is part of a grant for evaluations of programming. An action item for jamilah was to speak with Marc about getting the programming notes on the web.
Linda made a motion to approve the minutes; Per seconded. Ivonne abstained amongst an otherwise unanimous vote. Rabia mentioned that new proposals were accepted all the time.
In the public comments, Scott Forrester stated that one of his platforms for running for the KBOO board was to stop programming changes until we figure out where we are going as a station. He stated that we do not have a vision, and mentioned that we are tossing older people "to the curb". He stated that the changes we are doing are not intelligent. We are changing the parts without realizing the vision/strategy. He stated that we should "consider no new changes." We should also stimulate conversation of our process on the radio. He also noted that people in Pendleton gathered together $5500 in less than a week, so they could have access to KBOO.
Bobbie Carrie and Shireen Farrahi represented the Cascade Festival of African Films. KBOO will be a sponsor for the 10th year. There will be film-makers coming to Portland; they are here in the States, and will be available for interviews. They stated that there was complete contact information, etc., on the organization's website.
Conch (S.W.) asked about getting information about documents from NFCB and other sources like listener responses, in response to Scott's concerns.
There was a reiteration of the difficulty in describing why a show is good. We have identified as a group the criteria of what makes a show sound good. What is the difference between a host sounding prepared, and not? Jenka developed a spreadsheet with a scoring criteria. It was stated that aside from the criteria listed, there should also be a category for program proposals on the spreadsheet. Rabia stated that we needed to further define the meanings of of the criteria, e.g. 'preparedness': What specifically does that mean?
CRITERIA: Public Affairs
-Preparation
*Host knows guest name and organization.
*Questions>topic & specific- not all broad and open-ended- knowledgeable on opposing points of view
*Runsheet
*Emergency back-up content
*On time for show, and ends on time: arrive 15 minutes early.
*Prepared introduction
*Host gives contacts and references
-Presentation
*Host announces show following theirs; mentions website/'join now'
*Flow:
Pacing/Substance
*Intro------------------------------------Conclusion