Update On KHFM

If you haven’t seen the original post about KHFM in Albuquerque, scroll down to Aug. 10th. In the meantime, I’ve talked to various stakeholders, gruntled and disgruntled, and need to make a couple of corrections. First, it was American General Media’s local manager, Tim Gannon who did the actual firing, though the order apparently came down from the owners. More about them in a minute. Second, the reason winter ratings are down so drastically is that the transmitter was hit by lightning, and the station was off the air for six weeks between Feb. and May.

The station finally moved out of its storage closet and into a real studio recently, thanks almost solely to the efforts of Program Director Bob Bishop, and former Program Director Kip Allen. Bishop pulled a couple of all-nighters to get the studio up and running. I’m sure the company wanted to wait until he finished the work before they fired him.

Listeners are concerned that the station will change format. That probably is not going to happen. But the emails are coming in. By permission from listener Mary Bennett:

Hello Marty,

Thank you for your article on the shake up at KHFM. Well, in my world, at least it’s a shake up.

I was very upset when you left the station years ago… Losing Kip Allen has put me into another tailspin. I didn’t know Kip, never met him and have no idea what he looks like. But sixteen years ago, I moved from San Francisco into a trailer in Albuquerque. Mayflower was still playing footsie with all my belongings, and I had little. But I had a radio. And that first day here, I found a classical radio station. The next morning, a kind voice said, “Good morning! It’s six o’clock.” For virtually every work day morning since, that same kindness came through. (From having worked with Kip, you may have a different perspective on him — all I know is what I heard over the air.) Through several nightmare jobs here, I would think — when I heard his “Good morning!” — that if Allen could drag his butt into work that early year after year, I could too.

I’ve got four years to go before I can retire and it’s going to be a long four years.

Thanks again for the information.

Mary

One employee told me AGM had been treating them very well, and they were so happy. That’s why the shake-up was such a shock. It came totally out of the blue. However, if you know the Brandon brothers, owners of KHFM’s parent company American General Media, it won’t surprise you. Tony Brandon just did the same thing in February at WYPR in Baltimore. He summarily fired a popular host, Marc Steiner. As President of WYPR, Brandon thought he had the power to treat the station like a corporation, but WYPR is a public station and the rules are actually different for public stations. Brandon doesn’t own the station; the public does. (The public do?)

AGM is a private family-owned company. Rogers Brandon of Bakersfield CA and Tony Brandon from Baltimore have owned it for 30 years (I think). KHFM is their only classical station. They are very secretive about their business, and while they tout “service to their listeners” as part of their vision, they are not open to the listeners’ opinions. Tony Brandon said in Baltimore that his hiring decisions are an internal matter.

At the Public Radio Program Directors meeting a couple of years ago, one AGM former employee told me the Brandons are famous in the business for their frugality. Well, that’s not exactly the word he used.

Just wanted you to know that not all the decisions about the NM station are being made locally. Personally, I think that’s unfortunate, because Santa Fe and Albuquerque are real destinations for music lovers. The Santa Fe Opera is finishing its season next week, along with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Cellist Peter Wiley once told me that when he plays in NY’s Lincoln Center, the atmosphere in the hall is magical, but when he steps outside the mood is broken. When he plays in Santa Fe, however, the spell continues out into the spectacular NM night. A place like that NEEDS a great classical station.

So, I challenge Sarah Colmark, her dad Tony Brandon, and the whole family to make KHFM a great station. A lot of people are watching to see what you’ll do.

Where to Go if Your Local Station is Unlistenable

This fabulous post by Jeff Rosenfeld in the San Francisco Classical Voice is a must-read for classical music lovers.

And don’t forget, you can always listen to whole broadcasts of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra online. We keep six broadcasts up at all times, with a new one in the rotation every week, at cso.org. A bit of shameless promotion.