November 12, 2015 CAB Minutes

Community Advisory Board Meeting Thursday, November 12, 2015 – 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ron and Linda Yanke Family Research Park 220 E. Parkcenter Boulevard, Room 700 Board Members in Attendance: Emily Walton, Chair Shelby Zepeda, Vice Chair Leta Neustaedter Dave Fotsch Staff in Attendance: John Hess, General Manager Paul Stribling, Programming Director Jasmine Avitia, Recorder

Maria Trebby Kristin Matthews Kay Alspaugh

Vicki Lawson Dede Ryan Mark Wheeler

Kelly Palmer, Development Director

Guests in Attendance: Dave Edwards, consultant and General Manager at WUWM in Milwaukee ***************** Call to Order – Emily Walton  Chair, Emily Walton, called the Boise State Public Radio Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. The group had a general discussion about holiday plans.

Approval of June 2015 Meeting Minutes – Emily Walton 

Motion: Dede Ryan made a motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Vicki Lawson. The motion was passed unanimously.

New Board Member Election – Shelby Zepeda  The committee reviewed four nominations and approved three of them. The applicants approved were Paul Ries, Stacy Madsen, and Corey Cook. Each candidate brings valuable knowledge and connections to Boise State Public radio. 

The group discussed additional information regarding each applicant.

BSPR Code of Ethics Update – John Hess  The committee received the draft back from the president of the university. There will be an email sent to all CAB members with the draft and the group will look into adopting it at the January meeting.

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BSPR FY 17-19 Strategic Planning Process – Dave Edwards  The group gave feedback about their thoughts on the station and where each member thinks the station needs to go. Each member discussed what they believe would enhance the station.

Summary of discussion for each member:  

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Emily talked about BSPR needing to have a more local feel and for people to understand it is an Idaho-based radio station. A strength of BSPR is that it is very friendly and open to many different types of listeners Kay discussed the outage issues. Really likes the local reporting and research being done. Local forums and outreaches are a good way to spread the word about BSPR. Also discussed the trivia event and that is it getting BSPR’s name out so people think of us as our own station and not just NPR. Vicky stated there needs to be more community sessions. The purpose is not just to provide information but it is a forum for civil discourse that does not exist in many other places. Also discussed not just having the events in Boise but around the Treasure Valley.

Kristin discussed the need for more local programming as some listeners only think of NPR even when they’re listening to BSPR. Also talked about how to get younger advocates for the station.

Dave F. talked about news departments needing improvements as it is where the money comes from. Discussed expanding to more media platforms such as online components, and would also like to see BSPR become a source for other news stories. Also discussed having more immediacy to our news stories, issues with on-air personalities which may be in need of a vocal coach, and news opportunities to discuss the aftermath of the forums and events.

Dede also stated that having more outreach into other communities would be beneficial to the station and that strategic planning is critical as the group sorts through all of the points mentioned.

Leta talked about the station being a bit repetitive-a lot of recaps play during the day and they are very long. Discussed the fundraising and that it is no longer fun to give when the experience is impersonal, miss the room full of volunteer answering phones. Also talked about the testimonials-they seem to be geared to an audience we already have and they sound a bit snobby. The station could work on gearing those toward a younger demographic and make the testimonials more dynamic. Crowdfunding was mentioned as it is now the way younger people are raising money, everything is being done online.

Shelby discussed having younger voices on-air to give the station a different feel. Talked about continuing community-engaging events such as the conversation with Chief Bones. Also mentioned getting “big name people” on-air to draw more people to the station, crowdfunding was discussed again.

Maria also mentioned following up on events and forums as it could have a bigger impact on the community and generate more discussion. Discussed university students providing testimonials to have that younger voice - maybe grad students or start-up companies by younger people.

Concerned that the station is not doing much to reach minorities since the population has grown a lot in the last few years and will only continue to grow.

Mark stated that from experience many people are passionate NPR listeners but not so much with local news. Need to focus on finding a way to add value to local news. Discussed local on2|Page

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air personalities having more authentic and conversational voices to help add value to local programming.

Dave E. discussed knowing what kind of local content is important to be on par with NPR. What local content would have the greatest impact in your mind? What kind of content does the station need to produce? What is missing? Mentioned localizing national stories to show how local levels are impacted by national events or what could be learned from them. Also discussed by the group was the need for opinions on stories and not just straight information.

Other Business – Shelby Zepeda  The trivia event will be a bigger topic of discussion in the January meeting. Mentioned it at this meeting in case anyone else wants to be a part of the planning.  Any questions or additional comments about the strategic planning process should be sent to John Hess and Dave Edwards.

Adjourn – Emily Walton The next meeting will take place on January 14, 2016 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at 220 E. Parkcenter Boulevard, room 700.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m.

Minutes prepared by: Jasmine Avitia 3|Page