Smith ends KUSC experiment in eclectic 'classics' format
Originally published in Current, Sept. 16, 1996
By Jacqueline Conciatore
KUSC, Los Angeles, has abandoned its controversial, eclectic "classics" format in favor of a more traditional classical schedule.
The change comes as KUSC's licensee, the University of Southern California (USC), conducts a comprehensive review of KUSC operations and finances because the station ended the 1996 fiscal year with a $500,000 deficit. [General Manager Wally Smith announced his resignation several weeks later, on Sept. 27.]
The format change seems to end Smith's effort to expand public radio's definition of classical music programming. The maverick Smith maintained his commitment to the format despite--or perhaps partly because of--contrary trends in station programming. Smith has relied more on personal vision than on ratings or research, assembling a schedule that mixed traditional Western classical music with other forms such as jazz and world music. He has hoped that by appealing to younger and more ethnically diverse Angelenos he could draw new audiences to traditional classical music. He has also said KUSC has an obligation to serve its hugely diverse city.
Program Director Steve Lama says that he and Smith decided to abandon eclecticism independently of the licensee, as a response to audience feedback. While listeners "appreciate the [programming] variety, a good deal are still ambivalent. What they see as our strength is classical music," he says. "It's time for us to respond to that." Lama says he shared Smith's vision for the station "100 percent." At the same time, "this switch I feel ecstatic about. To tell you the truth, I think it's going to mean a great surge forward for the station both in growth and in allowing us to solidify our identity."
While KUSC has a high cume audience--spring 1996 Arbritron data show a 350,400 draw--sources say its average-quarter-hour audience figures are not impressive. Some critics have also faulted KUSC for failing to hold on to more of its all-time peak audience, achieved during a brief period when KUSC was the only classical outlet in town.
Asked if the university task force had discussed KUSC reverting to more traditional classical programming or if Smith had cause to think the task force would approve, Lama declined to comment. Phil Corriveau, a pubcaster and friend of Smith's who is currently assisting the Coopers and Lybrand accounting firm in its review of station management, points out that Smith is pragmatic. "I think he's been feeling some pressure to revert... coming primarily from the university. ... And I think that if he is given clear direction on what the licensee wants, he will do his best to make that happen. ... He told me, 'If they tell me to play Beethoven all day, that's what I'll do.' "
Smith is not taking calls from the media regarding the current station review or the most recent format change.
Ninety percent classical
KUSC's recent changes have morning host Bonnie Grice, who is Smith's wife, stepping down from Wake Up L.A.!, which airs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. She will instead host a one-hour afternoon drivetime arts and music interview/call-in program. A release says Grice is leaving her morning duties to pursue other career opportunities in entertainment and education. Two other hosts, Rene Engel and Martin Perlich, are negotiating their new schedules with KUSC, Lama says. KUSC hired them in January for their strong on-air personalities, which are more informal than conventional classical hosts. Grice, too, has an on-air style some find too rambunctious for a classical station and that others think is refreshing. KUSC still wants that informality, and for hosts to make personal connections with listeners, Lama says, "but in a much more concise manner. There will be much less emphasis on talk."
The new schedule will increase the percentage of traditional classical music KUSC plays from 60 percent to about 90 percent, Lama says. The 10 percent of undefined material will include weekend entertainment programs such as A Prairie Home Companion. What musical variety there is will be within the classical genre, he says. "We won't be shy about including some contemporary classical music, light works by way of Broadway show tunes and film music ... vocal and choral music."
KUSC's new weekday schedule will begin with a morning classical show whose host has yet to be announced, in which Writer's Almanac will be inserted, followed by Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas. Then, Performance Today, followed by an afternoon classical show whose host has yet to be announced. Grice's interview program will air from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by Marketplace, which is produced at KUSC, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. From 7:30 to 11 p.m., Jim Svejda will be on the air, after which KUSC will air the overnight classical service produced at Minnesota Public Radio, Classical 24. NPR newscasts will air every hour, and Marketplace morning reports will be inserted hourly between 3 a.m. and 6:50 a.m.
Earlier story
University task force reviews KUSC, operating at deficitOriginally published in Current, Aug. 5, 1996
By Jacqueline Conciatore
The University of Southern California has set up a task force to oversee a comprehensive review of operations at its public station, KUSC, in response to an approximate $500,000 deficit in the station's fiscal 1996 budget.
At $500,000 the deficit would represent about 8 percent of the Los Angeles station's $6 million operating budget (This figure includes the more than $2 million budget of national business program Marketplace, which KUSC produces.)
