WAMU 88.

5 COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Council
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

WAMU Community Council Members Attending

Eugene Sofer; Council Chair, Shay Stevens; Vice Chair,
Margaret O’Bryon, Donna MP Wilson, David Nemazi, Kumera Genet, Navros Gandhi, Audrey
Alvarado, Lucinda Crabtree, Susan Weiss, and Matt McCormick, and ex-officio Manuel Ochoa,

WAMU/AU Staff Attending:

Carey Needham, Rob Bertrand, Audrey Johnson, Patrice Jackson, Heather Taylor, Phyllis Kim,
Tenesha Vines, Monique Curtis, Michael Martinez, and Rob Bamberger.

Members of the Public:

Cathleen O’Brien, Gar W. Young, Susan Hochstetter, Elizabeth Hook, and Mindy Reiser.

I. Welcome – Eugene Sofer, Council Chair

Gene Sofer gave a welcome.

II. Station Update – JJ Yore, General Manager

JJ Yore spoke about the PRPD opening reception at the Newseum, which many Council
members attended. He went on to discuss the mission and goals outlined in WAMU’s
Strategic Plan and long term goals for the station. Next year is Kojo’s 20th anniversary.
The theme will be “Washington 20 years ago until now.” Donor events surrounding this
milestone will begin next April. JJ explained that WAMU is currently trying to update
the sound of the station, and that the station is in the process of hiring some new talent
who will likely be in place by the next meeting. JJ discussed the station’s need for a
digital strategy, and will bring on Atlantic Media Strategies to help with this process.
Finally, we are in the process of trying to sell WYAU. The signal will not be part of the
station portfolio by the end of the year.

A. Diane Hockenberry, Sr. Dir. Of Marketing & Engagement

Diane was introduced as the new Senior Director of Marketing and Engagement. She
started in journalism as a reporter. Later, she went into management also worked at the
Newspaper Association of America. Then, she moved into the non-profit world at
BBYO to help them re-think their strategy. Most recently, Diane was at a satellite
company called Iridium.

B. Gun Violence Project

The Initiative has been funded. The Kendeda Fund sent a $2 million check as a down
payment for a $5.3 million project. The focus is gun violence and it will be nationwide
initiative. WAMU will finalize the nine partner stations, and the project will start in
October. One and a half people at each station – one reporter plus some support. It will be
looking at causes of gun violence and solutions to it, as well as what are other areas doing
about it. Through this we are piloting a Journalism Fellowship to attract top-tier talent.
Broad themes will be agreed upon as a group, but individual stations will be given some
autonomy.

C. Newsroom Engagement
Fall Programming changes begin on October 2, 2017. The schedule has been changed 7
or 8 times over about 3 years. JJ, Andi, and Lettie decide upon schedule changes. They
use audience research and a few other metrics. We have also picked up a few other shows
from NPR, and switched the time Fresh Air and Here and Now air to allow more news
into the afternoon drive. Station leadership will provide more information in the next
coming weeks. In looking for ways to better connect with the region, Avis Thomas Lester
hosted an event at her home on June 24. Some of the stories that resulted from listening at
this event included a piece on Frances Tiafoe, a rising tennis star from College Park,
Kevin Durant Day, and Dap Day. It also helped inform the coverage on the Kojo Show.
The next Kojo in the community is at Busboys and Poets on September 26 in Hyattsville.

D. Audience Research
We are continuing to look into what the audience wants. We used a firm who talked to,
and interviewed, listeners. The most common theme was; listeners want to be engaged in
the station. One of the biggest discoveries was that a younger audience was exposed to
WAMU by their parents, so they are not first time listeners. They are also willing to pay
for good content. Going forward, we aim to have a deeper relationship with the
community.

E. Financial Update: Carey Needham – Assoc. General Manager

Carey Needham then spoke about the fiscal trends of the station. Revenue is up 40%
since fiscal year 2016. We had a surplus of $463,998. The revenue forecast is greater than
just a few months ago. Underwriting is growing significantly, up over 55% over the last
year. Now, we have a tool where we can track our supply and demand.

