(00:00:05) Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Clinton is in the Studio's this noon to answer your questions about what you hear on this spot on your radio dial and what makes this Minnesota public radio system tick off a lot has happened in public broadcasting in the year since mr. King was last year the most dramatic being I suppose the changes that National Public Radio the near bankruptcy of national public radio. That was for stalled at the last minute by a large loan from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting backed in part by the national public radio Affiliates around the country will give out the telephone numbers in just a second. So you can answer or ask your questions and think of some other things that you might be interested in. But Bill, let me ask you if the crisis is over at National Public Radio. I that's it. That's a difficult one Bob. I think that it's stabilized. Definitely there is still a major debt. Of course the debt has been Phased over three years through a loan from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It will have to be paid by a combination of fundraising and fees service fees from the station's over that three-year period And if that plan works then then the debt will be paid off. The company is operating now at a budget level that we all think is responsible. And so I think that they won't get into any further problems. The question is can we pay off the lingering debt from last year two to seven six thousand is the telephone number if you have a question in the Minneapolis st. Paul area for Bill cling and other parts of Minnesota. The toll-free number is 1-866-560-4440. And if you're listening in one of the surrounding states call us directly in the Twin Cities at area code 612 2276 thousand and say when you're calling that you're from outside the state and we'll put You on right away. I think we have a listener already on the line with the question. So if you slip your headphones on Bill will take our first caller. Go ahead please hi there you're on the air. Okay, we'll just pause for another caller to come in then here is our next listener. Go ahead. You're on the air. We're having trouble with the telephone system today. Well, we'll give Bill chance to sort that out the control room. What about the the bankruptcy or the near bankruptcy problem at National Public Radio did that have a deleterious effect on the rest of the public radio system that it cast it in a bad light. Well, they could cast it definitely in a bad light in terms of management ability at the national level. It certainly got an enormous amount of publicity. Some people would say that it raised consciousness of national public radio. Unfortunately was in a rather negative way, but it has now that the new president Doug Bennett has been appointed and I had a chance to meet with him last Friday. We find that the press and the media are much more interested in the Affairs of that company and how its conducted than they ever were before. I think we have our telephone problem sorted out. So let's take our first listener with a question. Go ahead, (00:03:23) please. Yes. Yeah. I've been a follower of you Sims. Wll dump their classical programming gave the records to Collegeville and you appeared on the scene and through the trials and tribulations. I followed you the greatest news still I think is public radio. And the question I really have is this what is going to be the result of this news curtailment that the administration is ramming through. (00:04:00) News curtailment I suspect you're referring to the Grenada (00:04:04) situation. Not only Grenada but official Secrets Act is really in effect. Right detectors all arrest in the administration to plug leaks and keep the Press at Bay. (00:04:15) No, I we certainly leave that sort of thing to National Public Radio, which has the major news staff for public radio stations around the country. We haven't noticed other than the problems in getting access to the act the actions in Grenada that there have been any other particularly serious problems. However, we have done a couple of things that put us in a rather unique position. We have signed an agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Service, which gives us access to their worldwide group of reporters and stringers and they were able to feed much material to us that the United States press Court couldn't get on the His situation, in fact, they happened to have a first-class reporter on the island who had been teaching students the essentials of broadcasting. He'd been there months before any of that activity. So he was one of the people that throughout that crisis was able to feed us with first-rate news and information programming the same thing goes is true with the BBC again, we have worldwide news connections and I think that if there are any problems and I personally aren't am not aware of any serious problems in the United States, but what I am concerned about is that we continue to have access to reporters from other countries who will give us not only a perspective on world news, but what they see of the activities of the United States from a Viewpoint outside the US here's another listener with a question for Bill Clean. Go ahead, (00:05:52) please Hi, you're on the air with all the with all the programming. I hear asking for financial contributions and describing the kind of adverse Financial condition that public radio and TV for that matter is in I have never heard mentioned what sacrifices salary-wise high-level management is making in keeping with the sacrifices. The general public is making when contributing to public radio and or TV. (00:06:30) Well, if you read the audit report that National Public Radio published it was done by Coopers & lybrand about two three months ago and it is available from National Public Radio. I think you'd find an interesting reading among other things. It details the cuts in management the cuts in the staff all of the vice president's with the exception of one. National Public Radio have left the company. The president of course is gone. The production staff has been cut by about a third so there certainly have been serious changes not you can't really describe them as belt-tightening. It's simply a change in the in the size and the magnitude of the company. What were some of the programming effects in that while most of the cultural programming was dropped altogether the Sunday show the Jazz alive, which was program. We've heard a lot