Keeping classical radio vital for the future

This post continues our series of articles written by professionals in classical public radio, as originally posted to the Listserv of the Association of Music Personnel in Public Radio. Here, Jack Allen, president of All Classical FM in Portland, Ore., shares his thoughts about how classical stations can work to reach their full potential.

Station health and vitality start with a clear vision for the future that takes into account any limitations facing the organization. There are no secret formulas for how much classical music to play or whether to play Handel followed by Chopin. Ever since Audience 88, we’ve known to focus on listeners (their needs and expectations) and to be deliberate about weaving an intelligent musical tapestry that’s daypart-appropriate. Now it’s time to look at the underpinnings of our good efforts. A good place to start is by analyzing several critical areas for alignment with your mission, vision and values and a correlating, if necessary, revitalization.

Brand

Does your station have a clear and crisp identity? Do the station’s core values align with messages on all platforms and resonate with the audience you’re trying to serve? Do your messages convey a sense of place? Are you telling your story well? Folks can get Mozart through speakers in most parts of this planet, but they often choose All Classical in Portland, Oregon, because there’s a vibrant sense of the spirit of the Pacific Northwest as part of the listening experience. People who live here, bike here, shop here, drink Pinot Noir here are the ones telling that story (Mozart and Ernest Bloch). At our station the brand is simple and clear: We’re accessible classical music — all the time, with just a hint of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir!

Radio realities

Does your programming still lack consistency and cohesiveness? Is it appealing — hour to hour, daypart to daypart, day to day and from on-air to all other platforms? If not, why? What’s getting in the way of this happening? We’re dealing with an elusive, fickle, niche-conditioned audience in a highly competitive, rapidly evolving media environment, which has myriad services to choose from. We must do our work extremely well and attractively, and convey a sense of place (localism). The conundrum is to be predictable in terms of quality and cohesion and unpredictable in terms of personality and spice elements.

Entrepreneurship

In some corners of our public radio world I sense a lingering timidity about trying new ideas or testing our own instincts. Perhaps folks are overly cautious due to economically enhanced issues of stewardship and accountability. We’re a little skeptical about cool trends and fun innovations (social networking for one) due to their genesis in commercial media and dating sites, and eager adoption by teens and 20-somethings. Might there be a combination of factors built into our outlook and even our DNA holding us back? Do our passionate members and sweet volunteers lull us into a false sense of complacency? Any combination of these factors tend to produce faint-hearted efforts or half-steps towards true innovation. Could we lure a few more young entrepreneurs to our stations with more creative compensation packages, incentives, better benchmarks and metrics, and the occasional bonus or perk? What if we made these second HD channels true sandboxes and playgrounds for young people or anyone with a great idea and plan?

Perfectionism

I see a reluctance to let our audience, the “best” in all of media (smartest and most loyal), have real control of many aspects of our finished content. We blanch at how they might want to modify the stuff we create. We want to control and filter what they say back to us and sometimes to each other. Stop it. Build those avenues of interaction and allow for customization as much as you are able. This is a smart audience. Don’t be afraid of them. We can learn from them. We have questions and they have answers. If you’re a tad stymied, make sure you have at least a couple of 20-somethings on staff to kick your mindset in the rear and into gear, or build an intern program. Get them involved in programming strategy meetings, now. Remember the good ole days when we got our start? I don’t hear folks saying any more, “It’s just radio, no one dies.” Have we become too safe and too stodgy — too controlling?

Tools

This means everything from the chairs we sit on, the studios we talk in, and the buildings we inhabit all the way to the boards that govern us. Let’s assume we have the right staff doing the right jobs. The rest are tools vital to our success, and it’s critical that they be right. We are an industry of human beings, often sedentary and stationary, working hard to enlighten and entertain other human beings but frequently within lousy ergonomic environments in crappy old buildings with outdated equipment. A funny thing happens on the way to Wellville. When we fix these environmental problems, we get healthier and happier! We look forward to going to work. Lo and behold, the stuff coming out of speakers gets better.

Humor

M.I.A. We needn’t relegate humor to the few, the proud, the brave, such as Ira, Tom & Ray, and Garrison. There needn’t be ghettos for humor in our programming or in our lives. A wink and a smile go a long way in presenting (same old same old) classical music or (lousy) economic news, especially when serving an incredibly savvy audience. You know who is funny on your staff. Tap into their brains and allow them to do some creating. Allow them to make some mistakes. And, watch their backs.

Ultimately, you know and understand these things. But, we often work on one area at the expense of another. We relegate these concerns to management. Most of us represent small not-for-profits and therefore only have the bandwidth to tackle an issue or two at a time. These areas are however linked, so we must engage the entire organization in a process of stepping back and getting the bird’s eye view. It doesn’t matter if we have a staff of five or 500. We can only laugh at a lousy building for so long. Why hire entrepreneurs to create innovative programs and platforms if our brand is fuzzy? Only so much can be accomplished with an out-of-touch or dysfunctional board. You get the picture. Start a conversation around these topics. Get the ball rolling. Visualize the change you want and need.

Long-term health and vitality, coupled with monetary success, does not happen by accident. The future tends to happen whether we make a plan or not. The leaders in our industry don’t shoot for prominence and awards; they aim for quality, efficiency and systems that support innovation and creativity. The good things naturally follow.