"We are taking a good look at everything about the station," says Jane Pasano, USC's v.p. for external relations. "We are making sure the programming mission is on target [and] that internal management controls are in place and in congruity with the university's mission." The group, which includes KUSC General Manager Wally Smith, will also examine revenue flows and costs. The university wasn't aware of the deficit before budgeting processes began this spring, Pasano says. It can't say how long the station has been operating in a deficit mode or why the shortfall occurred, she says. "It appears there are issues on the revenue side, and I would be floored if there weren't also issues on the expense side," she said. "That's part of what will be uncovered."
Pasano stressed that the task force does not in any way represent USC bearing down on Smith or KUSC. "Wally Smith is a full-fledged member of this task force, and I would characterize his involvement as whole-hearted cooperation. ... We are working as a team to try to make KUSC a thriving operation, which in my way of thinking means it's operating in the black, and it's achieving its own objectives. ... This is not a 'Get Wally Smith' committee."
Besides Smith and Pasano, members of the committee are Public Radio International President Steve Salyer; Len Kapner, a Los Angeles-based management consultant; Geoff Cowan, head of Voice of America and soon to join USC as the head of its Annenberg School for Communications; Martha Harris, USC's associate v.p. for public relations, and Rob Cooper of the university's budget office.
One critical piece of KUSC's fiscal picture is the direction of cash flow between the station and the university. A decade or so back the licensee gave KUSC direct support--sources say about $600,000 a year. Then USC cut off the subsidy, and within the last five years, Pasano says, has asked the station to cover all costs, including rent and utilities. This reversal in cash flow is a trend among private universities, says Tom Thomas of the Station Resource Group, a multistation planning collaborative that includes KUSC. The diminished support has a compounding effect, he says, because stations not only have to make up lost cash or in-kind, but also have to pay the costs of raising the extra dollars. The lack of support can also affect the level of CPB support, which is based largely on each station's fundraising.
May review stations' format
The committee's work will include an assessment of KUSC's "programming mission," Pasano says; it's possible the conclusion will be that a format change is in order. "Anything's possible." she says. "I can't prejudge the work of the committee."
KUSC's format may come under special attention because it is so controversial. The station's "Classics" schedule mixes up traditional classical offerings with jazz, World, and other music forms--Smith's ideal-driven attempt to serve his culturally diverse market and draw new and younger audiences to public radio and to traditional classical music. But critics say KUSC's ratings show the eclectic approach isn't working, and that KUSC is failing to provide adequate public service.
Spring 1996 Arbitron data show that the Los Angeles station had the sixth largest weekly audience in the country, a 350,400 cume, according to Thomas. In fall 1989, during a brief period when KUSC was the only classical station in town, its cume was about 600,000. Some critics fault KUSC for failing to keep this audience. [Spring 1996 ratings weren't available to Current. The most recent available data shows KUSC's average quarter-hour audience dropping from 17,700 in winter 1989--when the station was beginning its eclectic programming--to 14,300 in winter 1995.]
The spring 1996 Arbitron data does show room for growth, Thomas says. "Our sense is they could do better." But the station certainly isn't egregiously or uniquely underperforming, he indicates. "We're working on the assumption that collectively all SRG stations could increase audience by about 30 percent."
KUSC also brings in one of the highest levels of nonfederal financial support in the country--only seven generate more, he says. "They're doing as well or better than a whole lot of people."
The USC task force has met once and next will hire a consultant to assist in the station review. The process will include staff interviews. Pasano expects the group will have its work done by October, she says.
KUSC's Smith ends quarter-century at helm of KUSCOriginally published in Current, Sept. 30, 1996
After 24 years as general manager of KUSC, Los Angeles, Wally Smith has resigned. His departure comes amidst a university review of the station's operations and finances because it ended fiscal 1996 with a $500,000 deficit.
"The time is right to bring in new leadership," Smith said in a release. "KUSC is preparing to celebrate its 50th year as a major Southern California cultural institution. It has been my great privilege to serve as general manager for almost half that time. But as we prepare to begin a new era, I feel the station needs new ideas and a fresh start. And on a personal level, I'm ready for a whole new set of challenges."
Smith is a veteran public radio broadcaster, having served as KUSC's g.m. since 1972. Under his tenure KUSC became home for the national business program Marketplace. Smith also took KUSC to 24-hour-a-day broadcasting, and built its production capabilities.
Earlier news: Is KUSC wrecking or saving classical music? The range of views about the Los Angeles station is wide as the range of music it's playing for the multicultural city.
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Later news: Under new manager, KUSC experiments with presentation styles
and modal techniques for music selection, 1999.