about lot of people quite interested in that. Some of the acquisition material for news was cut and some of that now has been restored by some creative relationships with other broadcasters worldwide, but by and large a lot of individual programs a lot of special events and mostly most of the Arts and performance schedule was deleted. Here's another listener with a question. Go ahead please (00:07:57) I'd like to give a little background for my question and I don't mean to be the devil's advocate here. I was educated in public radio some 30 years ago in South Dakota and subsequently, it will partner in a small Market in Western Minnesota and commercial broadcasting and I would like to reflect to the I think the small bar broadcasters concern that there is the possibility in the belt tightening that public radio might venture into the commercial market and become somewhat a competitor for the advertising dollar through selling commercial. Public radio and perhaps to a certain extent that's already happening in public television. What's your thought on (00:08:39) that? Well, I've got strong thoughts on it. I was one of 11 people that served on the temporary Commission on Alternate financing for public broadcasting that was set up by Congress headed by commissioner. Quello of the FCC and its purpose was to take a look at should we supplement Public broadcasting's Funding by inserting commercials. There was an experiment setup in public television in which I believe nine public television stations around the country for a period of about nine months did run commercials. I was a very strong spokesman against the concept and I think probably succeeded in one particular speech in getting the vote to go against such an experiment on public radio. I don't believe in it. We did run through the experiment on public television. Vision and at the end of the experiment analyze the results and voted again not to recommend that the advertising either the experiment or any advertising on public television continue. The reason that I'm opposed to it a despite the fact that I think it's probably financially viable is that it changes the incentives for public broadcaster's you immediately have to adopt commercial station standards, which mean you have to go after Mass audiences. You have to take a very close look at demographics you have to do the kinds of things that will attract advertisers in my feeling is that gradually not not outrageously and not immediately but gradually public broadcasting would move closer and closer to the the kind of programming that the commercial system is already providing and I don't think that is a good solution. So we voted against it in two different forums, and I think it's dead. It's 11 minutes after 12 Bill. Clean is with us today president of Minnesota Public Radio. And we have another listener with a question. (00:10:38) Yes. Mr. Cling. I'm an enthusiastic supporter of ksjn FM and I want to congratulate you for your superb programming. Thank you. The question I have would you consider reinstating Sunday morning services from seat jobs. (00:11:00) It is still broadcast through the Collegeville station ksjn are and what we have done with that kind of program is to allow each station in the Minnesota Public Radio Network local discretion on what they would like to broadcast on Sunday morning in Fargo-Moorhead case ECM broadcasts a service from a Lutheran Church in Moorhead ksjn in Collegeville because of its long Ties with st. John's University broadcasts the Abbey Mass on Sunday mornings from st. John's. Those are the only two that at this point have chosen to broadcast a service. We do have some special events carried a system-wide for instance the midnight mass it Christmas from st. John's will be carried as it is traditionally on the entire network. Here is another listener with the question. Go ahead please. (00:11:57) Yes. I'm a jazz fan and I would like to commend you on your increased earring of jazz. I'm also someone that would like to hear more of it on FM and I know that there is, you know, just so much time that you have and I was wondering if there are any plans on the part of ksjn to put jazz on cable or on satellite and offer more FM time devoted to Jazz and I will hang up and listen (00:12:28) it's possibility if you live in the twin Cities and I suspect you do from the comment about FM because this is the only area we have an AM you probably are aware that we have a partnership with Continental cable vision of st. Paul to do some special programming on Cable One of the proposals that we made when the when the applications went into the city was to provide some special audio services on cable. One of them was specified as Jazz and other was specified as more Opera and other special interest cultural programming. So I think it's a definite possibility. We'll be testing the cable audio Market once Minneapolis and st. Paul are both cabled to see if if it's viable. I think the question is are there enough people who would be willing to support it. The other thing we're looking at that might please you again in the Twin Cities where we have ksjn AM stereo am is a possibility or looking at it very carefully. I was encouraged to read this week that wqx are in New York, which has a very high standard as the New York Times classical music radio station has decided to broadcast an AM stereo and their chief engineer gave it a rave review in terms of the sound quality and the similarity to the FM sound coming about mostly by the improvements in am receivers that go along with the stereo component. So if nothing else, I think you'll find that what we broadcast on am will be more enjoyable from Fidelity point of view and we may well be able to do something on cable any guess when the stereo addition might come on Anne. No, we're we're investigating it now to see if we lose coverage. That's the biggest question if the if the signal will go less far as a trade-off for adding in the stereo, then you've got to examine what you lose versus what you gain and we're testing it 15 minutes after 12. Here's another listener. Go ahead, please. (00:14:32) Hi, that was interesting that the previous speaker spoke to the point that he was concerned about. I think I represent the people who are on the other side of the fence and feel that the Jazz coverage on other media is sufficient and I have been so happy the public radio and ksjn and are listening here has been so excellent and we're grateful for that. However, my question is are