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The Gift of the Krumkake

2011-12-26T18:15:00.019-05:00

A wonderful thing about traditions is they can help you rekindle good things that deserve to be repeated, especially in showing others that you care.

When I first came to Pittsburgh in 1995, I found the city filled with kind people, civil driving, and a staff at WDUQ that tended to be the generous, gift-exchanging kind of folk.

For the early years, when we were fewer in number, as I was the General Manager, I would try to find special gifts like books and things. But, over time, as the years passed and the station grew, I ran out of book ideas unique enough for a burgeoning staff. There were only so many editions of “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” after all.

So, food became the next thing to share. Cub Scout Popcorn, given my association with all of that. Then, as my sons moved on to adulthood, what next?

Little did I realize that a longstanding Hanley family tradition was in need of extending.

For decades, my mother had made Krumkake. A not-widely known Norwegian rolled cookie. Owing to my mother’s Danish heritage, she had taken up making this cookie as her primary holiday baking activity back in the 70’s. It uses a lot of eggs and butter, and has some special features.

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Krumkake

A Scandinavian Christmas cookie from the Danish side of the family

3 well beaten eggs

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c butter

1/2 c flour

1 teaspoon extract of choice (I use vanilla and almond)

You melt the butter, blend it all together and bake it on a special iron (from Norway, of course!). Roll and let cool.

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For years, my mother had used a single iron that was placed over a stovetop burner. While the cookie you make and then roll was perfectly round in this iron, it was also very time consuming and less than perfect at keeping precise heating.

Later, my mother bought an “electric” two-sided iron. Instead of one cookie every 90 seconds, you could make two!

(wonder of wonders, I found one of my own in Pittsburgh at Wholey’s in the strip!)

The “roll and let it cool” part is what gets you. Despite what you may see online (and in the box of my electric krumkake iron), the wooden roller is not something we’ve ever used.

Instead, you take the hot baked cookie off the iron, put it down on a counter and quickly and with some danger, roll the cookie by hand. Or should I say, by fingertips!

As cookies go, this recipe uses a LOT of eggs and butter. The batch I show here was using 9 eggs and three sticks of butter. And that cookie, when it comes off the iron, is HOT!

They can be served with whipped cream, sprinkled powdered sugar or just plain as is. I have seen variations, like the mix of flour doubled up, which makes for a doughier cookie, but this is the recipe I’ve settled on.

One trial effort this year, from Laura’s suggestion, was to take an unrolled cookie and use those tiny SOLBRÄND plastic bowls from Ikea to make a tasty pastry bowl out of the new shape.

More testing to be done…but whipped cream, ice cream, fruit – it is all good.

Krumkake is what I started to share with my “family” at WDUQ. Hundreds of cookies, a dozen or two at a time. Many plastic containers, carefully packed with festive paper towel wrapping.

That was a few years ago, also around the same time that my mother was no longer able to make these cookies, so it has been good to keep the tradition going. And share them with my mother, father and their neighbors, too.

Like my mother before me, December is now a month where eggs and butter fill the fridge, the smells of melting butter and vaporizing almond and vanilla extract fills the air. I even taught my youngest son, Jon, how to make them.

This year, with WDUQ gone, I’m not making quite so many cookies, but still in the hundreds. I’ve managed to go through several dozen eggs, share Krumkake with friends and family in Pittsburgh, Washington, DC, California and Michigan.

I don’t plan on letting the tradition fade anytime soon.

All the best of great food, friends, family and the holidays to you now and every day.

What a difference five years makes

2011-11-16T09:18:00.007-05:00

More changes are coming in the online space, but this is a good indication of how where you stand is not where you are going.

Today, a story about the shift the past 5 years toward mobile and iOS (iPhone/iPad, etc) devices. The media site Talking Points Memo has put up the statistics on who looks at their content and from what kind of operating system. Windows has dropped a lot. Mobile devices are booming.

And 3/4 of mobile "views" are on iOS (apple-ish) devices.

Putting it all together:
"So give or take, around 40% of the visits to TPM come from computer s or devices that use an operating system built by Apple. Compare that to 20% only 5 years ago."

As I recall, 5 years ago, I had a Palm TREO, which I thought was quite the device. Today, an iPhone 4s, which is a remarkable phone and computer that is also made of beautiful but very slippery glass. I still own a powerful Windows computer which I hardly fire up at all any more.

Anecdote is not data, but things are changing. Thing is, they always have been changing. The next five years will have a new story, to be sure.

Believe in Spring - Thanks, Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

On my facebook page (and on twitter) on August 25, 2011, I posted a special NPR story and marvelous video of the 2005 Reed College Commencement address from a very nice Bob Boilen blog about Steve Jobs. It was the week of the announcement of Steve Jobs' retirement from Apple, and Bob Boilen, who chronicles interesting music for NPR, was taking special note of how Jobs had changed the way that we listen to music.

Steve Jobs was born not too many years before me and his perspectives on life, challenges and living are valuable to me. His vision and persistence (even if wrong or "right" too early), too.

The Reed College Commencement speech at Stanford is a wise investment of 15 minutes.

When I got the news of Steve Jobs passing tonight (Ocober 5, 2011) I sent a message to my eldest son (who works for Apple), later we chatted. When the call was over, up fades my audio on my iPhone. I hear the last bit of a "THIS WEEK IN TECH" podcast....

up next in queue in my iphone/ipod, Bill Evans/Tony Bennett:

When lonely feelings chill the meadows of your mind,
just think, if winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Beneath the deepest snows, the secret of a rose
is merely that it knows you must believe in Spring!

Just as a tree is sure its leaves will reappear,
it knows its emptiness is just a time a year,
the frozen mountain dreams of April's melting streams,
how crystal clear it seems, you must believe in Spring!

You must believe in love and trust it's on its way,
just as the sleeping rose awaits the kiss of May,
so in a world of snow, of things that come and go,
where what you think you know, you can't be certain of,
you must believe in Spring and Love.

YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SPRING 1968
     Lyrics by: Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman
     Music by: Michel LeGrand

Steve Jobs had ups and downs in his life, in his career, many springs in the cycle of seasons.   He made a difference, as we all can in our own way.

To change the way we listen, to encourage us to listen - and for so much more -

Thanks, Steve.

The Kind Recognition of Your Peers

2011-07-31T20:36:00.050-04:00

In May and July of 2011, some last bits of tribute were paid to the first public radio station in Pittsburgh. Before this is all-too-distant memory, I thought it a good idea to share those awards.

May 9, 2011

At the Press Association of Western Pennsylvania 2011 Golden Quill Awards, WDUQ received the "Service to Journalism" award.

The award was in recognition of the entire staff of WDUQ throughout its almost 62 year history. I was asked to say a few words on May 9. Circumstance truncated their delivery, but here they are in full:

The radio act of 1927 charged broadcasters serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity." It was the privilege of the staff of WDUQ to serve as the steward for this rare and valuable treasure for the city and the citizens that mean so much to us.

In 1946, Father Joseph Lauritis founded the journalism department at Duquesne, following up a few years later with this FM Radio experiment, at a time when pretty much no one had an FM Radio.

December 1949, Duquesne University's President, the very reverend Francis P. Smith said, "the university feels privileged to act as the instrument for educational radio in the Pittsburgh area. It looks upon this activity as a high responsibility to the community it serves."

December 15, 1949. So began the service to this community of WDUQ-FM. From then until now, there were just a handful of managers (not counting "interim"). Father Lauritis, B. Kendall Crane and Ken Duffy; Judy Jankowski and me. 61 years - that spans the earliest days of public radio, to the founding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR. At the time I left WDUQ in 2011 - nearly 200,000 listeners in Pittsburgh, about 30 million NPR listeners, nationwide.

Through all of that time, WDUQ continued to not just be a part of the public broadcasting community, but of the community of PITTSBURGH journalists and broadcasters, of citizens and participants in one of the most storied and vibrant media and journalism communities in the nation. Not just aligned with public radio, but with the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the Pittsburgh Radio Organization and the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and with scores of community institutions and organizations. Hundreds of students, full-time professionals and volunteers passed through our hallways and on the airwaves.

