UPDATED, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017:
Here's what you can do right now to Save WBRU!
Please read our latest newsletter (below) and then contact the RI Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, and let his office know how you feel about Saving WBRU! He can take action right now to save the station.
And spread the Save WBRU! message widely on social media and with your friends, colleagues and family. Thanks for your support as we Save WBRU!
Here's what you can do right now to Save WBRU!
Please read our latest newsletter (below) and then contact the RI Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, and let his office know how you feel about Saving WBRU! He can take action right now to save the station.
And spread the Save WBRU! message widely on social media and with your friends, colleagues and family. Thanks for your support as we Save WBRU!
Dear Save WBRU! supporter:
Below is a proposal for WBRU-FM that was developed with Rhode Island Public Radio and has been presented to the Rhode Island Attorney General's office.
It would allow WBRU to continue as a community radio station operated by the broadcast educational workshop that has operated the station for the past 50 years.
This proposal is critical since the sale of the WBRU broadcast license would mean WBRU as a non-profit corporation could no longer fulfill its core mission as a student radio broadcast workshop, and it's been argued that such an abandonment of its mission should only be allowed if there were no viable options for the station.
The Attorney General is currently looking into the matter, including requesting and having received documentation of donations of money and in-kind services to WBRU over the years, and what the expectation was as to how that support would be used.
It's been -- and remains -- the argument of those seeking to Save WBRU, as well as of Brown University, that WBRU belongs to those who helped build it over the past 50 years, and it should remain a community radio station as long as there is a viable option.
This is one.
Rhode Island Public Radio, and its CEO, Torey Malatia, the legendary co-creator of "This American Life" with Ira Glass, and one of the founders of the Public Radio Exchange and other major digital technical and radio programming innovations, has offered to operate the station as a student broadcast educational workshop, this averting a sale and allowing WBRU to continue as a broadcast community radio station and exciting and innovative cutting-edge digital program producer and distributor for the 21st century.
What's needed right now is for all concerned about the sale, and what the loss of WBRU would mean to the community -- especially those who have supported the station in any way over the years -- to call Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office and ask that there be a full inquiry into the sale -- specifically given the benefit WBRU-FM has gotten over the years from the State of Rhode Island as a non-profit, and that the Brown Broadcasting Service should not be allowed to sell the license for cash given that there exists a viable plan for it to continue its mission as a broadcast educational workshop.
You can call the Attorney General's office now and let them know how you feel. Call 401-274-4400 extension 2338, and ask to leave a message for Attorney General Kilmartin.
Thank you.
-- The SAVE WBRU team
-----------------------------
Rhode Island Public Radio and WBRU
Description of Institution:
Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) is an independent 501(c)(3), Rhode Island non-profit corporation based in Providence. It is a community licensee of radio stations WRNI-FM, Narragansett and WXNI-FM, North Dartmouth. It also leases the signals of WEHL-FM in Providence and WCVY-FM in Coventry.
Rhode Island Public Radio is a member station of National Public Radio and is qualified for funding under the Community Service Grant program of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is independently audited and subject to all public open meeting rules. It has an unpaid governance board of 26 local citizens, and a volunteer Community Advisory Board comprised of a diverse body of service area representatives chosen to counsel the institution on its public service effectiveness.
Rhode Island Public Radio is professionally operated, with a full-time staff of 19. Although it specializes in news and information, its staff has a rich portfolio of format experience in broadcast, internet audio publishing, and audio production including in the areas of the arts, culture, classical music, jazz, urban pop, folk and global music, and rock.
How Rhode Island Public Radio Can Help Keep WBRU as a Student Broadcast Educational Workshop:
Scenario Number 1:
RIPR believes that WBRU-FM can be sustained within the Student Educational Workshop model while it extends its reach into digital media including internet streaming and podcast publishing. For this reason, RIPR previously expressed an interest in purchasing WBRU with the possibility of continuing to operate it as a student broadcast educational workshop.