the programs from Landmark Center rebroadcast at any time. (00:15:04) No, we move them this year to a more accessible time. They were on at noon last year this year. We move them to a one o'clock time period so that they would be available to more people and so that they could be carried Statewide. We haven't heard from many people about wanting them to be rebroadcast. But if certainly if there was an interest in those are excellent programs some Pieces of some of them are going to be reused for instance. I'm quite sure that the sort of classic performance of Neville marriner and a pink zukerman together at live from Landmark will be reused in one of the orchestra intermission features possibly The Joint broadcast concert of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul chamber orchestra, but the program per se will not be at present. There's no plan to rebroadcast it couple of lines have cleared off in the Twin Cities. And if you were trying earlier to call and got a busy signal now is an opportunity to to 76 thousand in Minneapolis. And st. Paul in other parts of Minnesota the toll-free number 1-800-695-1418. You're next. (00:16:19) Yes. There's a number of things that I'd ask about. First of all is the Met going to be on this year. Definitely. Okay, and they Prairie Home Show. It's a great program. But some of us don't have a chance to hear it at the time that it's on is there possibility You could be played over (00:16:32) again. Are you in the Twin Cities? (00:16:34) I'm in the range area. They're in range area. That's something that I've to 7 and Saturday nights at a convenient time for some of us. (00:16:43) Yeah, it is. Well, you won't be happy at all to know but it is rebroadcast in the Twin Cities on ksjn am at to 2 o'clock on Sunday. We could take a look at it and see what kind of audience interest there is in that suggestion if we get some letters about it. All right. Thanks for calling from the range. We have another listener waiting. Go ahead (00:17:02) please. Alright, I have two questions. The first one is rather nebulous has something to do with one of your first caller today spoke to the question of commercials on public radio in mine mine has more to do with quality and my question is with in Minnesota. And if you can speak to the to the National picture do that to does public radio with its premier. Quality that it exhibits both. I think I'm Christian am and FM because I listened to both of them beer any pressure on Commercial radio to come up to its standard or does the fact that commercial radio is supported by advertising for the most part restrict their ability to program for the public rather than for the people who they're selling for. That's my first question. My second one has to do with the decision-making structure of Minnesota Public Radio as it pertains to programming who decides what's aired in wind and how how responsible are you to your members? I've been a member in the past and I'm now and how does a member go about expressing a desire to have something changed? And is there any possibility that members in the future will have a greater voice? In and decision-making about programming I'll hang up and listen to your answer. (00:18:38) Those are too complicated questions on the first one the question of the relationship between quality on public broadcasting and on commercial broadcasting. I think that the primary difference is that public broadcasting has the ability because of the way it's financed to serve less than the than the absolute Mass audience. In other words. If there is a significant group of people who want news with considerable depth or who want classical music and they're willing to step forward and pay a membership fee every year as nearly 50,000 people do for Minnesota Public Radio. Then the financial resources are there for us to provide that programming and the higher the quality of our news the higher the quality of our classical. Big the better most of you seem to like us the more you appreciated and the more willing you are to put your membership support forward so that we can continue on you'll get a chance by the way to do that next week. November 12th will be membership week as far as commercial broadcasting goes the incentives are quite different in order to to be profitable which is the reason anybody would be in commercial broadcasting. You'll have to reach a mass audience and to reach the large numbers of people necessary to succeed. You have to reach across a much broader spectrum of interests and tastes and therefore those interests and tastes and the specific demographics that are necessary for commercial success tend to dictate what the programming is. But I think maybe you can see from that that it's a completely different incentive for commercial broadcasting than it is for Public Broadcasting. And I think it's fortunate that we have both systems as far as programming decisions here go the first decision on programming for the FM network is made by the vice president for programming Maryland Health, sir. On the am it's made by the vice president for news and information Rick Lewis. They have a series of meetings about once a month with senior staff in which sort of general program philosophy is discussed. We take a look at some of the long-range plans the changes the the new Concepts the new ideas. We get a lot of input from those of you who listen one of the best ways is to make comments on the membership envelopes, which has a specific place for listener comments. When you renew your membership or when you send in your first membership those comments are tallied every month sent around all producers and programmers so that we get some idea of what is successful what you appreciate what you don't like and you'd be surprised how similar the comments are if there's something wrong in a variety of ways those comments will come straight through on those envelopes the same thing goes if something is good. We also circulate all mail that comes into all producers. So again, if you like something say so if you don't like something you should say so as well. That's the best way for us to have your feedback. And finally we do take a look at the rating service which tallies how many people are listening at various times of the day and if the listening audience drops from one hour at say 25,000 people down to 2,000 the next hour we take a very serious look at what's wrong there. Where are we doing something? That doesn't fit together. Is it our fault is it what could be