As this honor you bestow on WDUQ tonight pays tribute to the contributions of WDUQ toward journalism, I must make note of our longest-standing employee and stalwart promoter of journalism ethics and civic engagement. WDUQ News Director Kevin Gavin. Kevin has been the guide for our telling of Pittsburgh's story on public radio since not long after NPR came to be. Starting as a student himself, Kevin has instilled the ethics and inquiry of journalism into the DNA of 90.5FM and into the minds and ideals of WDUQ's staff, plus of hundreds of students at Duquesne University, many of whom are still active as journalists.

Please accept my gratitude for this honor on behalf of Kevin Gavin, Mark Nootbaar, John Boyle, Alexandria Chaklos, Larkin Page-Jacobs, Erika Beras, Bob Studebaker, Tony Mowod, Helen Wigger, Fred Serino, Vicky Rumpf, Mary Lloyd, Bob Addleman, Nancy Wood, Mark Bertolet, Chuck Leavens, Bee Barnett, Mike Plaskett, Mark Yacovone, John Johnson, Shaunna Machosky, Joan Swanson, Sean Dougherty, and so many, many more.

It is with humility and great appreciation on behalf of all of those involved with WDUQ since 1949 that we say "thank you."

July 13, 2011

The Public Radio Regional Organization "PRRO" Award, granted to Scott Hanley, July 13, 2011.

The PRRO award was a total surprise to me, presented at a national conference for all of public radio which just happened to be held in Pittsburgh this year. The Award was delivered just before the NPR Annual Meeting on July 13, which just happens to be my birthday.

As it was a total surprise, I had nothing prepared to say but did share my great appreciation for recognition by my colleagues and peers.

But here are the remarks from the presenter that day:

Thank you…. Good afternoon, I’m Christina Kuzmych, President of Public Radio in Mid-America, and General Manager of Wyoming Public Radio.

I’d like to ask my fellow Regional Presidents to join me in presenting the PRRO Award.
· Jeanne Fisher, Eastern Region Public Media,
· Paul Stankavich, Western States Public Radio,
· Frank Lanzone, California Public Radio,
· Georgette Bronfman, President, PRRO

Each year the Regional Organizations present the PRRO award.
It given to an individual whose work has contributed significantly to the health and growth of Public Radio.

This year’s Award is a beautifully restored AM broadcast Bendix radio dating from 1946, with a built- in loop antenna, and sculpted wood cabinet.

The PRRO award honors the “unsung heroes” of public radio – the ones who often work behind the scenes, who move our industry forward-- and who deserve recognition from the system.

This year’s recipient can be called a “Renaissance Broadcaster” – an individual who is equally at home in programming, production, engineering, digital technology, fundraising, administration, teaching, governance, and whose work cuts across all radio formats of news, music, and public affairs.

Our recipient trained to be a singer, but soon embraced radio and made it into a lifelong journey and passion.

Our recipient is an innovator, an instigator, and an implementer.
All of us gathered here today have benefited directly from this individual’s work.

Our recipient was
· Twice elected to the NPR Board
· Served as Chair of the NPR Distribution/Interconnection Committee, and helped launch Content Depot .
· Served on the National Radio Systems Committee of the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association.
· Was Co-founder of Jazzworks, the 24-hour jazz service used by many stations
· Mentored hundreds of public radio professionals
· And, combining singing, radio, and technical experience, our recipient was instrumental in producing the yearly PRC Talent Shows, remembered so fondly by many managers.

Our recipient often shared ideas with managers and shaped our thinking. Here’s an example: [quote]
“It has been remarkable to see us grow from a shy, humble, striving and earnest enterprise into a massively influential media movement.
But I fear that we have bought into some of our own hype and the hype heaped upon us. We should still be earnest. We should still be striving. We should still be humble. We aspire to do great things – but we should be very wary of the hubris of believing that it is all about us.
[It’s not.]
It is about Mission, Stewardship. Service."

It's our pleasure to introduce this year's PRRO award recipient – [who is also celebrating his birthday today]

And his name is...Scott Hanley!

And there, in a lower level conference room at the William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, applause and even the singing of "happy birthday." It was a moving experience for which I remain humbled and thankful.

In 1995, President John Murray and Provost Michael Weber hired me to do a job which I was honored to perform, with people who cared about their craft, their art, their service, their listeners, the public and each other. A community grew around that service that came to trust and believe in WDUQ, even in some controversial and challenging times.

Sometimes, you get to do the good and right things because they are good and right things. Sometimes, you have to grow and evolve in times of challenge and change. In leading a fulfilling life, I believe it isn’t just what you do, but how you do it and whom you get to do it with.

To receive two marvelous nods of acknowledgement for the legacy of WDUQ this year means the world to me.

Happy Flag Day

2011-06-14T22:54:00.013-04:00

For some reason, flag day has about 87 occurrences on my iPhone today. There is some conflict with iCal, Mobile me (don't get me started) and things that go back to my Palm Treo and maybe even the Palm Tungsten T3...

But with all of those "Flag Day" flags, I nearly let the day go without noting it.

To that end, I turn to the Downtown Detroit Hudson's department store of my youth. It was the a guaranteed visit for Mom and me. We went every Thursday after getting parts at Westinghouse for my Dad's business (at least before I was old enough for school). The Mickey Mouse Sundae with the meringue shell collar and the chocolate wafer cookies was a winner. The televisions in that store were where we learned that JFK had been shot.

And Flag Day? Hudson's had that covered.

A day to salute the symbol of our national aspirations.

Happy Flag Day!

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish*

2011-04-13T22:07:00.023-04:00

Douglas Adams. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Thanks to my time in public radio, I got to meet and interview him in 1982. My time in public radio has offered me many great opportunities to meet, interview and engage with a lot of remarkable people. Authors, artists, politicians, business leaders, trouble-makers and problem solvers.

From a cowboy who was also a pilot in the Berlin airlift who lived in the Big Thicket of Texas to presidents of the United States. Public radio gave me the privilege to meet people, hear and share stories, move hearts and (sometimes) change minds.

As I finish out my last official day with WDUQ FM, I'm thinking about the past 30 years.

I leave enriched by my 16 years at WDUQ, so proud of the work I and my staff, our volunteers and listeners did, together. But, it's time.

This is not unlike the "walk away" I did as an active musical performer. Those parts of your life are always a part of your life. But life is not static. It moves. It evolves. It changes. Sometimes, when you find it repeating itself, perhaps that's a good time to seek a new perspective.

In going through old clippings, I came across some things from my first months at WDUQ in Pittsburgh in 1995.

I came in to WDUQ at the same time as the "class of 1994," when the U.S. House and Senate flipped from total control from Democrats to total control by Republicans.

Important work, treasured colleagues, conflicts and change to adapt to. It was always thus.

I have deep concerns about the NPR, the stations, the industry that I am leaving.

But as I'm still on the WDUQ payroll for a few more hours, I will still say "we."

It has been remarkable to see us grow from a shy, humble, striving and earnest enterprise into a massively influential media movement. But I fear we have bought into some of our own hype and hype heaped upon us.

We should still be earnest. We should still be striving. We should still be humble. We aspire to do great things - but we should be very wary of the hubris of believing it is about us.

It is about mission. Stewardship. Service. Otherwise, we (NPR) are just a modest sized media company that happens to file a 990.

Over the past decade, there was great fretting about how NPR was not a digital company - that people of our experience and age could only "speak digital with an accent."

I think the greater concern is having leadership that is not fully immersed in the values and vision of NPR and public media.

We cannot afford to "speak mission with an accent."

So, I wish all my colleagues in public radio the very best, encourage everyone to think about mission most of all. The devices we use to connect to our listeners and our communities are not as important as the connections themselves. And the connections are between people.