RIPR, in fact, sees a more meaningful internet publishing experience for students if broadcast is retained and paired with new, innovative digital distributions online and elsewhere. This is consistent with views within the industry about the critical value of pairing legacy and new media, and in the case of WBRU-FM it means that on-the-air broadcast could serve as a massively powerful promotional tool to create attention, excitement and fascination for students and the public regarding the workshop’s streaming and podcast innovations and to drive audiences to its digital platforms. The pairing of broadcast and new media is also is an effective tool to stimulate student and public conversation and discovery, which would help fuel the success of online endeavors. In other words, though not usually recognized by non-professionals, broadcast, with its audience reach, is an essential part of the marketing -- viral and otherwise-- of digital publishing. The management staff of RIPR has recent, relevant experience with successful podcast production, as well as a highly regarded record of radio, television, and film production.
Were the license of WBRU-FM to be secured through a combination of funds raised and a long-term loan to RIPR that would be secured, in part, with the license itself, RIPR management believes that with efficient use of its own back-office infrastructure, its three-person professional corporate support sales staff, its engineering department and its lengthy relationship with WBRU student managers, the station’s long-term sustainability is not only possible but most likely certain. This support would provide a stable environment where students could focus on such areas as programming, news and public affairs coverage, community service and other critical aspects of the radio station. We project a break-even annual budget in the first few years, and, as the podcast and streaming portfolio builds success, annual budgets would become net positive.
If the terms for a loan, to be paid back over an extended period of time, were negotiated with an interested and supportive party, for example Brown University, which has expressed a strong desire to help in this matter, to match a realistic business plan, RIPR would repay the loan from this net positive revenue along with philanthropic fundraising from the extensive community support for the station.
How Rhode Island Public Radio Can Help Keep WBRU as a Student Broadcast Educational Workshop:
Scenario Number 2:
In this scenario, RIPR does not operate WBRU-FM, nor take on responsibility for its budget. The license would be held by Brown University, and the University would be the governing entity.
Because RIPR’s board and staff has a deep regard for the mission of WBRU and the Student Broadcast Educational Workshop, RIPR would offer assistance in any way Brown, as licensee and operator, would find helpful to create a stable environment for the radio station where students could focus on such areas as programming, news and public affairs coverage, community service, and other critical aspects of the station. This could include RIPR providing back-office support with or without commercial sales representation, and engineering support. It could also include helping selected online digital content creators or podcasters by co-producing their material with them, or simply assisting in certain phases of on-air and digital production. RIPR would also be willing to help cross-promote selected podcasts, or even publish some of the Student Workshop’s digital creations on the RIPR website.
Support:
It was been clear to many, including Brown University and leading members of the Providence community, that the sale of the WBRU-FM license should only result from the occurrence of two situations, those being a dire lack of financial revenue, and the absence of a credible and workable plan to keep the station as a student broadcast educational workshop, neither of which situations currently exist. Furthermore, this plan serves to strengthen the station with regard to both of these areas.
The first basis to sell the station’s broadcast license would be if the station’s financial revenue situation were dire, which it does not appear to be. The last available Federal 990 Tax Return for Brown Broadcasting Service, which owns WBRU-FM’s license, shows total annual revenue of $1.33 million, with a shortfall of $52,000 in 2015, a deficit that was down from the previous year, 2014, when the Federal 990 tax return shows $1.38 million in revenue and a shortfall of $79,000.
It should be noted that WBRU is rare among non-profits, in that it relies almost exclusively on radio advertising revenue and has a modest history of seeking cash donations as a non-profit that could have made up this deficit. It is the vision of this plan to utilize WBRU’s ability to attract and raise non-profit funding as part of its fiscal plan.
Meanwhile, the other grounds for a sale of the license would be if there were no other options to keep the station as a student broadcast educational workshop. In fact, this proposal represents a clear alternative. As a result, this calls into question the need to sell the station and provides the basis to keep WBRU as a local, community-based radio station and a student-operated educational broadcast workshop.