the problem there? So there are lots of ways and as far as public input goes we welcome it and you should definitely use those channels that I described 23 minutes past twelve years another listener with a question for MPR President Bill Clinton. (00:22:40) Mr. Clean, I'm calling from Excelsior. I've been a member of Minnesota Public Radio for a number of years and I am almost an exclusively devoted listener. I have recently been disturbed by a criticism. I've heard from several quarters that our Executive offices in st. Paul are entirely too opulent for a service depending on public contributions and that a Mercedes-Benz provided as a company cars wasteful. Would you come in please? (00:23:11) You know, I'd come in. I think Mercedes-Benz provided as a company cars wasteful as well. We don't have any Mercedes-Benz company cars. And as a matter of fact, there is no one on our staff who owns or releases or rents or in any other way drives a Mercedes-Benz. I think they're wonderful car. Love to have one if there's a Mercedes-Benz dealership that would like to send a fleet over as far as the building is concerned. We remodeled What had been built as a savings and loan building in 1969? We added two floors to it the top two floors, which are the studio floor and the programming floor. The administrative offices are on the second floor of the building which were originally the offices of the Savings and Loan. It's true that the quality of construction was absolutely first class. Fortunately. We didn't have to pay for that that was there when we bought the building we bought the building at an extremely favorable rate due to some very complicated financial matters, but the fact is that we acquired it at a rate that I think you'd find quite positive. Finally. All of this facility was paid for by specific Capital campaign donations from foundations and area Corporation. So no membership money or programming money went To the building and none goes into the maintenance of the building the building itself operates with funds provided by a special endowment which covers the cost of our operation in it. So to the extent that it is a pleasant place to work is due largely to our good fortune in seeking and finding an existing and available building. Another listener is waiting with a question. Go ahead you're on the (00:25:03) air. Thank you. I'm calling from a crystal which is 10 miles south in love man Kato. I would have appreciated you tell me what the situation is at the moment with the station in st. (00:25:13) Peter. That's one of our difficult situations. We received a Federal Grant from the department of health education and Welfare the Commerce Department to build the station. It's provided the money to build it. We've had substantial opposition from Mankato State University at nearly every level of the process that we have been going through to build that station. And at this point we are regrouping and taking a look at the whatever other way we can find to get the land and the permits to build the Tower. That's the current hold up though. There have been a series of filing and continued opposition since we Received the Federal Grant or applied for the Federal grand for that station. We started the station in nineteen started the planning for in 1977 with a grant from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting to provide service in an area that was not well served and we continue to believe that listeners in that area should have access to both the Minnesota Public Radio Service and the special reading service for the Blind and Visually handicapped which we carry on our on a subchannel will continue to work on it. We're not giving up by any means and I hope if you're in that area that will have service for you by next summer. Are there any other parts of the state that are not covered and for which is station is planned. Yeah. We have Bob a grant also from the Commerce Department to build a station in the Hibbing Virginia area. There's an area of the range that doesn't get a good signal that station will be announced. I guess I have announced it. Thank you Hannah. I don't think I think the cat is out of the bag. Now. We are going to publicly announce it or other than what I said about it this morning in the coming week, but it is a new development. I think people in the Hibbing Virginia area of the range will be quite pleased to have us proceed with that station. It's about 28 past the hour Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Clinton is in the Studio's taking your questions and your next go ahead, please (00:27:31) hi. I'm a real supporter of public radio, but have been somewhat reluctant to support Minnesota Public Radio since I moved here about three years ago because of well, what I perceive is a lack of diversity in programming, there's such a preponderance of classical music on there, which really sort of I don't represent a view of what God was like in the 18th century in Europe or something. It's almost as if there's no music or no culture kind of going on now on the radio mean I lived in Washington DC. See New York in the public radio stations there were just exuberant. There were hours on women's music and blues and cowboy songs and drama, you know taking place now old time radio and so forth, but here it seems like all we get is just a whole lot of classical music and I wonder what plans if any there are to address those kinds of concerns. (00:28:30) The several you want to listen, first of all in the morning on the FM Network where the music is considerably more diverse than what you described. I think it includes all of the elements that you hear and seem to Define interesting in New York and in Washington. Secondly, you have to try if you haven't the am stationed in the Twin Cities at 13:30, which has an alternate service on at all times to the FM Network. It tends to concentrate more heavily on Jazz programming but it does have again a substantial diversity. If you check that schedule fairly carefully, we have not been Believers in the kind of programming that results in an hour of this and an hour of that and an hour of something else that we find that an audience tends to have a predisposed idea of what they'll expect from a station when they Union and if it's never what they expected if you expected classical music and you get rock or if you expected news and you get opera you tend not to tune in very often. So we have tried to keep elements of a program schedule that go together in our schedule