To my "family" at WDUQ, you were and are the best at the mission of public service and broadcasting I could have ever had the privilege to spend a third of my life with. You will always be in my thoughts and in my heart.

* The title of the 4th book in the increasingly inaccurately titled trilogy "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. This was also a phrase first attributed to dolphins in the late 1970's BBC radioplay that started it all. It has to do with grateful porpoises and their departing good wishes as they ducked out before the earth was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. When I met Douglas Adams, he was embarking on a book tour upon the release of the first of the comic novels derived from the radioplays. He was very tall and had a lot of hair back then. I was not tall, but also had hair at the time.

The books have a cheerier ending than the radioplay.

The balance between silicon and carbon

2010-07-28T23:03:00.006-04:00

This past month or so has been really busy.

The future of my workplace has been in flux

My parents' health, a concern

And in the midst of it all, I witnessed an amazing confluence of things digital (silicon) and living (carbon).

About halfway through the May pledge drive for my station, WDUQ, Pittsburgh (a very important pledge drive), my father suffered a heart attack at his home in Ann Arbor. His neighbors leaped in to help and got him to the hospital, for which I am immensely grateful. Good neighbors are a wonderful thing.

Tuesday, May 26, I had put in a very long day at work and headed home for a hoped for 4 hours of sleep. Instead, it was off to Ann Arbor.

My Dad was not in immediate danger and resting. Wednesday was a day of tests and waiting. And waiting. And waiting. The news was that my father was going to need aortic valve replacement surgery and some heart bypass work. But as we were coming up on the Memorial Day weekend, probably not until the Tuesday of the next week.

Digital Guests

A couple of years ago, as my visits to my parents increased, I had installed wireless DSL at the house. Last year, I upgraded from my old Palm Treo to an iPhone 3GS.

Oh - and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor has free Wifi.

All this plays into how I was able to be a part of the ongoing dynamic of a very important WDUQ pledge drive while 280 miles away tending to very important family business.

Almost Live

While I was with my father and often waiting, the outstanding staff and volunteers of WDUQ continued to do a great job in gaining listener support for this important one-week membership campaign.

Having wireless at my father's house and the hospital and an iPhone in my pocket, I was able to listen in to the pledge drive from Ann Arbor when I had a moment. Remote computer viewing software allowed me to see the impressive progress toward (and past) on-air fundraising goals. But being 280 miles away, while I could observe and call and e-mail back to Pittsburgh, I couldn't be in the drive.

If you ever listen to WDUQ pledge drives, you may notice that they are the one time you hear me, Scott Hanley, on the radio a lot. I used to be a journalist, a producer, am an occasionally a disc jockey. But my real job is mostly making sure that other broadcasters are given the resources, tools and time to do their work as journalists, producers and disc jockeys.

During a pledge drive, you might hear me make extemporaneous "pitches" about anything from the history of WDUQ and public radio, to my time as a member of the NPR board, the importance of independent journalism and more. Mostly, those little spoken "essays" happen as they happen. Occasionally, there are some that get recorded and played at times when I might not be there. But they are most often "in the moment," suitable for a particular instant of the pledge drive or related to timely events of the day.

With me being in Ann Arbor, WDUQ staff could play my messages that were recorded earlier, but serendipitous statements couldn't be. I wasn't there.

There are things that only the General Manager can say - and the message changes over the drive.

And I was waiting. A lot.

Waiting Room

Wednesday, my first full night in Ann Arbor, I pondered what to do from my father's quiet livingroom. With the newish iPhone, I had become impressed with the voice memo application and the microphone implementation with it.

So, in that quiet livingroom, with a decent digital recorder (the iPhone) from my pocket, I gave it a try.

The quality is not as good as the ElectroVoice RE20's we rely on at WDUQ, but the timeliness of the message seemed to outweigh the loss of fidelity.

I used my laptop to send the file back to WDUQ and hoped they could make it work. WDUQ operates a high level digital audio system (ENCO DAD) which Helen Wigger and Chuck Leavens helped make sure the new almost live "spot" could be played on the air.

It worked (you can hear it, here). I was able to spend a lot of time with my Dad and still be a part of my Pittsburgh "family" of listeners and WDUQ staff and volunteers. When I could, I recorded a few messages (one aired within minutes of my recording it). Done on an iPhone and over the Internet.

Based on the surgeon's advice, I headed back to Pittsburgh late Thursday night for a super-quick visit to take care of a few things - and participate in the last hours of the pledge drive - before heading back to Michigan with reinforcements for the weekend.

With my Dad's condition evolving, I was leery of sharing this story. But even when he was in the hospital, he got a kick out of how I was able to be with him and also take care of important things with WDUQ.

Saturday morning of that Memorial Day weekend (not the next Tuesday), I was back in Ann Arbor as my Dad went in for his open heart surgery earlier than expected. Now, eight weeks later, he is home and recovering remarkably well.

My WDUQ family is waiting and looking toward the future - but the most successful May on-air campaign, ever, certainly makes for a better prognosis, too.

So, like I've written before, people matter more than technology. But technology can help with people and things you care about. And friends, neighbors, family and outstanding colleagues are really important.

Remembering Daniel Schorr

2010-07-23T23:05:00.006-04:00

The passing, today, of Daniel Schorr at the age of 93 is a time for appreciation, sadness and remembering.

I met Mr. Schorr a few times over the past many years, but it was more likely from my getting into a cab that he was getting out of at 635 Massachusetts Ave, NW (NPR headquarters). Still, it was a pleasure to be in his presence, and it was always a comfort to hear him on the air.

I wrote an essay for Daniel Schorr's appearance at the 3 Rivers (now Drue Heinz) Lecture Series in Pittsburgh back in 1999. I can't find the file (it was done in WordPerfect), but it was an overview of his remarkable career, plus my observation about one of my favorite parts of his interactions with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday.

Scott, an ardent sports fan, would always ask Mr. Schorr his opinion on who was likely to win the major sports event coming up in the days ahead. I always found it amusing, since Daniel Schorr was not going to be especially up on the latest achievements of Kordell Stewart or any other sports figure of then or any time. Daniel Schorr was much more concerned about more serious things.

This was the only time he was less than prepared to address a topic. Still, Mr. Schorr was always a good sport about it.

Thinking of his career of the pursuit of the facts and larger truths, I can only cringe at the latest "journalistic" efforts of the week regarding USDA official Shirley Sherrod. Although Daniel Schorr had acquired a Twitter account, speed was not the goal of his work. Accuracy and perspective was.

So, as we mourn the loss of Daniel Schorr, I hope we recognize that his thoughtful approach to seek truth and speak it is something that is always at risk. Mr. Schorr, on more than one occasion, risked his career to maintain his integrity.

Mr. Schorr finished his storied career with many years at NPR. I and many of my colleagues will, I am sure, do our best to see to it that the path for Daniel Schorr's kind of journalism still has a successful home and place in Public Radio and all the kinds of public media still to come.

Why does WDUQ do News AND Jazz programming?

2010-05-21T15:07:00.009-04:00

In my current job as General Manager of WDUQ in Pittsburgh, the question gets posed as to why WDUQ does news and jazz programming - and not news and talk programming.

(it should be noted that the question of "why do you do so much news?" also gets asked).

First, an important point to start. WDUQ's listenership is large has been growing. The metro audience for the station is at a record high and that has been the case for several years.

The implementation of a new audience measurement method from Arbitron, called the "People Meter," has given all of radio more precise information than ever before.

In March 2010, WDUQ-FM was measured as having 180,500 total listeners per week, the #13 station in the Pittsburgh market with a 3 share. This is ahead of the other fine public radio stations in Pittsburgh, WQED-FM with 115,500 listeners (#16) and WYEP-FM with 80,000 listeners (#26) (Monday-Sunday, 6am-12m, Arbitron People Meter).

Could WDUQ's ratings be higher? Possibly. But they are not considered to be "bad" among WDUQ's peers. WDUQ's ratings are on par or better than other NPR stations that are essentially news/talk stations in cities like Cleveland, St Louis, Baltimore, Detroit and Chicago.

