Community Advisory Board Meeting Tuesday, January 23, 2018 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ron and Linda Yanke Family Research Park 220 E. Parkcenter Boulevard, Room 700 Board Members in Attendance: Shelby Zepeda (via phone) Mitzi Jensen Leta Neustaedter Laurie Ahern Mark Wheeler
David Lombardi (Chair) Dede Ryan Stacy Madsen Vicki Lawson (Vice Chair) Dave Fotsch
Board Members Not in Attendance: Shikhar Sarin
Kay Alspaugh
Staff in Attendance: Tom Michael, General Manager Cindy Hall, Business Manager Richard Strack, Engineering
Katie John, Recorder Aimee Moran, Development James Dawson, News
Corey Cook Paul Ries Teresa Yragui
Larry Newton, Corporate Support Paul Stribling, Programming
***************** Call to Order – David Lombardi Board Chair David Lombardi called the Boise State Public Radio (BSPR) Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting to order at 12:07 p.m. Requests for CAB involvement – Staff Managers Responding to the CAB request for greater participation, BSPR department managers each gave suggestions on how advisory board members can be helpful to their respective departments. 1. News Director James Dawson described the new political podcast Legislative Breakdown and the quarterly news series Distilled. He asked the board to participate as Social Media Ambassadors in light of Facebook’s move to suppress media organizations, which would affect as much as 15% of BSPR digital traffic. He also asked the CAB to participate with news tips, to join a “public insight network,” and to identify lawyers to volunteer to offer FOIA training for news staff (David Lombardi offered to assist with this). 2. Director of Corporate Support Larry Newton described his approximately $1 million contribution to BSPR finances and his department’s involvement in events. He responded to the board request by asking them to make referrals for underwriting, not just for their own businesses, but for friend’s businesses and for non-profits with which they’re involved. BSPR underwriting categories run the gamut, from higher education, non-profits, and government agencies, to a variety of retail categories. There are some 200 active underwriters in a given year, with another 150 businesses that cycle in and out. Newton outlined the differences between commercial advertising and non-profit underwriting.
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3. Program Director Paul Stribling asked for community feedback on the programming schedule, including the new weekend shows that NPR provided in the wake of Car Talk ending. He also asked CAB members to participate in recorded testimonials, preferring they be informal interviews without scripted comments. He also requested CAB efforts in support of the station’s “Sonic ID” project, which helps fulfill the station’s mission of “sense of place.” Stribling shared samples and Leta Neustaedter asked about the musical scoring of these clips. Stribling described how decisions are made based on industry research, audience input, and programming policies. He answered questions about process and the upcoming 40th anniversary radio documentary. 4. Chief Engineer Richard Strack began with a survey of his involvement with BSPR, beginning as a contract engineer in the 1980s when it was a student-run operation. He detailed progress on the grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and described the challenges of a sprawling 18-station network. He described improvements in the radio network, including the much-improved classical music fidelity on KBSU. He asked the board to help relay detailed “signal reports,” letting staff know of any audio glitches, by denoting the time, place, radio dial position, and description of the audio problem in a phone call or email. 5. Development Director Aimee Moran answered the board’s request for greater participation by pointing to the volunteers decamped in the conference room downstairs (including Mitzi Jensen & Dede Ryan), who were helping with a 10,000 piece mailing of end-of-year tax statements. She invited anyone interested to help with community-building projects like these. She described her pre-board meeting with Laurie Ahern, focused on fundraising events in the Wood River Valley. Another way the board could be helpful was outlined in the pledge that most members signed during the meeting, with specifics on charitable donations, event-hosting, donor thank-you calls, inviting staff to their events, and helping to expand membership. Moran was asked about the status of confidentiality agreements for volunteers. Ahern was concerned the board didn’t have a proper conflict of interest policy. Moran described the importance of bringing new members to events, and pairing existing members with new members to grow the membership. She also discussed the goal of having BSPR as among their top 3 philanthropic entities while active on the board. • Katie John will follow up on the conflict of interest documents and policy prior to the April meeting. 6. Business Manager Cindy Hall described her role, but didn’t have any immediate requests for the board. All the department heads would report back at the next board meeting in regard to CAB participation. Approval of October 24, 2017 Meeting Minutes – David Lombardi Laurie Ahern made a motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Dede Ryan. The vote passed with unanimity. Committees – David Lombardi Lombardi pointed to framing documents (by-laws) that outline an executive committee. One had already met in ad hoc manner. He called for the establishment of this committee with Chair, Vice Chair, General Manager, and two at-large members, selecting Paul Ries and Teresa Yragui. Lombardi asked to revisit the CAB Expectations on the website and to revise sections that were outdated. Leta Neustaedter asked about being a Social Media Ambassador rather than attending an event. The group discussed the Google Form that served as a Board Matrix for reaching new board members. Katie John read a list of previous committees. A Nominating Committee was formed with Ahern and Yragui, with Neustaedter participating via email. Lombardi described that new members were solicited at the Winter Garden Party and on the State of the Station broadcast, while Neustaedter suggested a recurring announcement on-the-air. Lombardi suggested a Governance Committee, formed by Mitzi Jensen, Stacy Madsen, Laurie Ahern and Aimee Moran. A Conflict of Interest policy was discussed. Meeting Times & Dates – Katie John The CAB reviewed the following meeting dates for the remainder of 2018 (all at noon). • Tuesday, April 3, 2018 • Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2|Page
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Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Station Update – Tom Michael Tom Michael delivered a brief update of station plans and activities. He discussed BSPR engagement events, including Winter Garden Party, 40th Anniversary Open House, Idaho Climate Summit, Couch Surfer, Boise Art Museum gala, Big Idea at Sun Valley Center of the Arts, Treefort Music Fest, and Another Round. He detailed the success of year-end fundraising, current staff composition, commitment to Readers Corner, the need for news interns, possibilities for transmitter improvements, the NPR editor visit, a national story about Stanley & Ketchum, ongoing candidate interviews, and the arrival of new personnel, such as the incoming Managing Editor for the new Boise-based regional news bureau. Michael explained his role as an advisor to CPB in Washington this month and his role leading the board of Deer Point LLC (a consortium of Boise stations that share a common transmitter site). Neustaedter asked about a newsroom volunteer who was a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Good of the Order As the meeting was closing, Laurie Ahern asked about the possibility of BSPR purchasing subscriptions to Current magazine for each advisory board member. Katie John will look into this and follow up in the post-meeting email. Adjourn Lombardi moved to dismiss the meeting at 1:36 pm, Ries provided the second, and the meeting was adjourned.
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