and provide a service that a great many people seem to find something that they that they want. We'll move on to a listener with another question. Go ahead please you're on the air. (00:29:59) First of all, I'm well, I'm from Egan and our radios are permanently turned to public radio. We don't listen to anything else. I have three points in mind. I am happy there is not jazz on public radio. I agree. It can be found other places. Secondly Sunday morning from 7:30 to 8:30. I would prefer hearing the organ program that used to be on and not always early music. I get very tired of it and I am a professional musician set third. We would like to have music during the dinner hour, which is 627 instead of always talking it would be much more relaxing for for our entire family if this would be possible. Thank you. (00:30:44) Thanks for for your comments that is typical of the kind of comment that comes in on membership forms every month. And we do Telly those up some people would agree. The you some people would not but it's good to know what you like and that does help us make our programming decisions. Here's another listener with a question. Go ahead, please (00:31:06) hi, you're on the air. Hello. First of all, I want to say they'll cling is a genius and I think this is a great program on a original to do it every week or at regular intervals. Now, I've got some peace. Okay one Jazz that am Jazz are drives me nuts. Absolutely nuts. It's this Progressive stuff is crazy that that program that lie guy runs. There's too much fatuous comment. It's good jazz, but all you get is a lot of blah blah blah secondly question. What are you really going to get out of the deal with cable? Third? What are you going to do about upgrading the theater? And you're going to use money from membership to do that? I hope you do it, but I don't think you take me take my membership money to do (00:31:58) it. Let me let me ask you before you get away. What what makes you think we should upgrade the theater or that we (00:32:04) are because it's a great building. Okay, and you own it, don't you? Yes, we do. Okay, I think I think I think the idea of restoring it is one of the greatest ideas and that's coming along the pike, but I don't think you should use membership money for (00:32:17) that. Okay. Thanks. Let me go at your questions one by one again. We'll put your comments on jazz in the list of program comments that will be considered along with all of the others that come in and other ways on Cable cable in st. Paul for those of you who aren't aware of it, Minnesota Public Radio entered into a partnership with Continental Cablevision to seek the franchise in st. Paul and we succeeded And getting that franchise we did it for two reasons one is to keep it was a related purpose project. In other words. It was related to the mission of Minnesota Public Radio in providing quality Communications for this region. We felt that our involvement at the policy level on the board of Continental Cablevision would enable us to be an activist for First Quality cable programming technical quality and other creative services and to be able to feed in the interest in the desires of people in this community as we hear them about what cable might do that. It's not now doing our second concern is to diversify the sources of income for Minnesota Public Radio. So that were not caught on the federal funding T totter. The the federal funds have been declining they could rise in a different Administration that could decline again. After that, in addition to the Appropriations from Congress, there is a Formula determined by public broadcasting itself, which details how those funds should be distributed and that formula has been gradually changing which makes the share that Minnesota Public Radio receives of the total less and less advantageous for us. So we see handwriting on the wall. We don't do think that federal funds are reliable or that they're going to be available long-term though. We welcome them. We don't think they'll disappear, but I don't think they're going to be rising to the level that the Carnegie commission for example recommended for support of public broadcasting. So we've been looking at some projects that can diversify our funding base so that we're not left without having planned and not left in a situation of running a major deficit or having to cut back services or what have you the Cable partnership provides an ongoing source of Revenue permanently, as long as there is a cable system in st. Paul and it will provide a minimum of a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year and it could be substantially more than that because there is a percentage of gross receipts that we would receive which is part of the formula. So if the cable system does better we do better as well in terms of the theater. The cable by the way, just one of several projects. We've launched to diversify the base of revenue for Minnesota Public Radio. And I want to emphasize that the primary the largest source of funds for mpr's not federal funding. It's not a cable revenues or anything else its membership support So to the extent that membership support is strong and steady and continues to build that will be our most most important concern. It's the most important thing for you to consider as listeners in terms of the theater the question on the theater refers to the World Theater, which is the home of A Prairie Home Companion among other things. It is a 1909 theater. That was once a glamorous Shubert Theater. It has fallen beyond the point of being glamorous certainly into substantial disrepair. We have not decided to renovate it. I was kind of interested to hear the suggestion that People thought we had we've been gradually repairing it and there is a box in the theater and a note on the ticket that says that $1 off of every ticket price every ticket to purchase goes to help in the renovation of the theater. That's simply to keep the roof from leaking and to keep the the theater open. Basically, there are people interested in its renovation and if the community decides that it should be renovated and if the funds are available, we would certainly think it would be a real asset but we have not determined to go ahead with that. If we did it would definitely be an independent campaign. The theater is under the control of a separate Corporation Called the World Theater Corporation and its board of directors would probably direct any any development of that theater. It's about 22 minutes