"Both sides" of WDUQ perform well. The NPR News programming on WDUQ reaches about 140,000 listeners per week. Jazz programming, parsed separately, about 130,000. For WDUQ overall, and even more so with jazz programming, WDUQ has a much more diverse audience than most NPR stations. WDUQ is the #2 or 3 station with African American listeners in Pittsburgh - and tied for #1 in middays.

Jazz has a special cultural and historic role in Pittsburgh, too, so the value is more than just in the numbers. WDUQ believes that that legacy and diversity is significant. But the numbers are significant by themselves.

But "parsing" the programming into separate streams is misleading. Unlike many other "dual format" NPR stations, most of 'DUQ's listeners (more than 2/3) listen to both news and jazz programs.

In terms of resources and attention, WDUQ's major focus is news. As a rough thumbnail, WDUQ spends about 70% of its programming budget on news, about 20% on Jazz.

The station had more news until the NPR program Day to Day was canceled by NPR for budget reasons in 2009. When Day to Day left the network, the WDUQ programming team wrestled with the financial and programmatic options, and chose, for the time being, to not replace that valuable noon-hour with what seemed to be less viable news and talk options that would have left very little room for local news.

In terms of listener support, WDUQ is doing better than ever. But network programming costs continue to climb. So, we wrestle with the issue of what to program and when.

If jazz were unsuccessful, it would not be such a vexing problem, but technology has offered some potential solutions. The station has been a national leader in the new technology of HD Radio. WDUQ has put a significant amount of public radio talk programming on the HD2 signal, and the BBC world service on HD3. While it is taking a while for HD radio to "take off," WDUQ's interest and commitment to that additional programming is real.

For the past five years, listeners longing for public radio talk programming from WDUQ have had a new option with the purchase of an HD Radio. Some advances in upgrading that service, nationwide (advocated strongly by WDUQ management) could make HD radio even more viable in the future.

WDUQ's HD2 stream includes NPR programs like "On Point," "Talk of the Nation" and much more. Those streams are also offered by WDUQ online for people who can listen via the Internet.

Just like any public media outlet, WDUQ tries to make the best decisions possible to serve the community and be economically viable. Nothing on 'DUQ's air is taken for granted and change and evolution is always a part of the picture. But when you commit to certain choices, you should commit fully.

If the results of your current choices are working, making changes is more difficult based on what you risk losing. That doesn't mean you don't consider change, but it means you consider change carefully - and, for the most part, you don't publicize change unless you are clear and committed on what you are going to do.

When making change, unintended consequences are always looming. The NBC television network was very daring in their attempt at change last year when they opted to eliminate their then 10pm weeknight programming to bring on Jay Leno for a weeknight show. While the costs of the 10pm Leno show seemed to make economic sense for the return to NBC, the cost in overall lost audience for local affiliates was significant. So, NBC changed back - and fully committed to that change, too.

WDUQ has evolved and changed greatly since it first went on the air in 1949. It is the most listened to, most supported public radio station in the region. With that mantle of success comes an obligation to always explore options and opportunities.

Given the stewardship role of a precious non-commercial frequency, WDUQ is also careful and respectful of the obligation of service to the community that has supported the station thus far. That's why the entire staff of WDUQ welcomes ideas, questions and concerns all the time.

More than probably any other medium, radio stations can have a deeply personal meaning to each person they touch. For WDUQ, there are about 180,000 listeners, each with their own story, plus the stories of an entire community that we are committed to serve.

If you have questions or concerns about programming at WDUQ, an email to info@wduq.org or a letter to WDUQ, Pittsburgh, PA 15282 is always read, appreciated and considered.

How twitter (and Facebook) can save NPR in Pittsburgh

2010-04-21T16:08:00.011-04:00

WDUQ, Pittsburgh's leading public radio station, may or may not continue as a public radio station.

Duquesne University has put the station up for sale. The lone public radio bidder, Pittsburgh Public Media (PPM), is led by station management, staff and a growing group of community volunteers. PPM was formed as a non-profit Pennsylvania Corporation January 14, 2010.

While PPM has deep ties to the traditions, innovation, technology and aspirations of WDUQ, it is NOT WDUQ. Gifts made to WDUQ are restricted gifts to Duquesne University (the licensee) and the contacts and mailing lists for donors are the property of Duquesne University, restricted for the purposes of supporting the station.

WDUQ serves about 180,000 listeners per week, but PPM cannot reach those people directly. PPM is NOT WDUQ .

One could say it is a "chicken and egg" situation. But PPM can be WDUQ's future - especially if we teach the chicken and egg to twitter.

To move to a future for NPR, public radio and jazz programming in Pittsburgh, PPM will need to pull together many people, quickly. The Internet and especially social media, like Twitter and Facebook, provides a great way build the momentum to let WDUQ become independent.

Check out the PPM web site. There will be information that you will find helpful. Follow Pghpublicmedia on twitter. Become a fan of Pittsburgh Public Media on Facebook.

And spread the word.

It seems as though a "tipping point" for WDUQ may be coming soon. With interest, with money, volunteer time and support.

Making WDUQ a fully independent, community based public radio station will mean involving the people - joining voices, interests and resources. Through all of this, making what is now WDUQ far better than it has ever been.

Friend. Fan. Tweet and retweet. A click or two to start can make all the difference.

Mostly sunny and 60 in Punxsutawney today

2010-03-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

'Bout time!

As romantic the notion of the seasons, this long winter has been filled, enough, I think.

Happy almost Spring!

The Top Dog and the Big Wiener Cross Paths

2009-09-20T18:44:00.007-04:00

Tuesday, September 15, driving from Pittsburgh to Cleveland for the Public Radio Program Director's Conference. Busy day, with President Obama heading toward me from Lordstown, OH - many police, state troopers and helicopters going east. But going west, with me....?

The Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile (OMWM)

With so many gendarmes on the roadway, I was careful to abide by the speed limit en route to Cleveland -- but I learned an important lesson...

The OMWM tend to go a bit slower than the speed limit -- must be owing to all of that slow cooking?

Radio? It's in there

2009-09-10T06:42:00.006-04:00

Just a quick observation on the September 9, 2009 announcement by Apple that the new iPod Nano will have an FM Radio tuner.

(A radio that can pause, it needs to be noted).

An FM radio has been a feature that iPod users have wanted for years. It is also a feature that is waiting for the iPhone.

Back when the 2009 version of the iPhone was released, the site ifixit did their "what's inside" look.

And the folks at phonewreck did an analysis of the logic board on the iphone.

If you look at the block diagram, the lower left hand part of the image, the chip marked "Wi-FI and Bluetooth Tranceiver" also happens to have an FM tuner built in. In the iPhone, on the logic board.

It's in there.

Now for those of us hoping for HD Radio in an iPhone or iPod the way it is in the new Zune, that may well come another day. But just 76 years after Edwin H. Armstrong invented FM, it's in an iPod. And the chip for it is in "the phone."

Brand Echoes - Remember Bill Knapp's?

2009-08-18T21:52:00.032-04:00

August 20th, 2002, small midwestern restaurant chain Bill Knapp's announced it was closing.

Last week, while in Ann Arbor, I took my Dad shopping at Kroger's as is our habit. In the bakery aisle, a familiar logo: Bill Knapp's

The price on these "glazed dunkers" was reduced because they were at their sell-by date. Still, they were tasty and about what I remembered.

These weren't from a REAL Bill Knapp's restaurant. The box says, "distributed by Thaw and Sell Solutions, Ltd." out of Saline, MI.

(for non-Michigander's, that's pronounced "sah-LEEN")

From 1948 to 2002, Bill Knapp's was an institution in Michigan and Ohio, plus some outposts in Florida (perfect for sentimental snowbirds). The food was good, the help, helpful.

The six inch round chocolate "celebration cakes" were enjoyed and worn by both of my sons on their first birthdays.

