CLASSICAL MUSIC VS. MARKETING

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

Please read a fascinating post on Google Trends from the always intelligent blog On an Overgrown Path. If you're short of time in the rush toward Christmas, here's the main point from the bottom of the post:

Could it be that classical music does not respond to mass marketing techniques? Could it be that because classical music predates the mass media it speaks a language that does not translate into the argot of today's social media? Could it be that, to borrow a term from economics, classical music is mass marketing inelastic? - meaning it only shows a very limited response to mass marketing techniques?

HOW WOULD YOU DIVVY UP A FINE TRUFFLE?

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Arizona Week will air in prime time, 8:30 p.m. Fridays on KUAT-TV, Channel 6. The time available for the show – sans intro, breaks and close – is 26 minutes, 45 seconds.

Planning the use of that time is akin to rationing a fine truffle. The chef must proceed with great care.

Segmenting the program will mean allocating appropriate time to each element of the story, including one or two one-on-one interviews with newsmakers and a panel of journalists to discuss and analyze the news and the newsmakers’ interview.

On many shows, we will do what we call set-up pieces to flesh out the background of a given news development and its attendant issues. This will be like an hors d’oeuvre to whet the appetite for the entrée, that is, the newsmaker interview.

Other times, we will go straight to the entrée, to be followed by background and further explanation.

Last will come dessert: the reporters’ panel provides the expert analysis that rounds out the program.

How to parse the allotted time will be decided week to week with the singular goal of getting as much information to the viewers as possible.

Always we will work for judicious use of the time for information, impact and balance, if we were using a precious truffle to flavor the meal.

ARIZONA WEEK ONLINE NOW; ON AIR IN 30 DAYS

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Consider Arizona Public Media's new news and public affairs show, Arizona Week, to be a program in a hurry. For while the KUAT-TV version will debut 30 days from today, we can't wait to start, so the online manifestations begin here and now, with this blog.

To follow later this week: a Twitter account, to be called @azweek. Later, we will set up a Facebook page, called AZWeek.

We will build the blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts as we go, using them to document the day-to-day activities of the staff making this TV show come to life, sharing the details of how we structure, plan and prepare for Arizona Week.

We will chronicle the effort, seek user and viewer input and, as we get closer to on-air launch, reveal the topics we will be covering, who our guests will be and the names of reporters on each week’s panel.

We envision the program as interactive via these venues. User and viewer comments and response will be a key element of the show, so bring ‘em on.

**THE YEAR CLOSES, THE WORLD OPENS**

posted to From the General Manager by Laura McKee

As 2010 draws to a close, I look back over the year at our many accomplishments as we step ahead into a bold new year. I like to think of these “accomplishments” as the return on your membership investment.

In an election year, AZPM was your trusted source that introduced you to many candidates and profiled the intricacies of every ballet proposition. Whether it was a local “In-Depth” segment on NPR, an interview on Arizona Illustrated, or a live debate — you knew AZPM was the place to turn for a candid exchange – giving you the resources you needed to make informed decisions.

We produced “Teachers’ Voices” on the radio as a part of Arizona Spotlight – highlighting a teacher, student, superintendent, business leader, elected official, or parent to capture the alchemy and professionalism of teaching. Classical KUAT-FM 90.5 brought you more community concerts than ever before, recording live performances around Southern Arizona and delivering them to you with the best seat in the house (or car).

AZPM began the 19th and final season of The Desert Speaks, brought you amazing science with WaveLengths and NOVA, honored veterans with Unforgettable: The Korean War, and delighted you with Great Performances, St. Paul Sunday, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow and many BritComs.

For youngsters, PBS-HD and PBS Kids premiered Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, from the literary classics by Dr. Seuss. This series joined a stellar lineup of children’s programs already in our lineup including WordGirl, Curious George and of course, Sesame Street.

In the community, we brought Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion to Tucson for a live national broadcast, NPR’s Scott Simon to the Tucson Festival of Books (where we also featured Create TV in the Culinary Area), hosted library screenings with “Now Showing @ Your Library” and Independent Lens, and sponsored free children’s storytime at the UA Bookstore.

