Sunday, February 12, 2006
Lunar New Year – Year of the Dog
Dear staff, producers, collaborators, volunteers, and partners:
I wish this post came with at least a quick face-to-face delivery. However, we are a far-flung group of people, so it would be virtually impossible. Be that as it may be, I hope to visit with as many of you as possible over the course of the next month or so.
You need to know that on February 1st I gave
notice of my departure as general manager to SFUSD, our licensee. This is a
purely voluntary action on my part. My personal life has changed as well as my
professional desires and aspirations. On March 1st, 2006, I will
have completed five years to the day in my role as gm. I leave KALW stronger
than when I arrived, due in a large part through our collective work as public
radio makers and supporters.
Over the past five years we have:
Increased audience over 35% (CUME) with a top spike at a 51% increase
Increased revenue over 40%
Increased membership to 13,500 active members
Launched, sustained and increased local and independent programming
Launched and sustained KALW Local News
Collaborated with local educational, news, cultural and business organizations to create programming
Converted the KALW transmitter to digital – we are now HD Radio
Re-invigorated Friends of KALW
Conducted journalism training with SFUSD/Burton High School students in partnership with NPR’s Next Generation Training Project
Garnered over 15 local and national Awards
Saved over a half a million dollars for KALW as a financial safety net
All this and much more with only 1900 watts of power in the nation’s fourth/fifth largest electronic media market without increasing pledge drives, without a promotion/publicity department, and without cutting back in expenditures but instead maximizing our core asset – the “air” – to our greatest advantage. While we’re still in a high school and the competition on the radio dial is fierce, KALW has advanced considerably. The times demand it.
Electronic media is changing rapidly. KALW is a public trust and as a public trust must continue to embody its mission – to inform, educate, inspire and enlighten our listening community. To accomplish that, KALW should continue to explore and implement programs and projects that connect our local communities to each other and to the world without compromising our “stationality” or principles.
Local public radio is essential to our civic life. When the power goes down, everyone will bust out their wind-up old media radios as a communications lifeline. KALW is poised to be that lifeline – we have the talent, the knowledge, the partners, and we operate in a part of the world blessed with a human braintrust that understands the notion of the Commons and the absolutely critical case to be made to embody it and fight for it.
KALW is also ready to take advantage of digital technology in order to maximize our public service and resources.
As we prepare to celebrate KALW’s 65th Anniversary – a landmark station: the first FM in San Francisco, first educational licensee west of the Mississippi, and second noncommercial station in the US – we can take pride in our work and the extraordinary and compelling radio we have created and broadcast.
Thank you for being partners with me. Thank you so much for your support, your trust, and your excellent work. I will not diminish the struggles and difficulties I have faced over the past five years at KALW, but I overcame them in large part because of you and our collective goodwill and great work. My tenure at the humble, mighty KALW has been incredibly rewarding – onward!
It has been a pleasure to serve,
Nicole Sawaya
Ps. Last day is Friday, March 24, I’m still very much around until then and I’m working closely with senior staff at SFUSD for a smooth transition.