Additionally, WBRU has the benefit of a broad array of support both from the Rhode Island business and music community and from Brown alumni, many of whom worked at the station, which would be a critical part of keeping the station as a student broadcast workshop and making it sustainable.
Supporting this effort are Torey Malatia, the President, CEO and General Manager of Rhode Island Public Radio and one of the most respected executives in public broadcasting. Prior to joining RIPR in 2016, Torey was Chief Executive Officer and president of the board of directors of Chicago Public Media and general manager of radio station WBEZ-FM, Chicago.
At WBEZ, Torey built hit public radio programs like “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me . . .”, “Sound Opinions,” and, along with his friend and Brown alumnus Ira Glass, “This American Life.” Torey also developed Vocalo .org, to serve the significant number of young, multi-racial and multi-ethnic residents not traditionally drawn to public media, by attracting user-created content online, in English and Spanish, the best of which are broadcast on-air, and he is on the board of the groundbreaking Public Radio Exchange, an innovative open, online digital distribution platform widely used by public radio producers to distribute independent programming to radio stations.
Joining Torey is Bill Lichtenstein, a Peabody Award-winning print and broadcast journalist, who worked at WBRU-FM from 1974 to 1978 and served as program director in 1975 - 1976. Bill’s nearly 50 year career in broadcasting going back to working on-air at the legendary Boston radio station WBCN starting in 1970 at age 14, and includes producing investigative reports for ABC News for seven years and then producing programs and series for public radio and TV through his own company, Lichtenstein Creative Media, resulting in more than 60 major journalism honors. Bill was a part of the citizens group that was formed to find an alternative to the sale of public radio stations WNYC AM and FM by its owner at the time, the City of New York, to a commercial buyer, instead convincing the city to sell the stations to a non-profit foundation created to buy and run the stations. (See history of WNYC sale from Wikipedia below.)
Support for keeping WBRU-FM as a student educational broadcast workshop and a vital community radio station has come from the public and station alumni, including several whom it is anticipated would be asked to join a station advisory board. They include leaders of the Providence business and music community, along with those who have achieved the highest levels of success in American media, broadcasting, journalism, new media and entrepreneurship. The invaluable assistance from these advisors would help ensure that the station continues as a vibrant, exciting and successful student broadcast workshop while supporting student efforts to develop bold and innovative digital media programming and services, as the station achieves financial sustainability and fiscal independence over the long-term.
Conclusion:
WBRU has a long and storied history as a student broadcast educational workshop. The alumni from the station comprise a “Who’s Who” of some of the most successful professionals in the American media, journalism and entertainment industries – including many of whom that credit WBRU with introducing them to their interests and professions.
Meanwhile, the station itself has remained a force in broadcasting, being chosen by Rolling Stone magazine for three years in a row as radio station of the year – not student radio station of the year – but radio station of the year. It is proven itself to be an invaluable asset to the students who have a chance to work there, and to Rhode Island as a community broadcaster, which is why it has attracted so much student and public support and assistance over the years.
At a time where media literacy and learning to use media to create positive social change in the world couldn’t be more important for today’s young people, WBRU’s designated and legal mission as a student broadcast educational workshop could not be more important or essential.
Rhode Island Public Radio is willing to be a team member in helping preserve and move WBRU into its digital future. We can be an ally with vast, established professional skills, a strong community volunteer board, and a rooted, long-standing faith in the mission of WBRU, by providing the necessary support and serving as a conduit for those who want to offer their help and assistance to maintaining WBRU-FM as a leader in the field of broadcasting and media as it moves into the 21st century.
-----------------------------------------------------
( * Shortly after assuming the mayoralty in 1994, Rudolph W. Giuliani announced he was considering selling the WNYC stations [AM and FM]. Giuliani believed that broadcasting was no longer essential as a municipal service, and that the financial compensation from selling the stations could be used to help the City cover budget shortfalls.[5] The final decision was made in March 1995: while the City opted to divest WNYC-TV (now WPXN-TV) through a blind auction to commercial buyers, and the two stations, WNYC-AM and FM were sold to the WNYC Foundation by the City of New York for $20 million, far less than what the stations could have been sold for if they were placed on the open market, with payment to the City being made over six years. While the sale put an end to the occasional political intrusions of the past, it required the WNYC Foundation to embark on a major appeal towards listeners, other foundations, and private benefactors. The station's audience and budget have continued to grow since the split from the City.)