Our online presence is stronger than ever with a popular page on Facebook, news feeds on Twitter, and full length programs now provided on demand -- anytime and anywhere, with PlayPBS.

Many of these events lay the foundation for 2011 that will provide an increase in original production that work to deliver the best of Southern Arizona to you every day. As we implement our new strategic plan, your input is more important than ever. Please feel free to review our strategic plan here and give us your feedback.

While our accomplishments are gratifying, none of this would have been possible without your continued support. On behalf of all of us at AZPM, thank you. Please accept our very best wishes for the holiday season and in 2011.

Jack Gibson

ACCURACY?

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

While I'm on the subject of how we could get along without NPR, here's a reason I wouldn't miss its top-of-the-hour newscasts: sloppy short-hand reporting. The current example is how it is repeatedly claimed, by sources and newscasters alike, that the Democrats' tax relief plan would retain tax cuts only for people who make up to $250,000. The truth is that the cuts would affect the first $250,000 of everyone's income, including people who make millions a year. So it isn't that the wealthy would be denied tax relief; they'd merely get exactly what everybody else gets. Reporting it otherwise is sloppy and misleading.

DEATHKNELLS AGAIN

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

Every time a minority of Congressional reactionaries begins to demand defunding of public broadcasting (or the NEA, or whatever other culturally uplifting organization has offended them), gloomy articles like this appear throughout the media. Hand-wringing ensues. After more posturing than debate, funding is eventually maintained at or near the previous level.

But, speaking as someone involved in both public broadcasting and nonprofit arts groups, I think it might be a good idea for Congress to end its annual appropriations for these endeavors.

First of all, when the government provides money for news and arts programs on a continuing basis, and then takes away (or threatens to take away) that money specifically because some news or arts programming has offended somebody in power, that's a form of censorship. On the other hand, the government has every right to manipulate its own budget as it sees fit. So wouldn't we all feel a little more secure if the government weren't involved at all in broadcasting and the arts? If there were no government funding, there would be no government pressure to produce (or avoid) certain kinds of programming, short of throwing dissident artists and crusading journalists in jail--and we haven't quite reached that point yet, although Julian Assange may have a differing opinion.

In the arts world, funding from the NEA or state and local agencies like the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Tucson Pima Arts Council has declined to the point that, for many groups, the time wasted on writing grant applications that result in little or no money would be better spent fundraising elsewhere. As for dollars that reach local public stations from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is what Congress actually funds (money does not go directly from Congress to NPR or PBS), yes, that does certainly help with program acquisition and equipment upgrades, but I doubt that any stations would go off the air if the CPB vanished. Local funding sources have, wisely, been diversified over the years; at Arizona Public Media, money comes from the state (via the University of Arizona), business underwriters, personal bequests, and people like you who participate in the periodic pledge drives. Losing CPB funding would hurt, but it would not be fatal.

But what if Congress managed to choke out not just the CPB, but by extension the networks PBS and NPR? That wouldn't make one bit of difference to KUAT-FM, because all we take from NPR are a few newscasts that we could replace with content from the BBC World Service (which we used in the past) or elsewhere. It would be a significant hit to KUAZ, which devotes big chunks of the day to NPR programs like Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered. On the other hand, a lot of KUAZ's other programming comes from other sources. So while it might lose its two flagship shows, it could obtain replacement content from elsewhere (and you know that syndicators would rush to offer replacement programs if Morning Edition and ATC went away, probably even hiring a lot of those shows' staffers).

Losing PBS would have been the death knell for KUAT-TV a few years ago, and even today it would be a severe blow, but not a fatal one. Our TV folks are working on plans to develop a solid schedule of local programming coupled with material from other sources just in case PBS does go away, either because it is defunded or because it sheds its local stations and becomes a cable-only channel.

Without federal funding, my employer and, to a much lesser extent my two arts organizations might hurt for awhile, but they would soon recover--and, perhaps, be better for the lack of federal interference.