Rural Programming Initiative
Summary #2, KUFM

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September 2002

We have taken a fresh look at our program schedule and the Rural Station project provided not only the impetus but the support and follow-through in assessing the changes we made. The peer discussions with similar size stations were extremely valuable. Small stations can be isolated, not only because of our rural nature, but because of the political and financial gravity that surrounds the larger urban stations.

We made several changes in programming that increased listenership, especially in the morning. We ended a confusing morning transition between news and classical music in a manner that seemed to satisfy both audiences. On the basis of that success we, just this week, changed our Saturday morning programming to make Weekend Edition more accessible to our audience. Without the support of the cohorts and the statistics it would have been a much more difficult to effect these changes.

Our goal is to increase time spent listening and to increase frequency of listening. Initial indications in the project-supplied survey are within statistical error range but we look forward to subsequent surveys. A Fall 2001 survey by Eastland Resources showed KUFM to be #1 in our 16-station market in the +25 audience Monday-Sunday 6am to midnight with an AQH share of 15.6.

Ginny Berson is doing an excellent job of herding the cohort groups toward good discussions, resolution of common concerns and a lasting camaraderie that will assist us well into the future.