Below is a proposal for WBRU-FM that was developed with Rhode Island Public Radio and has been presented to the Rhode Island Attorney General's office.
It would allow WBRU to continue as a community radio station operated by the broadcast educational workshop that has operated the station for the past 50 years.
This proposal is critical since the sale of the WBRU broadcast license would mean WBRU as a non-profit corporation could no longer fulfill its core mission as a student radio broadcast workshop, and it's been argued that such an abandonment of its mission should only be allowed if there were no viable options for the station.
The Attorney General is currently looking into the matter, including requesting and having received documentation of donations of money and in-kind services to WBRU over the years, and what the expectation was as to how that support would be used.
It's been -- and remains -- the argument of those seeking to Save WBRU, as well as of Brown University, that WBRU belongs to those who helped build it over the past 50 years, and it should remain a community radio station as long as there is a viable option.
This is one.
Rhode Island Public Radio, and its CEO, Torey Malatia, the legendary co-creator of "This American Life" with Ira Glass, and one of the founders of the Public Radio Exchange and other major digital technical and radio programming innovations, has offered to operate the station as a student broadcast educational workshop, this averting a sale and allowing WBRU to continue as a broadcast community radio station and exciting and innovative cutting-edge digital program producer and distributor for the 21st century.
What's needed right now is for all concerned about the sale, and what the loss of WBRU would mean to the community -- especially those who have supported the station in any way over the years -- to call Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office and ask that there be a full inquiry into the sale -- specifically given the benefit WBRU-FM has gotten over the years from the State of Rhode Island as a non-profit, and that the Brown Broadcasting Service should not be allowed to sell the license for cash given that there exists a viable plan for it to continue its mission as a broadcast educational workshop.
You can call the Attorney General's office now and let them know how you feel. Call 401-274-4400 extension 2338, and ask to leave a message for Attorney General Kilmartin.
Thank you.
-- The SAVE WBRU team
-----------------------------
Rhode Island Public Radio and WBRU
Description of Institution:
Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) is an independent 501(c)(3), Rhode Island non-profit corporation based in Providence. It is a community licensee of radio stations WRNI-FM, Narragansett and WXNI-FM, North Dartmouth. It also leases the signals of WEHL-FM in Providence and WCVY-FM in Coventry.
Rhode Island Public Radio is a member station of National Public Radio and is qualified for funding under the Community Service Grant program of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is independently audited and subject to all public open meeting rules. It has an unpaid governance board of 26 local citizens, and a volunteer Community Advisory Board comprised of a diverse body of service area representatives chosen to counsel the institution on its public service effectiveness.
Rhode Island Public Radio is professionally operated, with a full-time staff of 19. Although it specializes in news and information, its staff has a rich portfolio of format experience in broadcast, internet audio publishing, and audio production including in the areas of the arts, culture, classical music, jazz, urban pop, folk and global music, and rock.
How Rhode Island Public Radio Can Help Keep WBRU as a Student Broadcast Educational Workshop:
Scenario Number 1:
RIPR believes that WBRU-FM can be sustained within the Student Educational Workshop model while it extends its reach into digital media including internet streaming and podcast publishing. For this reason, RIPR previously expressed an interest in purchasing WBRU with the possibility of continuing to operate it as a student broadcast educational workshop.
