Managing Change…. And living to tell the tale Joan Siefert Rose General Manager North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC

The Question: Is WUNC As Good As It Can Be?  Station was successful  Many listeners, many contributors  Stable and dependable

But There Were Signs of Trouble…  Audience had not been growing  Costs of fundraising were starting to increase  Station was not attracting the most talented broadcasters

Time to Make a Choice  Should WUNC commit to its “dual format” – news and information during mornings and afternoon, classical music middays  Or should WUNC change format to include more NPR news/talk programming middays, nights and weekends?

Reasons to Stay the Course  Few complaints from long-time listeners  Classical music “deserves” a place on the radio  Less expensive  Any big change is likely to cause an uproar

Reasons to Change  Most popular WUNC shows are news and information  Radio increasingly becoming a “niche” market  Classical music available on 89.7 FM - WCPE

Step One: Gather Information  Review of institutional documents  Strategic planning meeting with senior management staff  Analysis of marketplace  Focus group research

The Audience Speaks  WUNC is valued primarily as the flagship station in the market for NPR programs, including weekend entertainment as well as daily news  Listeners know there are other NPR programs available in other markets not available here  Lots of enthusiasm for “Back Porch Music”

However…  Little enthusiasm for WUNC’s classical music programming – not personally important to most listeners  WCPE seen as the classical music station in the market  WUNC would benefit if listeners recognized a real gain in more NPR programs and local news, vs. an abstract loss of choice in classical music

Making The Case  To supervisor  To staff  To University leadership  To donors  To corporate supporters  To hostile groups  To media

The Best Laid Plans  Set the date – Labor Day 2001  Develop key talking points  Develop communications strategy  Develop internal logistics plan  Hope for the best!

Key Issues for Staff  “Will I still have a job?”  What will this change mean for me, personally?  What will be the same? What will be different?  What does this mean to everyone else here?

Key Issues for University  How will this help UNC with community outreach?  What are the potential short-term consequences?  What’s the long-term benefit?  Are you sure this is the right thing to do?

Key Issues for Donors and Corporate Supporters  For individual donors, it all depended on the personal importance of the programming  For corporate supporters, it represented an opportunity to attract a larger audience

Key Concerns About Hostile Groups  When was it appropriate to notify in advance of the change?  Would there be an organized campaign against WUNC?  Would our key supporters withstand the pressure?

Key Concerns About Media Coverage  How long could we keep our news quiet?  How would we break the story?  What should the key message points be?  When should we have our media kits ready?

Taking The Plunge  Story broke two weeks prior to the format change  Many were happy about the news…  But the ones who were unhappy were more likely to speak up

Fate Intervenes  Eight days after the format change, 9/11 occurs  NPR goes to 24-hour all-news coverage  Listeners tune to WUNC in record numbers  Phone calls and letters complaining about the format change drop sharply

Three Years Later  Station’s audience has grown 60%  Annual fundraising has increased from $3 million to $5.5 million  Staff has expanded from 30 to 50 people  Programming staff performing at much higher level  Culture has changed

If We Had To Do It All Over…  Format change probably should have taken place sooner  Station could have engaged volunteer leadership more effectively  Station management could have put better tools in place to measure goals and outcomes  Highly personal staff communication system might have been sustained

But, After All…  It was worth taking the risk!