There is still more to do. We need resources for digital strategy, converting to a new
CRM for database, branding, form a board to help push us into the future. We need to put
money in reserve because there are more staff hires to come.

F. Fall Campaign Update: David McMullen – Director of Membership

David McMullen updated the Council about the campaign. One major goal for the
campaign is to increase our amount of sustaining members, because they are a
dependable source of revenue. So far 41% of the current campaign donors are sustainers.
We are 48% toward to our goal of $1.4 million. The next campaign is December 8-15,
2017. Due to the hurricanes, we reignited our partnership with the National Capital Area
Food Bank. We are giving 10% of proceeds raised over Monday and Tuesday to the
CAFB to go towards their hurricane relief efforts. We raised $21,000 to donate to them.
We have also added a splash page on the WAMU website. Premiums for the on-air
campaign include socks, t-shirts, water bottles, and tote bags. We are giving away a
London trip for 3 days with a tour of BBC, anyone who donates during the campaign is
entered to win. We are also doing a tour of a local distillery called One Eight.
 G. Upcoming Events

-Discussion
Appointment of the Council Nominating Committee
In establishing the nominating committee, Navros Gandhi will be the Chair. He will be
sending out an email to everyone to volunteer for the council.

Roles & Responsibilities of the Council

We have been discussing and will get out the roles and responsibilities out to the council.

Engaging You: Convening your Networks

Need to find way to engage in the station. We will be sharing four topics with you, and
we would like feedback.

Community News Briefing – 9/27 6-8:30pm

Possible topics discussed are:
• The Acts & The Trump Bump Administration
• Regional Infrastructure
• Disaster Preparation & Relief
• The Business Climate in the DC Region

Audrey Alvarado suggested the topic of disaster relief right now for what is going on in
Texas and Florida, as well as how our region is prepared to handle disaster relief.
David Nemazi suggested climate change as a possible topic.
Margaret O’Bryon suggested structuring engagement around the five pillars.
Lucinda Crabtree said she needs someone to work with as she has such a diverse interest.
A board will be put together and defined over the next 6 months.
Kumera Genet asked if there has been any local research on gun violence prior to our
research that we are reaching out to.
Manuel Ochoa asked about the recruitment of voices for the new hosts. JJ talked about
creating diversity on the air.

III. Old Business

A. Approval of the Minutes of the May 10, 2017 Meeting
Motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. We will send them out
electronically. The minutes were called and accepted by a vote.

IV. Public Comment

A. Mindy Reiser - How does demographics have an effect on the programming? Share a
little bit about thinking about how younger and older are adjusting to the
programming. – WAMU is trying to attract younger listeners for the future. The 75+
age group has declined, but the younger age groups have risen. Diane has a podcast.
She comes into the office every day, and she is almost 81. We are trying to have a
balance. The numbers came in as we are also trying to make our audience more
diverse racially and ethnically, and African American audience has gone up 18%. The
Latino numbers have almost doubled.
 B. Susan Hockstetter, a neighbor with interest in the 6 a.m. programming – How can
programming work for both millennial and baby boomers and get them to work
together despite tension between them? Also with respect to the Gun Violence
project, had WAMU thought about if there would be some violence brought on to
studio since the government does not talk about the issue? – We have thought about it
in the polarization. With a New African American male host, we will be moving that
show into the back studio.
C. Elizabeth Hook, a listener under 30 who has been listening to WAMU for a long
time. - What are your plans to plug into younger demographics? – This will all be a
part of Diane Hockenbery’s new role.
D. Navros Gandhi responded in saying he spoke to Joshua, and the issue of safety and
moving him to the back of the building to keep him safe and that still in 2017 we have
to think about those things.
E. Lucinda Crabtree asked if JJ felt the same way about Kojo. There is a big difference
in numbers on a different scale.
F. Gar Young, from Virginia, serves on the board of directors for a church. WAMU
could do a story about safety. He suggested bulletproof glass for the studio and stated
that we need to stand our ground about 1A. It is a great new show.

V. Adjournment
A. The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. The remaining 2017 Quarterly Meeting is
on Wednesday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m.