Profits for non-profit radio has staff steaming at KUOW

"When staff found out there was all this money- not only in the bank- but being generated, they asked: why are we duping the donors?"

Speaking is a KUOW insider privy to the public radio station's 2007 annual report due out next month that will show show a $2.5 million "profit." That's up from about a $1.4 million surplus last year .

(THEY GOT $2.5 MILLION IN THE BANK
AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS F**KING TOTEBAG???)

(A very successful public station, KUOW last year was rated 4th among all radio stations in Seattle; and 10th among public stations nationally- impressive for a station in a medium-sized market).

KUOW nets over half its money from the Spring and Fall on-air pledge drives when programming is interrupted for days to beg for donations for station operations.

"Anyone can throw out a piece of direct mail," says our guy, "The pledge drives are the active pursuit of money."

He questions the ethics of the station's poor-mouthing while sitting on such reserves.

"They always sound like they're about to go off the air if you don't give 'em a fucking nickel," he says.

How will this uproar effect the all-important fall drive which is looming? Can't help, says our source.

The pissed-off staffers say it's their work, and the talents of popular personalities like Ross Reynolds, Steve Scher, Ken Vincent, and Marcie Sillman that's enabled them to gain and build their millions in reserves.

Ken Vincent and now others on the the award-winning staff are saying that they're disregarded, underpaid, overworked; and management is arrogantly starving the very horse KUOW rode into the winners circle.

It's outrageous, says our source, "On top of all that- they treat their people like shit." With no union and only two other places in the area to practice public radio, "they figure they don't have to be nice to the help. If [the staff] want[s] a social contract, they better get a fucking union."

(we're pissed because of the cheesy totebags and cheap belogo-ed travel cups loyal pledgers are stuck with, not to speak of the hours of unmitigated blather suffered twice a year which blacks out our precious news).

Our source needs to be discrete in his new life after KUOW, but, he says, "There are enough other people out there. Between Ross, Ken, Marcie, and what's going to blow up when the boss [PD Jeff Hansen on vacation] gets back, I can sit back, watch, and laugh."

"It's so out now," he says, "they can't retaliate!"

It's a public relations nightmare- management has instructed employees not to speak to the media, and has ineptly tried to manage the story, which, as always, has brought even more scrutiny to what was supposed to be a "personnel matter."

This flaming bag of dogshit will take some time and effort to extinguish.

Josh Feit at The Stranger went to a party of KUOW employees Friday night after Vincent's full-throated  resignation. He has some great reporting about the details of staff complaints and growing, glowing KUOW can of worms.

Stay tuned.

Comments

[howieinseattle]

I wish I could ask Vincent if he was trying to make a point when he would play "So What" by Miles Davis on some of his bumpers.

[sara sue]

I'm giving my NPR money to KPLU this time. Hope KUOW can make peace with their employees. Really, we expected better.

[macht]

These so-called liberals in KUOW management vote for liberals, embrace political correctness, mass transportation and hate the war. They support goverment helping the poor but they won't pay even their employees. It's liberal hypocrisy, which is the only liberal value you can count on. Ha ha.

[maggie]

Organize! you need the leverage with employers no matter how progressive they claim to be.

[Fremont]

Thanks for this in-depth piece, Bla'M! I'm guessing this ecposure will have a huge effect on the pledge-drive...I want my donation to go to Vincent, et.al, the "starving horse KUOW rode in on." (Fab analogy, Bla'M).

[Fremont]

PS, Howieineattle...love your audioblog!

[Michele]

STOP THE FREAKING TAXPAYER-PAID SUBSIDIES!!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!

[Michele]

Friends, a conservative boss would've paid the employees better AND given them better benefits. Trust me. Happens everyday. All we see from libs is talk but they want EVERYONE to walk the walk.

[Michele]

......except themselves.

[Michele]

......except themselves.

[Seattlenerd]

Minor nit: Seattle is bigger than a "medium-sized market." Last time I looked, we were still solidly in the radio top 20 (for TV DMA, we were 14), and that qualifies as a "large" market (not quite "major" market, which usually is somewhere in the top 10).

That still makes KUOW-FM's ratings impressive, in my mind. Though I have to believe it's mostly on the strength of NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and perhaps the consistency of Weekday and The Conversation.

For all other programming, Jeff Hansen has the unfortunate habit of changing timeslots at the drop of a hat -- which makes it nearly impossible to build a consistent audience over time.

[Union Yes]

2.5 is their profit from FY 07 -- Their reserves are higher.