WAMU 88.

5 COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Council
Wednesday, September 14, 2016

WAMU Community Council Members Attending:

Barbara Bares, Council Chair; Eugene Sofer, Vice Chair; Sharvell Becton, Dr. Christine Berg,
Paul DesJardin, Navroz Gandhi, Trisha Hartge, David Nemazie, Manuel Ochoa, Tony
Sarmiento, Shay Stevens, Thomas F. Walls, Jon West-Bey. Avis Thomas-Lester, Donna MP
Willson, Lucinda Crabtree

Peter Tannenwald and Matt McCormick, ex-officio

WAMU/AU Staff Attending:

JJ Yore, Carey Needham, Kathleen Allenbaugh, Madeleine Poore, Rob Bertrand, Audrey
Johnson, David McMullen, Rupert Allman, Alicia Montgomery, Bec Feldhaus Adams,

Members of the Public:

Cathleen O’Brien and Glenn Ihrig (WAMU Volunteer Hosts)
Gar W. Young, Maura Brophy, Carol Ann Roudolph, Joan Gilman, Timothy Tillman,
LaTanya Eggleston, Morey Epstein

I. Welcome – Barbara Bares, Council Chair

Barbara Bares opened the meeting at 7 p.m.

II. State of the Station Report

Leadership, Membership & Audience Update – JJ Yore, General Manager
JJ introduced eight new hires. He credited the station for being a talent magnet that looked
for talent from all over the country – inside and outside of the medium. The announcement
included:

 Amy Powers – Head of Underwriting

 David McMullen – Head of Membership
 Alicia Montgomery – Head of Regional News
 Rupert Allman – Executive Producer, “Project X”
 Bec Feldhaus Adams – Editorial Project Manager
 Kelsey Proud – Managing Editor of Digital
 Carmel Delshad – News Producer, All Things Considered
 Mikaela Lefrak – News Producer, Morning Edition
JJ reported that the station will continue to expand news programs and build upon enterprise
journalism. He credited the debut of the station’s first off-air podcast, Metropocalypse hosted
by Martin Di Caro, as an effort to expand audiences online.

JJ announced The Big Listen will be distributed by NPR to stations all over the nation. The
one-hour program hosted by Lauren Ober, introduces listeners to podcasts they've never
heard of. WAMU’s head of content Andi McDaniel negotiated the deal and NPR’s
distribution begins October 6.

JJ introduced the early negotiation stages of teaming up with The Kendeda Fund to start a
discussion on gun violence. The station pitched a $75,000 planning grant that will begin a
five-month initiative to scope out what format the show should take. He added the station
would take the lead in multi-station platform.

Barbara Bares asked if the show would be a stand-alone series. JJ said the planning grant will
determine what format the show will take, but he sees it being more integrated and having
investigative aspects.

Navroz Gandhi asked what the time frame looked like. JJ answered that it would
theoretically be completed by the end of the year, but was hopeful for a definitive answer by
February.

Project X Report – Rupert Allman, Associate General Manager

Rupert reported on the status of Project X, the show replacing Diane Rehm in January. He
reassured audiences the show will continue to be smart, welcome the best guests, and have
even more range. He said the show won’t chase breaking news and it won’t be about what
people think.

Rupert said the new host short list is down to single digits. He said the host will hold many
of Diane’s qualities, but will be an entirely new personality with their own unique voice.

Rupert announced the job posting for the new production team would go live later in the
week. He said he was hopeful the host and the title of the show would be announced by the
next meeting.

David Nemazie asked what role does NPR or your main carriers play in the search. Rupert
suggested the distributor was working closely with the station and they were consulting with
them regularly. He said NPR is essential to expanding the show which is one of his main
goals.
Navroz Ghandi asked if segments from The Diane Rehm Show such as the Friday Politics
Hour would continue. Rupert answered that the new two-hour show will carry over many
elements, but will continue to try new things out. JJ confirmed critical components of
Diane’s show will carry over and the station would decide what carries over after the annual
programming directors conference in phoenix.

Trisha Hartge asked if there was a way to encourage current listeners to offer constructive
criticism of the new show other than the fact they miss Diane Rhem. Rupert responded
there will be online discussions but it will be hard to manager where audiences take the
discussion.

JJ reported the audience trend report has been consistently up. He said the composition of
the station’s audience continued to change. The two oldest demo groups, ages 65-74 and
75+, declined in percentage. As a result, the station trend is up for listeners 25-34 and 35-44.

Chris asked if the station knew the absolute number of new audience members that were
tuning in. JJ responded the percentages are being looked at and the goal is to eventually
determine the number.

Membership Report – David McMullen, Head of Membership

David reported that the membership structure is surprisingly successful without a good
foundation. He said the main goal is to always raise money and in order to attract younger
listeners to donate a few practices have to change.

David announced the mailing system will be outsourced by November. He said the emails
and mail sent out to listeners will test creative designs that entice members to open it. The
average gift size will be bumped to an average of $65. He suggested listeners who donate
larger amounts maintain longer relationships with the station. David said opportunities to
learn about the radio station through invitations or electronic newsletters will create better
connections between listeners and producers.