RIPR, in fact, sees a more meaningful internet publishing experience for students if broadcast is retained and paired with new, innovative digital distributions online and elsewhere. This is consistent with views within the industry about the critical value of pairing legacy and new media, and in the case of WBRU-FM it means that on-the-air broadcast could serve as a massively powerful promotional tool to create attention, excitement and fascination for students and the public regarding the workshop’s streaming and podcast innovations and to drive audiences to its digital platforms. The pairing of broadcast and new media is also is an effective tool to stimulate student and public conversation and discovery, which would help fuel the success of online endeavors. In other words, though not usually recognized by non-professionals, broadcast, with its audience reach, is an essential part of the marketing -- viral and otherwise-- of digital publishing. The management staff of RIPR has recent, relevant experience with successful podcast production, as well as a highly regarded record of radio, television, and film production.
Were the license of WBRU-FM to be secured through a combination of funds raised and a long-term loan to RIPR that would be secured, in part, with the license itself, RIPR management believes that with efficient use of its own back-office infrastructure, its three-person professional corporate support sales staff, its engineering department and its lengthy relationship with WBRU student managers, the station’s long-term sustainability is not only possible but most likely certain. This support would provide a stable environment where students could focus on such areas as programming, news and public affairs coverage, community service and other critical aspects of the radio station. We project a break-even annual budget in the first few years, and, as the podcast and streaming portfolio builds success, annual budgets would become net positive.
If the terms for a loan, to be paid back over an extended period of time, were negotiated with an interested and supportive party, for example Brown University, which has expressed a strong desire to help in this matter, to match a realistic business plan, RIPR would repay the loan from this net positive revenue along with philanthropic fundraising from the extensive community support for the station.
How Rhode Island Public Radio Can Help Keep WBRU as a Student Broadcast Educational Workshop:
Scenario Number 2:
In this scenario, RIPR does not operate WBRU-FM, nor take on responsibility for its budget. The license would be held by Brown University, and the University would be the governing entity.
Because RIPR’s board and staff has a deep regard for the mission of WBRU and the Student Broadcast Educational Workshop, RIPR would offer assistance in any way Brown, as licensee and operator, would find helpful to create a stable environment for the radio station where students could focus on such areas as programming, news and public affairs coverage, community service, and other critical aspects of the station. This could include RIPR providing back-office support with or without commercial sales representation, and engineering support. It could also include helping selected online digital content creators or podcasters by co-producing their material with them, or simply assisting in certain phases of on-air and digital production. RIPR would also be willing to help cross-promote selected podcasts, or even publish some of the Student Workshop’s digital creations on the RIPR website.
Support:
It was been clear to many, including Brown University and leading members of the Providence community, that the sale of the WBRU-FM license should only result from the occurrence of two situations, those being a dire lack of financial revenue, and the absence of a credible and workable plan to keep the station as a student broadcast educational workshop, neither of which situations currently exist. Furthermore, this plan serves to strengthen the station with regard to both of these areas.
The first basis to sell the station’s broadcast license would be if the station’s financial revenue situation were dire, which it does not appear to be. The last available Federal 990 Tax Return for Brown Broadcasting Service, which owns WBRU-FM’s license, shows total annual revenue of $1.33 million, with a shortfall of $52,000 in 2015, a deficit that was down from the previous year, 2014, when the Federal 990 tax return shows $1.38 million in revenue and a shortfall of $79,000.
It should be noted that WBRU is rare among non-profits, in that it relies almost exclusively on radio advertising revenue and has a modest history of seeking cash donations as a non-profit that could have made up this deficit. It is the vision of this plan to utilize WBRU’s ability to attract and raise non-profit funding as part of its fiscal plan.
Meanwhile, the other grounds for a sale of the license would be if there were no other options to keep the station as a student broadcast educational workshop. In fact, this proposal represents a clear alternative. As a result, this calls into question the need to sell the station and provides the basis to keep WBRU as a local, community-based radio station and a student-operated educational broadcast workshop.
Additionally, WBRU has the benefit of a broad array of support both from the Rhode Island business and music community and from Brown alumni, many of whom worked at the station, which would be a critical part of keeping the station as a student broadcast workshop and making it sustainable.
Supporting this effort are Torey Malatia, the President, CEO and General Manager of Rhode Island Public Radio and one of the most respected executives in public broadcasting. Prior to joining RIPR in 2016, Torey was Chief Executive Officer and president of the board of directors of Chicago Public Media and general manager of radio station WBEZ-FM, Chicago.
