Oregon Media Insiders

I am a long-time listener and supporter of NPR, in CA most recently, now in Portland. I surely notice a difference in tone/reportage between Sacramento and Portland - some (I consider) positive, some negative. One of the things that seems to grate on me daily is the voice and persona of Beth Hyams. Is it just me?? We had Jeffery Callison in Sacto, a wonderful reporter and interviewer, plus a voice easy to listen to.
I'm happy to find this site and the opinions expressed.

OK, it was just an off-hand comment intended to squeeze out small donations during the final (I hope) pledge break, but I heard this comment by one of OPB's people and it troubled me.

Paraphrasing, but close, and I sincerely apologize if I have it wrong:

"You know and I know that a couple of bigwigs could come in here and open their wallets, and they would have undue influence over what goes out."

KOAC has had a presence in OSU's Covell Hall since the 1920s. Not any more. The staff email from Steve Bass had these particulars:

As you may know, some members of our staff work at our Corvallis
studios in Covell Hall on the Oregon State University campus,
including both radio programming and engineering staff. Earlier
today, we informed them of the decision to transition all radio
programming operations to our main studio in Portland, and to move
engineering staff to another location in Corvallis. These moves will
not happen right away and could take up to a year to fully complete. ...

[I]t has become apparent Covell Hall can no longer meet our
needs, particularly as our equipment becomes more complex and
sensitive to temperature. Covell Hall lacks air conditioning so it is
not a friendly environment for an increasingly IT-based broadcast
operation.

The cost to install air conditioning, power back-up and other
necessary upgrades amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Although our long relationship with OSU is very strong we did not
think it reasonable to expect them to invest a significant amount of
money into this building on our behalf. In analyzing the significant
cost, we did not think that such an investment on our part would lead
to a better service to our listeners. And given that our systems have
gotten far more complex and the cost of maintaining duplicate
technology in two places is increasing, we believe OPB will be
stronger with one primary "hub" located in Portland.

This move will have no impact on listeners, the vast majority of whom
are unaware that OPB has a facility in Corvallis. It will still be
possible for us to talk with Bill Lunch every Friday on Morning
Edition, for example.

Engineering staff will be moving out to the transmitter building.

WWire is reporting that OPB's congenial Morning Edition host April Baer will be moving to cover departed political reporter Colin Fogarty's beat. Sliding into her empty anchor chair will be Kristian Foden-Vencil (you can bet I looked that one up carefully and I'm still not sure I've got it right):

Foden-Vencil and Portland Mercury reporter Matt Davis are perhaps the local media's most out-of-the-closet Brits. Of course, Foden-Vencil is known for his accent, whereas Davis is known for his singular charm.

snorfle

OPB news director Morgan Holm told WWire the switcheroo starts 4/7/08, and that a new reporting position will be posted soon-ish.

OPB has decided to end its Golden Hours reading service for the blind by April 30th. From the memo:

When Golden Hours began in 1975, the blind and visually impaired had
few options for receiving news and information. For many years prior
to the rise of the internet and prior to OPB radio becoming primarily
a news and information service, Golden Hours provided one of the only
options for the community it serves.

Today, the number of TV news channels has skyrocketed, the Internet
has exploded, thousands of books and magazines are now offered on

The other day, John Bell, OPB's membership director, said that he hopes to pull 75,000 new members from the new Eugene station (KOPB-AM, the old KASH/KOPT). People say that OPB paid a half million for the station; some question why. As usual, the story is in the numbers. Seventy-five thousand paying members seems to be optimistic in a market of -- perhaps -- 200,000, so let's take a third of that -- 25,000. Multiply that by an average $50 annual contribution (seems to be a safe number, but only a guess), and you get $1,250,000. Per year. Not a bad investment, that.

When stuff happens at OPB, it really happens. I hear over the transom this morning that ace reporter Colin Fogarty is leaving OPB after 13 years to take a job at Pyramid Communications. His last day is Friday.

Remember when we worried about David Christensen, OPB music director? Yeah. Not so much:

Oregon Public Broadcasting announced the launch of opbmusic, a new contemporary music service available online and on the radio. opbmusic features the best indie, alternative and pop music with a special emphasis on new music and artists from the Northwest, particularly those from Oregon. ...

More than a dozen bands and artists have already recorded opbmusic sessions, and more are on the way.

"This is an exciting project," said David Christensen, OPB's music director. "It's a chance to really shine a spotlight on some of the great music and artists from Oregon, and tap into the audience's ideas about what's new and exciting." Christensen added, "We're already blogging about the music we're playing now, live shows in and around Portland and the Northwest, and upcoming artists. Listeners will only deepen that conversation and help us decide what music we play."

The service is online at OPBMusic.org and on HD radio at 91.5-2.

This should make for interesting times. OPB is buying KOPT from Churchill:

"OPB's over 7,500 contributors in the Eugene/Springfield area have long asked for OPB radio to be available," said Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO. "So, when OPB heard that a station in Eugene was available for sale, we immediately jumped on the opportunity and contacted Churchill Media," he said. "OPB is the voice for thinking Oregonians everywhere, and we look forward to developing a stronger local connection with the people of Eugene, one of Oregon's most vibrant communities."

And how does KLCC take the news? Apparently, fine:

KLCC FM, a public radio station licensed to Lane Community College in Eugene, has endorsed OPB's purchase of KOPT. KLCC already partners with OPB to maintain a Salem news bureau. "I welcome OPB to the Eugene/Springfield radio market," said Steve Barton, general manager of KLCC. "OPB's acquisition of KOPT provides a great opportunity to increase the depth and breadth of local radio programming. I look forward to collaborating with OPB to make this an excellent partnership of both organizations' talent and resources."

The Eugene market is big enough to support two public stations now. I hope.

No word on when KOPT makes the switch.

After 17 years (much longer if you count Oregon First before it), Oregon Considered is going bye-bye:

Local and regional news can now be heard at the top of every weekday hour. We'll also expand our local and regional news coverage during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In addition, beginning Monday, December 3, All Things Considered will move to 4pm weekdays to provide the first comprehensive coverage of the day's events. Marketplace will move to 6:30pm, capping off coverage of business news and how it affects you. After more than 17 years, Oregon Considered will leave our schedule. Oregon Considered Host Allison Frost will continue to lead the reporting staff in her new role as assignment editor. This new configuration provides our news staff greater flexibility to cover more stories across our region in greater depth.

Somehow this is expanding coverage. We'll see. Or hear--we'll hear.

Update: OPB News Director Morgan Holm is actively in the comments, folks.