There's a good Wikipedia post on the history of the chain, and a nice article from Bill Knapp's "hometown" newspaper in Battle Creek, MI on the second anniversary of its closing.

The chocolate cake has been available in freezer cases for a while from metro Detroit-based Awrey bakeries.

The Kroger's that I bought these dunkers from is just a quarter mile away from the Bill Knapp's location that was my family's frequent haunt when I was younger.

Now, it is Zinger man's Roadhouse, a restaurant extension of the famed Ann Arbor Deli. Like Bill Knapp's, the Roadhouse does not serve breakfast.

In 2000 or 2001, I remember coming to Ann Arbor after my Dad was recovering from emergency surgery. After visiting him at St Joe's, my Mom and I went to the nearby Bill Knapp's at Carpenter and Washtenaw. We sat down, ordered and while we were waiting, a part of the suspended ceiling fell in, leaving dust and insulation scatter around the dining area, and us. We laughed it off and left (and went to Big Boy's).

That ceiling wasn't the only thing falling in on Bill Knapp's. A year or so later, the chain was closed.

August 20, 2002, the letter they sent out was simple. They couldn't make it. They were closing.

I moved away from Michigan for a few years in the 80's, moved back and then "really" left in '93. Still, I've been an interested observer from afar regarding many things of my much-loved home state.

From that perspective, I've pondered whether Bill Knapp's might have weathered the initial downturn in the late 90's better if it hadn't tried so hard to "update" their interiors and menu in the late 90's. While they wrestled with a changing market and an aging customer base, today's rediscovered yearning for scratch-made comfort food might have made for a return to success.

Or maybe not. Nothing lasts forever.

But we have the brand echoes of donuts and cake and, for some of us, mostly good memories.

Yelling in America - John Adams had his loud days, too

2009-08-13T22:31:00.050-04:00

The most important things are best shared without shouting:

I love you;
We're giving you the job;
I'm going to have to let you go;
You have cancer

This isn't an original idea, but it's one that has been on my mind of late, especially with the tone of political discourse this month.

You can't think well while you're yelling. You can't think well when you're sobbing. And the folks on the the "receive" side aren't doing so well, either.

That's not to say yelling or tears aren't important. Extreme emotions have their place. But at some point, the adrenaline eases, a calm presents itself and you need to face your conflicts, your fears, your hopes, your choices. You think. You decide.

When plotting a future, phrases that fit on a bumper sticker cannot explain the details, the nuance, the plan.

Loud Advocacy is Not New

Protest is a long tradition in the United States. Sometimes, protesters gain influence and power, sometimes they don't.

A recent couple of segments from the NPR program (produced by WNYC, New York) On the Media looked into some of the current spate of emotional activism from a broader timeline.

The strategies being used by some conservative activists today have been gleaned from the playbook of liberal activist Saul Alinsky. In an interview with Bob Garfield, a discussion of the importance of passion came up with The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza.

Ryan Lizza "There’s a famous story. Whenever Alinsky would have a new student coming to organize, he would ask them, why do you want to be an organizer, and they would always say, well, I want to help others, you know, I want to devote my life to doing good. And he would scream back at them, no, you want to organize for power."

If you have or get power, you should try to do something with it. Even if you are striving to be heard to at least have some power, you need more than a slogan on a bumper sticker.

Power in the American model of representational democracy is supposed to protect the minority as well promote the will of the majority. That requires discussion. But discussion only starts once the yelling stops. Yet, when some are ready to listen and interact, others may still passionately clamor only to be heard. After a while, the "calm" ones may get frustrated and start yelling again.

Fortunately, the cycle can wind down as the passions echo. As long as nothing else comes up to wind the passions up again.

American discourse is often loud, sometimes even irrational and violent. In 1856, the Caning of Senator Charles Sumner was a prime example, as the "debate" in congress became violent on the floor of "the world's most deliberative body." The passions were high on both sides, the language harsh and cruel. After an escalation of verbal jabs, U.S. House member Preston Brooks of South Carolina came into the Senate chamber and beat Sumner senseless with a cane. Sumner took three years to recover.

The anger and passion on both sides of the slavery issue was superheated. Just a few years later, the country was embroiled in a brutal civil war.

The current health care debate has not devolved to 1856 levels. But the passions do seem pretty high. I wonder if it has something to do with our current wave of cathartic overload.

In the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, the opening of raw nerves of pain and anger was huge and nearly universal. The sensory overload has continued as we've added in the din of computer gaming, web sites, talk radio, 24/7 cable news, blogs, myspace, facebook and twitter. It's possible to be in constant stimulus mode, much of it interactive, and rapidly reflecting and inflating personal viewpoints to an astounding degree.

We have many deep feelings, emotions and data points constantly bombarding us. It is easy to get addicted to the drama and energy. Reinforcing that has been the ease of connection with like-feeling and like-minded people in a crowd, online or in mass media. It is more possible than ever to not be exposed to a viewpoint different from your own in a reasoned way.

With a world of choice in front of us, it easier than ever to hear only what we want to hear.

Other things worthy of passion

John Adams was not a necessarily easygoing politician. His administration passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. Those acts were largely about censoring and punishing dissent when it was perceived that the "other side" had gotten out of hand. Later, the rejection of the Alien and Sedition Acts helped set the stage for the relative independence of American journalism, today.

Even with his missteps, Adams' passion had a purpose, a vision, a yearning.

John Adams painting by John Trumbell

In 1780 John Adams wrote to Abigail Adams about the priorities of the new society he was dreaming of:

I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.

I hope we can find a way to get back on that sort of continuum. It is important to have passion, but there's more to passion than anger and frustration. Art, music, painting and architecture don't have to be partisan to be meaningful.

The arts are full of stimulation and passion. But they also require solitude, discipline, training and practice. Who has time for that?

Combined with the emotional upheaval of the past eight years, we've been cutting the arts in our schools and communities. In our rush to equip our youth and workforce with skills, we've risked the ability to help our citizens find meaning.

Media and New Media

Power has value. But if you get power, there is the responsibility of wielding it. Which reminds me of this quote:

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
-- Abraham Lincoln

With our convergence of technology and communication, we all have power.

The wild card in the latest round of our democratic protest process is the swirling confluence of Old and New Media together. The power and influence of web sites, twitter, facebook, newspapers, radio, TV and cable feed back on each other, fueled by planned and unplanned events. Professionals and amateurs are a part of a cacophonous din like we've never heard before.

There is a "power" in the combination of all of this media, from twitter to radio to cable news and more that has not yet taken responsibility for the influence it wields. With social media, even the smallest among us has the ability to make a lot of noise.

No one is in charge and everyone is in charge. Everyone has the potential for fomenting protest and spreading it across the globe.

This, too, will change. Social media has given more people more tools than ever, but the novelty is already wearing off a bit. Irresponsible use of the power of social media may, over time, fade into the background as more noise.

Everyone has the potential to discover, discuss and exchange, too. When we start to have a conversation, we can talk about what we are for, and maybe discuss where we are going. I just hope that current conduits of communication (and the people who run, feed and use them) don't drive a wedge between citizens when there is so much else in our society we can get together on.

The dream becomes that we all have power and we all take responsibility. And, maybe we can plan to sing, dance and paint a bit more, too.

Great Brands Deliver

2009-08-10T12:38:00.013-04:00

Apple does not rely on focus groups.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use focus groups, but it does lead to an important point: Apple is sure of its brand.

Apple has had a tumultuous history. Today, the company has a solid brand, direction and products that people clamor for.

Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates and Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs in the 1999 cable movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley"

The 1999 made-for-cable movie Pirates of Silicon Valley is worth a rental or even purchase. Two statements from it stand out to me at the moment. One, from Bill Gates, I can only paraphrase: “a good product with great marketing can overcome a great product with good marketing.”

And, from Steve Jobs, “Real Artists Ship.”

