CPB proposes boost for rural radio stations
Originally published in Current, Oct. 12, 1998
By Jacqueline Conciatore
When pubcasting gets a $50 million raise in its federal appropriation next fall, most of public radio's share would go to strengthen rural service, under a recent proposal from CPB.
Where CPB radio money would go next year
Nonrural stations
would see an average 10 percent increase in their station grant amounts next fiscal year--about $4 million additional dollars spread among 268 licensees. Total CPB aid: $45 million.Rural stations would see an approximate 50 percent increase in their station grants--about $5 million additional dollars spread among 118 licensees. They'd also benefit from a new $1.25 million "Rural Listener Access Incentive Fund." The total increase in rural dollars represents a 62 percent increase, approximately $6 million additional dollars. Total CPB aid: $16 million.
All stations would see their CPB grant amounts rise but the biggest beneficiaries under the proposal would be state and regional networks serving rural areas, Native American stations, and the little stations that CPB now classifies as rural.
Last year, when Congress raised CPB's forward-funded appropriation by $50 million--to $300 million for fiscal year 2000--it directed CPB to foster service to underserved communities, particularly rural and Native American ones.
On the TV side, the CPB Board responded with two new efforts designed to help rural and small stations become more efficient and self-sufficient (Current, Sept. 28). And now on the radio side, CPB's proposal "Listener Access 2000," would revamp the corporation's station grant policies to:
- channel more dollars to all stations serving sparsely populated areas--not just those stations that CPB currently classifies as "rural";
- encourage rural stations to deliver multiple program services to their listeners;
- and encourage service expansion into the remotest areas through signal extension and alternative delivery means.
The proposal was developed by a task force of station and network representatives, conducting an annual review of CPB radio grants programs. Last week, Rick Madden, CPB's radio v.p., traveled to regional meetings to discuss the proposal with stations, and consultant Mark Fuerst began moderating a Pubradio discussion set to continue through mid-November.
A week or so after most stations had received the proposal by mail, there was not much reaction, at least in public. Once CPB is finished consulting with stations and making revisions, the proposal will go to the CPB Board for approval.
Redefining "rural"
About six of every 10 added radio dollars next year would go for rural service, but all stations get some increase--nonrural stations would see an average 10 percent increase in their fiscal 2000 station grant amounts (see yellow box above).
CPB would accomplish a greater investment in rural service partly by widening the gateway through which qualifying rural stations access supplemental cash. Under the proposal, about 75 additional licensees would be classified as rural, up from about 40.
The change is necessary because existing policy limits rural classification to stations serving populations under 25,000, which excludes significant numbers of licensees in rural areas such as the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico, CPB says. The current policy excludes virtually all "wide area networks," such as Vermont Public Radio, which would receive probably twice its $250,000 in CPB dollars were it split into six small separately licensed stations, CPB said.
Under the new policy, rural stations must have a coverage area population no greater than 25,000 or an overall population density of at most 60 people per square kilometer.
CPB also proposes eliminating the criterion that rural stations provide the only public radio signal in their coverage area, a standard inconsistent with the system's move toward multiple program services.
Where money is sparse
In addition to broadening the definition of "rural," CPB is proposing to use its base grants to channel more money to stations in less-populated areas--where private dollars are harder to come by--while giving less money to stations in more densely populated areas. The base grants would be renamed "Listener Access Grants" to reflect their purpose, and would change from being a single flat amount to a few tiered amounts set according to population density. Though most stations, rural and otherwise, would see their base grants rise, about 80 of the largest non-minority stations would see their base grants fall by about a third.
One risk of the change is that licensees will break up their cost-effective station and repeater operations to be eligible for the larger base grants. But CPB proposes bonuses to encourage operations that serve least-populated areas efficiently through networking or other cooperative efforts.
The report also suggests that CPB will monitor station activity to prevent disaggregation of stations. During Madden's recent meeting with Eastern Public Radio, managers asked CPB to move beyond "rhetoric" and develop ways to ensure stations don't exploit the base grant boost, Madden says.
CPB also proposes to extend minority supplemental support to rural licensees that are eligible. Currently there are about 50 minority grantees. This change would mean an additional $160,000 to 10 stations, eight of them Native American stations.
New listeners, new services
CPB is also proposing to set up a $2 million Listener Access Incentive Fund that would aim to:
- help public radio achieve universal service. There are now more than 25 million people in the U.S. without access to a public radio signal--10 percent of the population. In the interests of efficiency, the incentive grants would go only to stations already receiving CPB aid. That is, CPB doesn't want to fund entire new stations for these remotest of remote areas, which are spread all around the country. Rather, it wants to fund extension of existing signals or alternative delivery means.
- help stimulate new multiple program streams in rural areas. One in four listeners can hear only a single public radio signal.
- offer emergency funding to ensure rural listeners don't lose a CPB-funded signal. Here the task force draws a distinction between keeping a grantee's operation alive and keeping a service alive. Maintaining a service if a licensee gets in trouble could involve everything from a one-time funding initiative to establishing institutional partnerships such as CoastAlaska stations have done. But CPB says that in rare instances, such as station insolvency, another grantee could step in. Says Madden: "The question becomes, how do you preserve the signal? It means we could work with trying to identify some other service provider."
- establish a rural manager orientation program, for rural station managers new to their position or new to public radio.
CPB would fund the Listener Access Incentive Fund from the station grants pool. Its $2 million budget would change annually in proportion to changes in the appropriations.
A final objective set out by the task force is that no rural station grantees' federal support ever exceed more than 50 percent of a station's budget. "American taxpayers should never be the major operational stock holder or principal funder of any licensee," the "Access 2000" report says. In practice, the rule means CPB grants will not exceed a station's reported nonfederal financial support.
An additional $1.4 million in left-over money from this fiscal year--one result of a double appropriation for Ready to Learn--will help phase in Listener Access 2000.
Later news: CPB Board gives final approval to rural radio plan, 1999.
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Earlier news: Moving faster on the TV side, CPB had already
approved extra aid for rural public TV stations for fiscal year 1999.