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Fall 2013 San Antonio

Aaron Read – RI Public Radio Derrick Ginter – KTXT Texas Tech. S T A Y I N G IN CONTROL A N D NOT FOR SALE A T Y O U R C O L L E G E RADIO STATION. Fall 2013 San Antonio. The THREE LIES of COLLEGE RADIO. Plays Music You Can’t Hear Anywhere Else!

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Fall 2013 San Antonio

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  1. Aaron Read – RI Public Radio Derrick Ginter – KTXT Texas Tech S T A Y I N G IN CONTROL A N D NOT FOR SALE A T Y O U R C O L L E G E RADIO STATION Fall 2013 San Antonio

  2. The THREE LIES of COLLEGE RADIO • Plays Music You Can’t Hear Anywhere Else! • Pandora? iTunes? Spotify? CR has lost its grip on the “niche audience.” • Provides a Service to (entire) Student Body • Are all X thousand students listening? • Is Valuable Marketing Tool for College • Most recruitment is not local, and all is targeted at HS kids & parents.-

  3. The Obituaries: Sales or LMA’s • WLMV Bard College • KAUR Augustana College • WESU Wesleyan University • WXLV Lehigh Carbon CC • WJHU Johns Hopkins Univ • WXEL Barry University • WELH Wheeler School HS • WCVY Coventry HS • KTXT Texas Tech • (special case!) • KTRU Rice University • KUSF Univ of San Francisco • WRVU Vanderbilt • WNAZ Trivecca Nazarene • KCAL St Olaf College* • WLIU Long Island Univ* • WEOS Hobart & William Smith Colleges* • WRUR Univ of Rochester • WDUQ Duquesne Univ* Slides available for download at www.radiolink.org/cbi

  4. Under the Radar = Not an Option • The INTERNETdestroyed radio’s monopoly on widespread delivery of obscure content. • Principle of scarcity no longer applies. • The ECONOMY is forcing colleges to cut costs and find new revenue. • When it’s “save the station” vs. “save the English department” the station’s getting sold. • Radio is not “core mission” for most colleges.

  5. What Can You Do??? Be RELEVANT to your campus community. Be VISIBLE to your campus community. Be INTEGRATED with projects/programs that’re important to your administration. Be FISCALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT!

  6. Be RELEVANT • Not about the music. • Off-campus audience doesn’t pay tuition. • College have a radio course curriculum? • “Communications” or “journalism” not enough. • Be a fun student activity. • How many students are on-staff? • Aim for 10% of student body (5% at larger schools)

  7. Be VISIBLE • Live Events and SWAG! • Get out & broadcast live! Campus center, cafeteria, orientation, campus parties. • At least once a week, and more is better! • SWAG!!! T-shirts, fridge magnets, bumper stickers, travel mugs, banners. • Your biggest non-payroll budget item should be promotions/swag.

  8. Be INTEGRATED • Things your administration likes. • Students, faculty or community are nice, but it’s the administration that can sell the license. • Varies wildly at diff campuses; some ideas: • Live sportscasts, Commencement, Convocation, Guest Lecturers, Promotion of Faculty Research, Alumni Weekend. Your suggestions? • No half-assing it; do a pro-level job!

  9. Be FISCALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT • The big one! It’s a lot harder to justify selling the license when the station is financially successful and raises its own budget! • Also demonstrates strong community/campus support by definition. • $50,000/yr (excluding payroll) is ideal. • Cannot be a “club”, must be a “business.” • You must choose…you can’t do both!

  10. Club vs Business A club is for benefit of its members. A business is for the benefit of its customers. Only way you have strong enough support from those outside the station to have them give you money(either fundraising, underwriting or something else).

  11. What does “Business” Mean? Different things! Some possible examples: Stricter format to appeal to wider audience. Less student authority / more pro in charge. Longer training/internship periods (1yr +). Web-only “training station” to audition. Partnering with other stations (NPR?). Sacred cows must be slaughtered!

  12. Food for Thought • So much at a modern college has changed… …except the college radio station! • Volunteer/staff structure • Management structure (still call it “e-board”??) • Funding schema • Programming style • Many, many stations are unchanged since the 1980’s…pre-Internet!

  13. There’ll Be No Warning Must be proactive! By the time you learn the administration is considering a sale, it’s already too late. Rarely will the student body have any advance warning, and usually these deals go down over summer when nobody’s around.

  14. A Rare Treat! KTXT Students abruptly booted off in Dec.2008. Replaced with automated BBC News & Jazz. Derrick Ginter was assigned to it, and against long odds brought students back in Fall 2011. These are their stories…

  15. Background Texas Tech University Est. February 10, 1923 Located in Lubbock, TX 13 Colleges, and the only University in Texas to have an undergraduate institution, law school and medical school at same location. Undergrad Enrollment:- Fall 2013: 33,111 2020 Goal: 40K Founding member, Big 12 Conference

  16. KTXT-FMA Brief History Cont’d 1978? – Frequency changed to present 88.1 MHz and power increased to 35,000 watts 1988 – Sister station KOHM-FM started as an NPR station to preserve KTXT as a student FM 2001 – School of Mass Communications divests itself of KTXT-FM; station is transferred to Student Media Dept.