before one o'clock Bill cling is here answering your questions about Minnesota Public Radio. And other developments in public broadcasting, here's our forgot. Yeah the way to come in on his genius comment, though. Don't you think we should I suppose you could take another couple minutes. Anyway, let's take her next listener. Go ahead, please. (00:37:29) I'm calling from Moorhead and I first of all want to comment favorably on NPR and general perhaps in reference to the Jazz comments earlier. I would say that when I drive the Minneapolis between here and there on either FM or am there is rarely anything worth listening to except for NPR and I certainly Rejoice that the exist and I further intend to increase my Contribution this year and I have a couple of the members for you. Also. Terrific one last comment a couple little ones maybe on the morning program. I would like to hear a little bit more things that sensibility now and then it's an interesting way to start the day perhaps but there are a lot of light works. It could be played instead of some of the things I hear and hear program and st. Paul Sunday morning about a year ago consisting of local talent of which there is a great abundance down there and we have some here in Moorhead to we have a symphony of course, but anyway this program consisted of the bubonic bassoon quartet and being a woodwind prognosticator. I certainly enjoyed that would like to hear it again. I had understood there would be a repeat program this fall. I'd like an answer to that. Thank you. (00:39:06) Thanks for calling in and and particularly for your thoughts about increasing membership in bringing in a couple of others. If everybody did that this fall we would make short work of membership week which we are going to operate in a different way this year. By the way, it's going to end as soon as the goal is achieved so that all of the memberships come in on the first day or two why it'll be much shorter than then you have traditionally expected the comments about the morning program are well taken and we will pass those along to the producers along with again all of the others that come in about it the Saint Paul Sunday morning bubonic bassoon quartet. I'm not familiar with but I do know that most of the st. Paul Sunday Morning series is repeated almost every program is used twice. So I think the best advice would be to keep watching your schedule. We don't repeat them in any order we Squeeze them in here and there in the schedule just for variety and partly because we can't keep up a 52 week schedule of production but keep tuned for it. Here is our next listener with a question. Go ahead (00:40:18) please yes in regards to the Saint Paul chamber orchestra. You changed it from Saturday night till Tuesday night, and I wondered if there were a particular reason and I'll give you my other comments. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the marvelous Minnesota Orchestra on Friday night and the Saint Paul chamber as being a to of the of your really exceptional Productions, and I'm I am against Jazz except the the type that you did have on sale. To evening after the Prairie Home Companion and I do miss it. And other than that, I am very much in favor of good classical music, but I do think that you do have more than necessary of the medieval pre Bach music played on original type instruments and not enough of the good melodic classical music of from the 1800s and whatnot. (00:41:46) Thank you. I want to do if she's still there bill at just ask one one question. We're really pleased to have your comments about programming and its really it's quite useful on the Saint Paul chamber orchestra broadcast on Saturday night. Did you prefer them on Saturday (00:42:02) night, but And everyone that I know who like me listens to public broadcasting instead of any other kind have the same feeling that the Minnesota Orchestra on Friday night and the Saint Paul chamber on Saturday night was were regular listening hours for (00:42:27) us. Okay. Thank you. Because the reason I asked you is that you're right. We did move it to Tuesday nights. We did it for some technical reasons partly but also and in fact primarily because I research had shown that so many people who wanted to listen to it couldn't listen on Saturday night that it was just not the best night to have it available for the audience's that were interested in it. But again, that's one of the decisions that is made based on your best Judgment of what will serve an audience. Better and it was our intention to move it to serve you better if that turns out not to have been the right decision. We will move it back but it's the kind of thing that as you send in your membership envelopes when they renew or whatever make that note on it. If you feel strongly one way or the other it's hard to please all the people all the time is well, it's hard to find the right decision for everybody. I suspect that. There are many people who if they could get through on our phones right now would call write in and say I couldn't hear it on Saturday and I'm delighted to be able to hear The Marvelous performances of the Saint Paul chamber orchestra for the first time this year because I can on Tuesday night that was the assumption but what we tend to do is try to try to schedule things in a way that the majority of our listeners can can hear them and appreciate them at 16 minutes before one. Here's our next caller. Go ahead, please. (00:44:00) The first is I'd love to give my sister a membership for Christmas. But she lives in South Minneapolis if you solve that problem yet. And the other question is I'm calling from Sioux Falls. I listened to care SW and I live outside of town. So I get the receptionist clear as a bell but the people inside town have a hard time getting it you were going to put a new transmitter or whatever in town have shelved the plans or are you still trying to go ahead with that or have you written us (00:44:28) off? Not at all. We would never write you off first to your question about South Minneapolis. I think you're referring to the interference problem that is occurred in that area for several years the stations that have been creating that problem have been broadcasting at half power for several years now and I would check with your relative. I think it was to see whether He or she is able to pick up the signal now that they're broadcasting at half power. We know that many people still have a serious interference problem. But some have found that that has