“Pirates” came out in 1999 - two years before the launch of the iPod, which has had a huge impact on, well, everything. Learning lessons, it seems, Apple solved the database challenges of iTunes, delivered an easy-to-use interface for both the computer and the iPod, found a price point that worked - and, most importantly, nailed it on the marketing piece.

Delivering at the right time and place certainly helps, but the brand of Apple seemed to have evolved to Passion, Vision and Execution.

Still, I believe that focus groups can be helpful. As a “company therapy” process, you can get a sense of how your brand is perceived among your current or potential customers.

At my public radio station, WDUQ, Pittsburgh, we learned that both our NPR news brand and our jazz brand were core to our identity and a part of what people found admirable about us. The group that helped us with this evaluation were bright 20-somethings under the leadership of Dr. Robert Swinehart of the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University. They liked us - they really liked us!

It was 1997 or 1998. That early internet bubble was still inflating. The book "FOCUS" was on my mind, as well as Built to Last. This was all supposed to be about "one thing."

And it was. But not about news, or jazz or intelligent talk or whatever. If you look at the 1998 era graph put together at the end of the CMU project, the core was about trust, passion, conviction and authenticity.

We often confuse Brands with formats or devices or the "thing" of the moment. Yet, if we go too far in "extension," we no longer have a core to be passionate about.

In looking at what these young eyes had seen in us, and looking in the mirror, we saw that we had something that could work. Focused enough to fit our sensibilities and experience, yet broad enough to stretch us. A challenge that looked to be worthwhile and fun.

Armed with the information and confidence that WDUQ had some unique, positive traits, the next step was execution fueled with growing passion. Over the course of the next decade, we worked to deliver quality news and jazz programming, partnering on a high level with scores of other like-minded groups and individuals in Pittsburgh to build and grow our civic and cultural goals.

Our staff jumped in to the telling of our story, our vision - to brand and market what we were about, including great work with Fitting Group.

A bit more than a decade later, WDUQ doubled its total audience. The jazz "side" of the station has more listeners than the whole station served in 1996. The news "side" of the station is among the the most diverse in the country, indexed against our market demographics. Yet, for our listeners, the station has no sides, really.

The brand of WDUQ is of a non-profit media outlet that reaches out, everyday, across a diverse array of people, activities and ideas. We have a vision for an engaged, aware Pittsburgh that connects with the world, and we hustle to live up to that vision, every day.

To get love back from your customers, passion helps a lot. But, in the end, great brands deliver.

This post was adapted from a guest blog post written for the Fitting Group.

Farewell, Ann Arbor News - We spent some good times together!

2009-07-27T12:43:00.004-04:00

My first job was in the newspaper business.

The closing this week of the Ann Arbor News has a rush of memories coming back. I delivered that paper on two different routes for three years as a teen back in the 70's.

It was afternoon delivery except for Sundays. Delivered in stacks by a stocky, gruff but somewhat friendly fellow in a pickup truck to my parent's house in Ann Arbor. If it was raining, he might throw some plastic over them. Six days a week, they were at the house by 2 or 3pm, then off to the races to deliver. Sunday mornings, usually by 6am.

I started delivering the paper in the summer of 1972, just after my 13th birthday. My parents and I did one last vacation together, to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. After that, school, band, theater, student government, choir, and more kept me busy - but the paper route was there, every day for the three years to come.

Getting Paid

I was not en employee, but a contractor. I bought the papers from the Ann Arbor News at wholesale and sold them to the customers on the route at the agreed (price fixed!) price.

Bonded, I had to pay the Ann Arbor News, Inc. once a month (on a Saturday). Collection from customers was our job - and if you as a customer called to take a vacation from delivery, I had to cut my order down or pay for my lack of diligence. I had to open my own checking account at the credit union and learn to reconcile a lot of transactions, starting at the age of 13.

Still, with the daily commitment and the need to collect from each customer each month, a large paper route paid quite well. When I gave up the route as a Jr. in High School, I had stashed away enough money to buy a car, have a social life and pick and choose what music or DJ gigs I would take for spending money.

In three years of managing thousands of transactions, I only had one bounced check.

Walking and Wagons

My first route - Arborview - Linda Vista, Brierwood, Paul, Wesley. It was a large route for "walking" delivery, about 100 customers, five blocks from my house. The one gift from my parents to support the effort was a child's red wagon (my first), a reasonable way to haul 80 pounds of newsprint that far away.

It was a good route, with steady customers and good tips. My favorite tip was from an elderly gentleman, a 100 year old silver dollar.

This was just after the Ann Arbor News stopped binding the stacks of papers together with wire and moved to plastic straps. There were no little plastic baggies around the papers like today - what ever happened to the paper after the stacks showed up was up to the carrier.

I learned the ways to fold the papers to toss them on the porch efficiently. I never used rubber bands, but tight, two handed folding, usually done while walking, door to door.

A tight one-quarter fold was my favorite, but only worked on moderate to thin papers. A Thursday or Sunday paper was thicker and would get folded in thirds. A really thick paper filled with ads and stories (Thanksgiving, Easter Sunday) would be too thick to fold and would have to be carefully placed on the porch or behind the screen door.

A year into my time as a "paperboy," the route by my parent's house became open. Two routes, actually, with about 120 regular customers. I leapt at the chance to stop using the red wagon.

Oh - and while the Ann Arbor News called us "carriers," customers (even enlightened Ann Arbor customers) called me "paperboy" or "newsboy." When you come to the door and the person who answers hollers to get the one with the cash or the checkbook, that's what they would say.

Every House

In the early and mid-seventies, just about every house took the paper. That made it easy when I had to recruit a sub for the route - just take it to every house! On a sunny, dry day with a medium sized paper, my best time in delivering was about 25 minutes. In the winter, I moved so fast that even a wool "letter jacket" was plenty to keep me warm even when the temperature neared zero.

I remember going on collection rounds the night Nixon resigned. Everyone was home, and everyone was somber.

I work in radio, now. About the same time I had the paper route, I was learning how to edit reel-to-reel audio tape with a razor blade. Like the "quarter fold" of a newspaper, not really a skill you need so much anymore.

So, my thoughts are with the folks of the Ann Arbor News, the readers, the city and the carriers. The skills I learned in my three years as a news carrier had a big impact on me to this day. And for a kid in Jr. High and High School, the money was really quite good.

While AnnArbor.com will have a two day a week delivered component, something tells me it will never be the same.

But then again, nothing ever is.

Sharing extra with NPR. How'd ya do?

2009-06-16T10:29:00.033-04:00

WDUQ, Pittsburgh's June "share the gift with NPR" pledge drive in Pittsburgh for WDUQ is over -- how'd we do?

We did well. Put into perspective, amazingly well.

My public radio station held a pledge drive in June this year. We almost never hold a pledge drive in June.

June is the month when high school kids are graduating, summer comes in full force to Pittsburgh, Kennywood is open and all is right with the world.

Oh - and I neglected to mention -- the Pittsburgh Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals -- second year in a row. All the games -- in June, during the drive. It went to Game Seven, and, if you haven't heard, they won.

In a sports-happy place like Pittsburgh, having one of our teams in the playoffs is a really bad time to do a pledge drive. Even pledge drive hours during regular season Steelers' games are quite disappointing. Scheduling the pledge drive around bye weeks becomes a major priority.

So, June is one of the worst months for WDUQ to do a pledge drive. But it was the last month of a distressing fiscal year, so we had no choice.

But this year was different. As noted in a previous post, WDUQ is facing a year-end deficit situation at the same time NPR is staring at a much larger (as a percentage of budget) deficit.

In adding a June drive, we felt it wasn't right to just plead for our own station's well being. All the best planning, projections, investments and budgeting in the world couldn't have seen the multiple levels of fallout from the bad financial and business activity for our station and especially for NPR.

So, we invited listeners to forgo a thank you gift (mug, totebag, CD) and WDUQ would send the 10% of the pledge that usually pays for these "premiums" to NPR.

Since most of WDUQ's listeners don't take a thank you gift, we knew we would forgo some revenue that we might have kept if we had just made it all about WDUQ. We'll never know if it was the right choice financially. But it still seemed like the right thing to do.