  17. KTXT-FMA Brief History Cont’d • 2005 – School of Mass Communications becomes College of Mass Communications • 2008 – Student Media pulls plug on KTXT-FM • 2009 – KTXT joins the TTU PubRadio group • Apr. 2011 – South Plains Public Media moved under College of Mass Comm • Sept. 2011 – SPPM moved under TTU’s PubTV station; KTXT stays w/Mass Comm

  18. WARNING: Sacred Cow Slaughtered!

  19. Slaughtered Sacred Cow #1:“Admin Has Our Interests in Mind” Most have no idea what we do. (good & bad) Relegate radio to the hinterlands of academia Broadcast staff are usually the LAST to be consulted regarding anything broadcast related

  20. Why was KTXTshut-down? • “Too expensive” • “Radio is dead; radio jobs are scarce; automation is taking over; no need for it” • Station was mismanaged: • Wrong management style to run station • Thought students were the problem • Decided to shut-down station over Christmas break. • Thought they could sell it.

  21. Student Response to the shut-down • Shock and Awe! • Created a Facebook Page • “Save KTXT” • Good way to get alums/former KTXT staff involved • Planned student rallies against Administration • “We have the students on our side”

  22. WARNING: Sacred Cow Slaughtered!

  23. Slaughtered Sacred Cow #2:“Social Media Will Save KTXT” “Likes” don’t translate well into the real world Don’t mistake social activity online as same as real-world support for your cause. Bitching/Griping online may be cathartic, but doesn’t help you or your cause. Lots of good information was lost in the noise of misinformation.

  24. WARNING: Sacred Cow Slaughtered!

  25. Slaughtered Sacred Cow #3:“We are the voice of the students” • KTXT certainly wasn’t! • Only a handful of 30,000+ students showed up to the rally • Don’t expect campus-wide support for your cause if your format is micro-niche. • Arbitron data showed highest listening Demo to KTXT was M-F, 12-18.

  26. KTXT Post Shut-Down • “Preserve the license until better resources are available” • Keep it on the air and legal- Station automated/unattended- BBC programming during day- Jazz programming overnights • KTXT was “dead” in the minds of the students • When is it coming back on air?

  27. What “saved” KTXT? • Financial Crisis • Potential buyer would have had a very difficult time arranging financing in late 2008 • Top Administration Wasn’t Aware • They had the power to decide KTXT’s fate, but left it to mid-level administration (who had no clue) • Mass Comm College Needed It Back • Students needed more real-world experiencebefore graduation

  28. KTXT - The Comeback Rejoined Mass Comm in 2011 12 Students back on air in Dec 2011 Limped along in a temporary basement studio until August 2012, when we moved into a new facility The Dean, Dr. Hudson, was 110% behind KTXT’s return. Station funded by student fees, but housed in the College

  29. KTXT’s New Home

  30. KTXT’s New Studios

  31. KTXT’s New Control Room

  32. KTXT’s Public View

  33. KTXT’s New Logo

  34. WARNING: Sacred Cow Slaughtered!

  35. Slaughtered Sacred Cow #4:“They Wouldn’t Shut *US* Down” • Oh yes Virginia, they certainly would! • NO station is immune from being shutdown! • Despite all your best efforts, you may still be subject to things beyond your control- Economy- Funding Sources/Operating Costs- Academic/Administrative Changes- An offer too good to refuse

  36. A Review of Aaron’s Tips • Be Relevant • Be Visible • Be Integrated • Be Self-Sufficient • Be a Service to your Audience • Appeal to a wider Audience • Partner w/ Businesses & Campus Groups

  37. And a Few More to Add… • Get your Administration INVOLVED • Invite them on the air, as a guest or a DJ • Meet with them regularly • Ask them how you can help • Demonstrate the VALUE your station provides • University mention during every Legal ID • Proof of Performance- spots/promos, etc • Programs & Issues List- campus news/stories • Quantitative Value Worksheet

  38. But Wait, There’s More… • Get your ALUMNI involved- Invite them to record a liner or legal ID- Have them submit old pictures and airchecks- Use social media to maximize contact • Get involved in your COMMUNITY- Food Drives- Neighborhood Cleanup- Student impact of community issues • PARTNER with other stations

  39. WARNING: Sacred Cow Slaughtered!

  40. Slaughtered Sacred Cow #5:“NPR is the Enemy” • No it’s not! • Look at what PubRadio is doing and learn from their playbook! • PubRadio is hypersensitive to its audience • Learn who they are • Respond to their NEEDS • Treat them with respect • Why did so many student FM’s become NPR stations?

  41. Got Funds? If you fundraise, partner with your local NPR/PBS operation for tips on how to improve Work with your College Development Office- They have LISTS of alumni and donors Don’t be afraid to make money!- Non-profit doesn’t mean NO profit- Act professional and bill accordingly- You cannot half-ass this!

  42. “Friend” Your Funding Source Get your STUDENT GOVERNMENT involved Just as the 4th estate provides transparency on real government, student radio can do the same for student government Our SGA decides funding to student groups so our involvement with them defends our future budget

  43. Formats Are Made To Be Broken Don’t be afraid to try new things Our format is Alternative and Modern Rock, but we also feature local artists and those who attended Texas Tech:- Josh Abbott - John Denver- Pat Green - Mac Davis- Natalie Maines - Flatlanders Offer unique programming- Niche can be good in small doses

  44. What is KTXT’s biggest problem? AWARENESS! Most students at Texas Tech STILL don’t know the student FM is back again. We are NOT the voice of the student community, but our GOAL is to be!

  45. QUESTIONS?COMMENTS? What do YOU recommend as a defense? What have YOU done to become more proactive? What sacred cows have YOU slaughtered?

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