helped so you might check that and see and perhaps that gift membership will work yet. As far as Sioux Falls goes we have applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a permit to build and Sue fault. We do have an agreement with Augustana College to located a transmitter on the campus. And if the permit comes through which we see no reason to believe it would not with the resources that we expect to be able to raise in that area that station would provide a much stronger much more consistent signal for those of you in Sioux Falls, and we certainly hope to be able to do that. Next summer next summer. Alright, here's our next caller. Go ahead, please. (00:45:49) I'm wondering whether management is concerned about Possible connection between the liberal anti-business bias to the NPR news and financial problems of the corporation in other words our business reluctant to support an organization. That seems not to be objective. (00:46:13) Well, that's a question that comes up periodically. First of all, I can tell you that the problems that nearly bankrupted National Public Radio were not anything other than management problems. It was not a case of of business deciding not to support it. As a matter of fact business has supported National Public Radio rather handsomely. There are periodic comments on both sides of that issue. We've been can received comments that the Washington programming leans too far to the left. Sometimes we get comments saying that it leans too far to the right and what I tend to find as I examine it carefully. Is that it's the length of the pieces that tend to cause that kind of thinking if there is a commentator on or an investigation of a particular issue that's looking at a particular side. We tend to look at it four minutes five minutes, sometimes even six minutes for a single piece. You're used to on commercial broadcasting commercial radio to hearing 30 seconds or 45 seconds on a particular piece. And I think that overall the schedule is really quite fairly balanced. But if you're hearing a point of view that you don't agree with despite the fact that you may later here a point of view that you do agree with you have a longer period of time to be angry about what you don't like and sometimes as used to be the case in In the ancient Greece people tend to Kill the Messenger. We are simply see our role as reporting and providing you with information on what people are saying. We think it's important that you hear all of you points of what people are saying as opposed to being responsible ourselves for those viewpoints. I mentioned earlier that I had met Doug Bennett the new president of national public radio and I find from an initial conversation with him. I find him to be quite intelligent. He's as a PhD from Harvard. He has considerable experience in public policy. And I think that you will find him uninterested in doing anything other than providing first-rate quality news and information programming that he has no Personal agendas whatsoever and will do his very best to see that absolute standards of fairness are enforced for the program product. Next listener has been waiting patiently. Go ahead. You're on the air. (00:48:54) Yes. I wanted to ask if you have been giving consideration to the extra channels that are available on FM but I understand with some of the am new to technology. They're also available that you've been using for reading for the blind but have some of them applied to the death where you send out digital signals, which then can be picked up fed into a microcomputer home computer and displayed for the deaf on the screen because of course the deaf people in Minnesota have a very difficult time hearing radio. The other thing I wanted to ask is whether you've given any attention to the very weak signal strength that you have. The area of Mille Lacs Lake were tremendous number of the population of Minnesota spends Summers, if not Winters and fish houses. It's a very very poor place to pick up Minnesota Public (00:49:52) Radio. We're going to do something about those fish houses. We're not sure what I didn't know you listen to Minnesota Public Radio and fish. I know you watched television a lot, but I've been in one in a long time. Yeah two good ideas. First of all, let me say that Minnesota Public Radio was the Pioneer in Reading services for the blind on the sub Channel and you very correctly point out that those frequencies are available. It is also true that we have a second frequency that could be used for the same purpose throughout the FM Network. It could indeed transmit digital information. We have made it an in-house policy that it will definitely be used for data transmission of some sort and I hadn't thought about it, but it would be worth looking. Into seeing how many people would like that kind of service we would love to do it. We'd love to be the Pioneer station to serve the deaf as we were for the blind. I was traveling past Mille Lacs Lake last summer and and and hadn't noticed the problems you're describing but I'm sure that they exist one of the things we're doing this year is taking a very careful look at all of the region that we serve to see where the pockets of poor signal are. Some of them can be served by translators. We've had people in International Falls for example asked us to put a small power 10 watt for example station in to serve that community and if we find other communities where the signal is particularly weak and where there is a community interest in having it strengthened. All we need to know is to hear about it and we will work with you to see what can be done translators have been put in and Winona and Austin in Ely and Morris. And various other areas around the region at the incentive at the initiation of the residents of those areas. So we'll do what we can with you. If you're interested in improving the signal time to take another listeners concern. Go ahead you're on the (00:51:56) air. Yes. I have two questions. Basically a request for status reports one is on the installation of the cable television system st. Paul. When will the installation we started ones expected to be finished in are there still legal challenges or problems expected? The second part of my question is regarding the status of the problem of interference from from more powerful stations than trying to cover the whole state with one transmitted one antenna and whether what what was the outcome of the lawsuit last year on that and and what is expected in the future in the