Our listeners wanted to hear from me, the General Manager, more than usual. I was on the NPR board for six years, and I've been at WDUQ for 14 plus years during times of great change and growth. The high-level perspective, earnestness and transparency seemed to make the pledging more palatable.

Despite all of the business plans and moneymaking ideas that were going to make pledge drives and maybe even federal support less important or even irrelevant, it was clear from this pledge drive that we are not in the "media business" the way our commercially driven colleagues are. It is about service, in the most sincere sense of that word.

Those of us who work in public radio should stop saying that we don't like pledge drives. We perform a valuable service, and, while proud of our work, should always be humbled by the support of our listeners and communities. Pledge is where we get to make the case.

Back in 1995, when the future of public radio, public TV and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was put into doubt, many of us (myself included) searched for new ways to pay for what we do.

Ideas like:

Building a huge endowment
A large endowment could, perhaps making national programming free for stations. Of course, no one foresaw the fairly noteworthy NPR endowment falling in value so much as to make it untouchable until the markets are revived.

Major donors and foundations
If wealthy people and foundations would support us in a way commensurate to our good works, we'd need much less money from the less well off. But the very wealthy and foundations are also subject to downturns in the economy. And our good works, while valued, are not always at the top of the priority list.

Commercialization
Mostly on-air underwriting, but also monetizing of web content, re-purposing programming for other uses, display advertising on the Internet and more. There is a role in public media for this kind of creative revenue, but some of the best and brightest in commercial media are facing massive challenges in making these concepts consistently successful. There is also the idea of monetizing the value of our database of listeners and members - but balancing ethics and our mission with creating monetary value is a challenge.

All the above strategies have a place or, at the very least, deserve testing by public radio as revenue streams. But there is no single "sliver bullet" that will make public radio sustainable or more reliable than the diverse base of funding that voluntary listener support provides.

Most of WDUQ's membership support comes from donations that are solicited by mail, e-newsletter or telemarketing. But pledge drives or something like them will always be a part of the public radio "model."

Those of us in or closely related to public radio, please get used to it.

To our listeners and supporters, please understand that this humble appeal is a remarkable way to keep us transparent and honest in what we say and what we do as we ask for the help of you and others to sustain what we are and what we aspire to be.

So, how'd ya do?
In a pledge drive of less than seven days, more than 2,600 people committed more than $205,000. For WDUQ, a very good total. We are still tallying our other June web and mail gifts to add to that total and share a portion with NPR.

The dollar amount of our average gift dropped, but we have more new donors, and many extra gifts from current donors who recognized the need. The less than seven day pledge drive raised more than an 8 1/2 day drive in April and has gotten WDUQ very close to closing our budget gap for the fiscal year.

We didn't fundraise on three nights (due to the Penguins/Red Wings Stanley Cup Finals) or at all for one weekend.

Less than 3% of our donors this month chose to take thank you gifts, instead of a more typical 40%.

The economy will turn around. NPR's finances will level out. Sponsorship and foundation gifts will rise, again. After June, WDUQ's support of NPR will return to the formula for stations like ours. Since our audience has grown, those fees are rising.

As we added an extra, major fundraising effort in a time when NPR was in even greater need, giving back while our listeners were giving more just seemed to be the right thing to do.

A media business model that works?

2009-06-02T15:24:00.029-04:00

The phrase "business model" is joined with "media" so much, lately, that it's hard to remember how odd a business it is. I recall the midlife crisis of radio sales rep Billy Crystal in the movie "City Slickers:"

Well, what is my job? I sell advertising time on the radio.

Basically, I sell air.

At least my father was an upholsterer. He made a sofa, a couch, you can sit on it. Something tangible.

What can I point to?

Selling Air. As a business model. Talk about a setup to a midlife crisis!

I work in public radio. I manage WDUQ, the leading National Public Radio (NPR)/Public Radio Station in Pittsburgh.

Public radio relies on a mix of listener donations, business support ("underwriting," similar to but not completely like radio advertising), foundation support, support from licensees (like universities) governmental support (state, local and federal support, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) and a number of other activities from interest income, car donations, bake sales and even bingo games.

For WDUQ, no bake sales, bingo, state or local government funding. Our endowment is tiny. We rely on listener support for more than half the budget, and corporate and business support for 25 to 30%.

In the midst of the current economic downturn, WDUQ's business support is down a bit; and we have more individual donors, but they are giving less, on average. With a budget of around $3 million for our broadcasting operations, we have a "problem" of about 7% as we finish up our last month of the budget year (June).

Still, while WDUQ is facing challenges, they are nowhere near as serious as the revenue challenges for NPR.

As you may have heard or read, NPR has been through cutbacks, including two rounds of layoffs in the past six months and significant use of cash reserves. One of WDUQ's most popular NPR programs, Day to Day was among the cuts. More than 36,000 people a week used to listen to that show on DUQ alone.

The endowment that NPR built up to serve as a "keel" during turbulent times has dropped in value so far that no money may be withdrawn from it. Business support has fallen substantially and foundations are cutting back on grants.

The most stable source of income for NPR is fees for programs from stations like WDUQ. But, in times like these, it isn't enough.

So, while WDUQ looks to close its own financial gap this month, we're going do a bit more for NPR, too.

Beginning Thursday, June 4, WDUQ will launch a pledge drive that will also serve as an extra benefit for National Public Radio. During the campaign (and for all of June), contributors will have the option to decline a thank-you gift and instead have 10% of their pledge sent as an additional gift to NPR.

This will be on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in programming fees that DUQ has already committed to pay to NPR. It's not huge, but it's a start.

The real power behind public radio's future is more than just the commodity of our content. It is the relationships we have built and sustained.

For public radio (and media), our "business model" has been built from the act of service and the voluntary support of people who believe in and rely upon that service.

This really wasn't meant to be a pledge drive "spot" for the WDUQ, but I guess it is.

Still, while we are in a challenging place right now, public radio may be one of the few "business models" in media that works.

If you want a friend in Washington ---

2009-05-08T02:11:00.006-04:00

“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog”. Harry S Truman (American 33rd President of the United States, 1884-1972)

I was visiting some congressional offices this week. I won't reveal which one this photo was taken in, but to my pleasant surprise, while waiting for my meeting, up comes another visitor.

Animals and children tend to like me, it seems. Within a minute this noble, older pup was on his side, happy to have his belly rubbed and ears scratched.

Sure helped me calm down after getting routed around the entrance to this particular House Office Building due to a blockade from police due to a mysterious package...

Perhaps we need many more pups visiting the house and senate...

From the 2009 CES

2009-01-09T15:41:00.018-05:00

The Consumer Electronics Show is a HUGE event, with typically more than 100,000 attendees. I have attended in the past as Press and as an "industry affiliate." It is not a public convention, and is intended for people tied to the CE industry in some way beyond being a consumer.

Two years ago, the number of attendees went up dramatically, with a concern that a lot of "fans" were getting registered. Last year, the requirements to register were tightened up substantially and the crowds were still massive but more manageable (at an estimated 140,000).

This year, the economy has done what tighter rules could not. I have no idea what the attendance is, and the preshow estimate is for a decline of anywhere from 8 to 20%

This doesn't mean this is a failed show at all. It is interesting that the percentage of people wearing suits to those in T shirts is much higher. A lot of meetings are being held formally and informally. You can get around the exhibit hall with much less hassle.

I've been in meetings and events but have managed to see the exhibits, too. I'll be posting more, later.

There are a lot of international visitors, as usual. Many buyers, distributors, manufacturers, big firms, tiny companies. The mix is engaging and interesting.

But it is just not as crowded as it used to be.

With the TV Zombies roaming around, to give us "awareness" about the switchover to all digital TV in the US in February 2009, the smaller crowds are probably a good thing.

Zombies move slow.