David announced the format for the October campaign which will focus on the election. He
said the station is working with NPR and Politico to create better pitch spots that highlight
Washington.

David introduced the December premium which will focus on the legacy of Diane Rehm.
For the first time the incentives will be preordered and instead of volunteers packaging the
gifts, everything will be sent from the distributor to ensure faster and more efficient delivery.
He announced the January-February Thank-a-thon will move to a call center which will get
listeners making donations into the system immediately.
David mentioned a new software system will be introduced that will help create donor goals
by analyzing when sustainers are listening and when people are most likely to donate. He
suggested this will determine if membership needs to change their pitch to audiences.

Patricia Hartge asked if there would be an easier way to make contributions in someone
else’s honor. David responded the person who makes a donation will be thanked and the
person honored will be notified.

Patricia Hartge asked how the available incentives would be marketed to sustaining
members? David responded pushing the sustaining program is important and they remain a
large focus.

Christine Berg asked how do you split out payments online at the leadership level. David
responded the system will be available but it is up to the university to determine how they
want to accept payments.

Peter Tannenwald asked if the station’s mail campaign delivery issues have been cleared up.
David responded that the current data needs to be cleaned out and it will take some time,
but the agency will work with mail house so they will be mailing and printing.

Avis Thomas-Lester asked what a Thank-a-thon was. David responded it is a time when
volunteers come in to make phone calls to sustaining members and thank them for their
contributions.

Financial Report – Carey Needham, Associate General Manager

The station’s FY16 ended on April 30, 2016 with a budget of $22.2 million. The budget
planned for FY17 was set two years ago and started May 1, 2016.

Carey announced the fees paid to the university started at $1.8 million and currently totals
about $5.3 million. WAMU has experienced three years of deficit budgets. Last fiscal year,
the deficit was $578,000 compared to $1.4 million in the prior year.

Memberships increased 14 percent between FY15 and FY16. The station membership total
was 58,000 at the end of last year.

Giving is up 8 percent, and the station is up $290,000 from last fiscal year. The stretch goal
for membership donations is $11.9 million and the station is currently on track to meet it.
Underwriting’s revenue was forecasted at $1.6 million less than budget. Projected deficit is
$1 million from operations.

The Diane Rehm Show staff were offered enhanced severance packages totaling $280,000 over
a two-year period. The station faces a $1.9 million fiscal challenge for the current year, and
double that into the next. Carey said the station has sources of funding from NPR to carry
Project X and distribute the show.

Carey announced there is an 18-month timeline to move away from the Customer Relation
Management (CRM) tool. The change will result in a new membership module.

Carey reported the station met with American University to negotiate an investment capitol
to apply to FY17. The sum total is more than $2 million. He suggested budget relief will
stem from the transition of Blue Grass Country and the potential sale of the land
surrounding AU Tower.

Trisha Hartage asked if there was going to be a change in the administration baseline. Carey
responded the station asked for $1 million in relief which would be a reduction of about a
third. JJ jumped in and suggested the university will have to continue negotiating with the
station in order to create a realistic goal.

Navroz Gandhi asked if Project X was going to cost the station more to produce. Carey
responded the show will be run through multiple platforms and the revenue will be based
off of digital sponsorship. He said it will cost more but NPR approved the budget.

III. New Business

JJ reported The Bluegrass Country station will end its services on December 31, 2016. He
hired an outside consultant firm last spring that made it clear the future of the station was in
news and information. JJ said Bluegrass currently has five parties interested in buying and
two have already come forward with a bid.

JJ said WAMU is in the process of forming its own board based on a suggestion from the
university. He said a study was being conducted to determine the different ways universities
across the country manage the stations they own.

Barbara asked what Neil Kerwin’s reaction was. JJ responded that Kerwin was receptive
since it was another powerful member of the university who made the suggestion. He said
Audrey Johnson has made a list of potential board members.

Barbara reported the station is putting together a working group of about five staff members
to work together to explore options that diversify staff and listenership. JJ asked if anyone in
the audience would be willing to volunteer.

Donna MP Wilson, Avis Thomas-Lester, Tony Sarmiento, and Shay Steven volunteered to
spearhead the diversity project.
Barbara announced Shay Stevens volunteered to be the head of the Community Council
nominating committee. Barbara asked for a few more volunteers. Lucinda Crabtree, David
Nemazie, and Audrey Alvarado, volunteered to help with the nominating committee.

IV. Community Dialogue

JJ reported Community Dialogue would be postponed until November in order to give the
new staff some time to settle in.

V. Old Business - Barbara Bares

Barbara called for a motion to approve the minutes from the April 27, 2016 meeting. The
motion was made and seconded, and the minutes were approved.

VI. Public Comment

Carolyn Rudolph commented on Project X and suggested a female presence to replace
Diane Rehm.

Gar Young provided comments about his excitement for Project X and the diversity
initiative.

Timothy Tillman commented on that the radio station needs to pay attention to becoming
more diverse in order to cater to Washington, D.C. and the rest of the country.

VII. Adjournment
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded. The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Madeleine Poore