At WBEZ, Torey built hit public radio programs like “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me . . .”, “Sound Opinions,” and, along with his friend and Brown alumnus Ira Glass, “This American Life.” Torey also developed Vocalo .org, to serve the significant number of young, multi-racial and multi-ethnic residents not traditionally drawn to public media, by attracting user-created content online, in English and Spanish, the best of which are broadcast on-air, and he is on the board of the groundbreaking Public Radio Exchange, an innovative open, online digital distribution platform widely used by public radio producers to distribute independent programming to radio stations.
Joining Torey is Bill Lichtenstein, a Peabody Award-winning print and broadcast journalist, who worked at WBRU-FM from 1974 to 1978 and served as program director in 1975 - 1976. Bill’s nearly 50 year career in broadcasting going back to working on-air at the legendary Boston radio station WBCN starting in 1970 at age 14, and includes producing investigative reports for ABC News for seven years and then producing programs and series for public radio and TV through his own company, Lichtenstein Creative Media, resulting in more than 60 major journalism honors. Bill was a part of the citizens group that was formed to find an alternative to the sale of public radio stations WNYC AM and FM by its owner at the time, the City of New York, to a commercial buyer, instead convincing the city to sell the stations to a non-profit foundation created to buy and run the stations. (See history of WNYC sale from Wikipedia below.)
Support for keeping WBRU-FM as a student educational broadcast workshop and a vital community radio station has come from the public and station alumni, including several whom it is anticipated would be asked to join a station advisory board. They include leaders of the Providence business and music community, along with those who have achieved the highest levels of success in American media, broadcasting, journalism, new media and entrepreneurship. The invaluable assistance from these advisors would help ensure that the station continues as a vibrant, exciting and successful student broadcast workshop while supporting student efforts to develop bold and innovative digital media programming and services, as the station achieves financial sustainability and fiscal independence over the long-term.
Conclusion:
WBRU has a long and storied history as a student broadcast educational workshop. The alumni from the station comprise a “Who’s Who” of some of the most successful professionals in the American media, journalism and entertainment industries – including many of whom that credit WBRU with introducing them to their interests and professions.
Meanwhile, the station itself has remained a force in broadcasting, being chosen by Rolling Stone magazine for three years in a row as radio station of the year – not student radio station of the year – but radio station of the year. It is proven itself to be an invaluable asset to the students who have a chance to work there, and to Rhode Island as a community broadcaster, which is why it has attracted so much student and public support and assistance over the years.
At a time where media literacy and learning to use media to create positive social change in the world couldn’t be more important for today’s young people, WBRU’s designated and legal mission as a student broadcast educational workshop could not be more important or essential.
Rhode Island Public Radio is willing to be a team member in helping preserve and move WBRU into its digital future. We can be an ally with vast, established professional skills, a strong community volunteer board, and a rooted, long-standing faith in the mission of WBRU, by providing the necessary support and serving as a conduit for those who want to offer their help and assistance to maintaining WBRU-FM as a leader in the field of broadcasting and media as it moves into the 21st century.
-----------------------------------------------------
( * Shortly after assuming the mayoralty in 1994, Rudolph W. Giuliani announced he was considering selling the WNYC stations [AM and FM]. Giuliani believed that broadcasting was no longer essential as a municipal service, and that the financial compensation from selling the stations could be used to help the City cover budget shortfalls.[5] The final decision was made in March 1995: while the City opted to divest WNYC-TV (now WPXN-TV) through a blind auction to commercial buyers, and the two stations, WNYC-AM and FM were sold to the WNYC Foundation by the City of New York for $20 million, far less than what the stations could have been sold for if they were placed on the open market, with payment to the City being made over six years. While the sale put an end to the occasional political intrusions of the past, it required the WNYC Foundation to embark on a major appeal towards listeners, other foundations, and private benefactors. The station's audience and budget have continued to grow since the split from the City.)