"It's the Humanity, Stupid" (with apologies to the '92 Clinton/Gore campaign)

2008-08-04T17:49:00.012-04:00

Cross posting is such a lazy practice..but here I am - plugging in some stuff I wrote to the fine forum led by public broadcasting's trade paper, current.org

I'm rewriting this a bit, so I guess it is not a total cross-post, but there were ideas that I dabbled with that I wanted to try to flesh out a bit more clearly here.

In the Current forum, WDUQ (the NPR member station I manage in Pittsburgh) was invoked as an example of a mid/large market station which may fall by the wayside as it is too large and too small to survive on the commerce or subsidy or "localism" continuum.

When Mark Bertolet, WDUQ's marketing chief and web wrangler (I made that second title up) noted to me that WDUQ had been invoked in the forum, we were minutes away from starting the annual WDUQ picnic - held in the parking lot behind the building. Plus, this year, we added the Intramural Athletics field next door that is usually locked behind a fence. A little bit of football toss, soccer, and bocce ball. So, what I started to write was done in haste - because the picnic was important.

(So, here, I can stretch this out and be more tedious - sorry!)

Concern about the economic health and future of "midmarket" stations is valid. There are reasons why CBS is considering selling their clusters in Baltimore and Pittsburgh - to focus on the more lucrative top ten or fifteen markets. In public broadcasting, the subsidy level from CPB for a station like mine is now well south of 10%; net revenue on Underwriting and Membership income isn't as high; yet the costs to cover a busy, diverse community with 2 million or so potential listeners are significant.

There is a lot of pressure. I have heard the same thing from commercial colleagues in similar sized markets. You have to do well, adapt and change quickly.

But being a station in a $3 to 4 million budget range has its benefits. We have a very hard working staff of more than 20 full time people, plus more than a score of part time folks, plus interns and volunteers. We are pretty cohesive and nimble.

But we do have to make choices.

The NPR open API is a part of all this, but just one of our many needed tools. It is now common for having powerful web tools all running on Free or Open Source software - Apache for the web server, Free SQL for the database and a content management system like Joomla! to run and organize things (including multimedia, data tagging and interactivity).

(..and I'd rather invest in my people than in making Larry Ellison and Oracle even MORE rich, but that's just me.)

Having all of these options also means developing and sustaining collaborative groups of people working together to make content, creating order and adapting to ever-changing technology. But if we have good people, a good working culture and the ability to learn, we can do that. It is up to those of us in management to help put more arrows to the quiver and create technology and built environments that make the work easier to do. A midmarket station with a cohesive, collaborative environment can do this - and even have some fun in the process.

Many of us have been working toward the ideal of this kind of workplace for many years. One of the biggest problems I see in our recent discussions about "transforming media" is the thought that software or hardware will magically change human nature.

I believe the most important thing in how we move forward is how we work together. Technology will not cure dysfunction - and can even make it worse. Witness how we end up debating our opinions in blogs, forums, listervs and more.

All the while, the seeming need for constant feedback can reduce our time to be contemplative, to let each of us ponder possibilities and think things through and bring ideas back to share, adapt and change. Collaborative work is still work - and making sure we can take time to create relationships and truly interact with people we work with or hope to work with is not as easy it may seem.

WDUQ staff use a lot of technology. But the coordinated simplicity of a potluck, parking lot picnic is very much what the station is all about. Doesn't mean it's idyllic - but it was a brief chance to hang out, play a little and be together without having to do a pledge drive. Not a big deal, but important, still.

OK - so, I guess my big point is that culture and humanity, especially in public media, come before technology and business models.

As to the business models, the existence of a cohesive, adaptable group can lead you to the flexibility you need to make it -- see today's Washington Monthly - referencing a blog entry in the American Prospect.

Kevin Drum notes that almost two thirds of Politico's revenue comes from less than 30,000 subscribers to the 3 day a week print edition. A bit more than a third comes from 3 million readers to content that is fresh, every day.

Kevin Drum's parting shot:

Bottom line: Print gets you respect and big dollar advertisers. The web gets you buzz and a nice chunk of additional revenue. The future — part of it, anyway — belongs to those who can successfully combine multiple media platforms into a single profitable whole. So far, it looks like The Politico has done that.

So, yeah, we all have things to do. And as soon as we get it right, or close to right, it will change. That is NOT a new experience for human activity. Some of the problems we are facing now are the business model. This is not new - it has been the way of the world for centuries.

The open API from NPR does is allow us to build on the good intentions of people of like intent. We have a social network already -- 30 million listeners and soon, we hope, 3 million donors. We will never be perfect in making our relationship better with them or each other - but we've done a lot of good against the odds so far. I hope my station, staff, listeners/users and others will keep up the good fight.

Always moving, never arriving, but pointing toward a good direction.

Make sure to go to the picnic.

Thanks

Scott Hanley

Media Covering Media

2008-05-07T12:00:00.008-04:00

Those of us who work in media are always watching ourselves and each other. This week, the drama gets a reference from Candide.

Just the opening 'graph --- the subject of the story discusses his own management style and Panngloss. Voltaire - and this isn't even public radio!

The often poetic New York Observer had some fascinating perspectives on the WSJ's transition:

"For the past two weeks, Robert Thomson, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has been busy not being the paper's editor. It hasn't been easy. Since April 22, Thomson, who was forced to describe himself in an interview with The New York Times as the interim "head of content" for the paper, has had nine meetings to soothe the fraying nerves of his orphaned editorial staff."

“Let’s not be panglossian—there is uncertainty and thus it is proper for me to stand in front of our journalists and take the tough, challenging questions,” Mr. Thomson wrote in an e-mail to Off the Record.

All about Rupert Murdoch and his minion at his newfound dominion, the Wall Street Journal... (gee - this Voltaire stuff rubs off on you...). Not to dismiss Mr. Thomson at all, but this is all so poetic!

Of course, the nomenclature issue over whether to be called "Editor," "Head of Content," or whatever buzzword of the day we want to intone in our multi-platform world shows how important titles are.

But it is clear, if you are currently at the Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson is the boss of thee.

Focus, Steve and Barry's - and not much on the web

2008-05-02T10:39:00.003-04:00

In an article in this week's NY Times, the "cheap chic" of Steve & Barry's retail clothing chain is trumpeted for, among other things, an $8.98 Sundress designed by actress and fashion plate Sarah Jessica Parker.

From the Times:

"Steve & Barry’s, for the uninitiated, is to fashion what Tower once was to music. Steve & Barry’s is manna, a store that sells stylish celebrity-branded clothes at prices that are absurdly inexpensive, lower than those at Old Navy, H & M or Forever 21, undercutting even Wal-Mart by as much as half."

Steve and Barry's has also worked with NBA star Stephon Marbury to develop the Starbury line of "urban inspired" clothing and shoes. The "Starbury II" shoe that Marbury wears, priced at - $8.98.

They have a lot of stores, are opening more. In what appears to be an increasingly cost-sensitive time, their uber low prices would seem to be very right for right now.

But here's the kicker from their website FAQ:

"In order to provide the best service possible, Steve & Barry’s is devoting all resources to the continued improvement of our retail stores. We currently do not have a catalog or online ordering available."

Focusing on bricks and mortar. And building the brand. We'll see how that works out, but for Steve & Barry's for right now, it seems like a focused approach.

When is a music "Pirate" not a music pirate?

2008-04-27T09:24:00.012-04:00

Hmmm. Maybe when the agent for the RIAA has the wrong facts?

A new article in BusinessWeek chronicles the tale of a 40 something single mom in Oregon who got "served" by what was then the "Settlement Support Center" allied with the RIAA - claiming that she owed them thousands of dollars..apparently because they had attributed the downloads spoofed IP address that Verizon said she had used for downloading.

Fascinating read.

The claims against this woman, Tanya Anderson, have finally been dropped. But now, an attorney who defended her is waging a major lawsuit against the recording industry.

A major takeaway on this article: the lawsuit is about the behaviors of the RIAA against people wrongly accused of music pirating. Folks who HAVE been illegally downloading still have plenty to worry about.