AZPM BUDGET REALITIES
posted by Laura McKee
Dear friends:
Please accept my sincere thanks to many of you for your feedback regarding the UA budget reduction to AZPM. Your concerns are appreciated and I thank you for your support.
Budget reallocations are a fact of life at the University of Arizona, and the limited state and tuition dollars are needed to meet the goals the UA and the state have set for educating students and performing research, which is understandable.
The budget reduction assigned to AZPM will be phased-in over five years in order to help AZPM to preserve its quality and level of service. The UA administration is fully aware of the value AZPM provides to the University and the community, and although money is tight, they have committed to support AZPM with more than 2 million dollars per year, in cash and in-kind support, even after the full impact of the reduction has been realized in fiscal year 2019.
The staff and I are confident that our plans have addressed the UA reduction in the fiscal year 2015 budget, which amounts to a reduction of 4% and which still represents significant income. Please rest assured that we are all working diligently to increase other sources of revenue, such as the investment area businesses make through program underwriting support, and encouraging more viewers and listeners to become contributors – to further ensure AZPM’s future. Fortunately, AZPM stations are some of the best watched and most listened-to in the public media industry.
Our production staff are busy working on the new MetroWeek (Fridays at 8:30p/Sundays 10:30a) and on the new weekly version of Arizona Illustrated, which premieres in September. And, our latest long-form documentary, Raptors! (working title), is in the final stages of production in preparation of a fall premiere.
Your support will be more critical than ever to AZPM as we go forward. I hope I can count on your continued investment in AZPM as we work together to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of viewers and listeners in Southern Arizona. I hope you will respond generously to mail appeals and on-air fundraisers AZPM conducts over the coming weeks and months.
Sincerely,
Jack Gibson