way of a resolution of whether it's not Public interest for a station with a very large listening audience to to be able to swamp the signal of a of a station with a smaller audience that buys very good equipment tries to put a very clean signal on the air. Thank you. I'll hang up and listen the answer. (00:52:57) Thank you. The first one is an easy one the the final permits for the st. Paul cable system are expected to be cleared by about the first of the year shortly thereafter and construction. I'm told will proceed immediately following the receipt of those permits. There is a lawsuit pending against the City by one of the applicants that was not successful. I'm told by officials of Continental that they do not think that will slow down the construction in any way the is the interference which is caused to the ksjn FM signal in the Twin City area by station is transmitting atop the IDS building continues. You've heard a couple of comments. On that so far. The issue is still pending at the Federal Communications Commission. We have an engineer here who works a good bit of his time filing research documents trying to pinpoint exactly what is occurring there and how it is occurring. It's been almost three years since that began the stations which are involved are operating at half power while the FCC continues to investigate it and we are hopeful we are defending the right of ksjn to transmit without interference vigorously and we continue to press as hard as we can to get the FCC to do whatever is necessary to keep those stations from interfering even to the extent they do now much less to the extent that they did when they operated at full power. We have only about five minutes left believe it or not and get as many colors as we can. Go ahead. You're (00:54:40) next. Minnesota and I am a financial supporter of member have been a member for many years of the the NPR stations. I don't support the amount of jazz that you have on there right now. I I grew up in the Jazz era and found its value was only another variety of musical expression and it's not necessary to have so much of it a little bit of it once in a while to please those who like it. It's all right with me, but I'd like to see more of our musical comedy show type music and of course enjoy the classics great deal and American folk music some of those things should be brought out a little more often Medieval music. I can take him small doses. I'm a music teacher and I have my likes and dislikes like everybody else does the other thing I was going to talk to you about was the signals of those junk music stations, and apparently you are concerned about on have gotten a great deal of slack on it. I feel that it's particularly offensive in the evening times not in the daytime so much because I seem to be able to get wcd very clearly through the daytime but not so well at night. Because of the amount of stuff that's on the air of those junk I call him junk for radios at fall and I can't turn it out. I've got a beautiful Magnavox said and I've used different areas on it things like that to try to bring in the FM stations a little clearer and I'm finding that I there's no way of tuning out the override it comes in and just kind of distorts the the music in the evening and it's really hard to put up with you just get kind of sick of it. So I feel that a stronger signal on the part of our MPR station. Just probably our best way to get out of it because maybe that by stronger support with a signal you may be able to override that noise and get it out of there when we tune into your particular stations. (00:56:21) Thank you. I would suggest that you give Dick daily a call @ WS c d sometime during the week and asked him to have one of his Engineers go over and take a look at your particular problem. We may be able to solve it. We should try to clear these last calls quickly. I think Robert. All right, go ahead. You're (00:56:38) next. Okay, I bill I'd like to make One comment. I think you're doing a great job and I find the complaints you're getting about the balance or very spurious because I think ksjn on both am and FM have a very good balance in particular though. I'm distressed about the comment comments people have been making against the Jazz and saying there's enough jazz in the Twin Cities since the death of Kate winter ksjn. I find there's a real dearth of good jazz and Jay Thomas Lasky is fit is filling that Gap very well when I'd like to see more of anything. (00:57:12) Terrific again, we're taking all of these thoughts and comments into consideration and that's what we want to hear from you. And that's why we do these shows. Let's take another caller quickly. Go ahead, please. (00:57:24) Yeah. I like to know if Minnesota Public Radio can survive without national public radio (00:57:29) programming? No. Well. Yes, we could survive but we wouldn't be nearly as effective as we are with particularly Morning Edition in all things considered plus some of the special events and some of the hearings one of the things we've done to be sure that we have National Public Radio is to pay them this year a hundred and thirty thousand dollars towards their deficit so that they could survive and with that payment by us and by other stations around the country they do appear to be going to survive nicely, but we will be coming to the membership. During membership week starting next week to raise that hundred and thirty thousand. We basically gave them a check without funds to back it up though. We are shifting internal budget funds here. It wasn't a rubber check wasn't a rubber check at all, but what we have to raise those funds now, they weren't budgeted funds is about me the better way to put it and we hope to do that during membership week. We also committed to make a similar payment next year and the year after that once National Public Radio showed us that they had their their own management and budget under control so know we have we wish them every success in survival. We think they're an essential part of the public broadcasting system, and I have been in Washington one day out of every other week for the last several months helping in various ways at National Public Radio to assist them. Well, sir. I'm afraid we have run out of time no more time for callers, but thank you. Very much for coming in Bill cling and thanks to those of you who called. Sorry we couldn't get to everybody. Very much for coming in Bill cling and thanks to those of you who called. Sorry we couldn't get to everybody.