CPB Transparency Reports
CPB Transparency Reports
CPB TRANSPARENCY
As a publicly supported media organization, KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation makes every effort to be as transparent as possible, out of appreciation and respect for the station’s listener/members and corporate underwriters and in order to comply with expectations of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Below you will find information and documents related to KWBU’s contact, governance, management, finances, meetings and diversity initiatives.
Also posted here are certain PUBLIC INSPECTION FILES that are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), giving members of the public free access to these reports. They are also available for inspection at the offices of KWBU, 2100 River Street, Waco, TX 76706 or on-line at: https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/fm-profile/kwbu-fm. KWBU maintains a list of organizations that are notified when there are KWBU employment opportunities. If you would like your organization to be notified of these opportunities, please contact KWBU at (254) 710-3472.
Contact information for KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation
KWBU
One Bear Place #97296
Waco, TX 76798-7296
(254) 710-3472
KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation Board of Directors
Jeffry Archer, Vice Chair
Baylor University Regent Member (vacant)
Krista Brinser
Dr. Kristina Campos-Davis
Cara Chase
Jason Cook
John Cullar, Chair
Cathi Davis
Lori Fogleman
Marlon Jones
Mike Jones
Dr. Linda A. Livingstone
Dr. Johnette McKown
Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez
Beth Olson
Michael Reeser
Alfred Solano
Camille Wilder
Meeting schedule for the Board of Directors:
- Wednesday, 11/15/23 at 12:00 noon via Zoom
All Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting meetings are open to the public and no registration is necessary.**DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS ALL IN-PERSON MEETINGS HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED UNTIL THE CRISIS IS PAST.**
For specific information or inquiries, interested parties should contact Carla Hervey at 254.710.4298 or send email to: Carla_Hervey@baylor.edu
OTHER MEETINGS:
Development Committee Meeting: Meetings held at 9:00 a.m. in the KWBU offices, 2100 River Street, Waco, TX on the following dates:
Development Committee:
- To be determined
Trusteeship Committee Meeting:
- To be determined
Finance Committee Meeting:
- To be determined
KWBU Advisory Council Meetings
- To be determined
KWBU Community Advisory Council
Candi Cann
Amy Davis, Chair
Sherrie Dodson
Rachel Goodwin
Esther Lee
Eric Linares
Franci Rogers
Scott Snyder, Vice Chair
Susan L. Sistrunk
Samuel Torres
**DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS ALL IN-PERSON MEETINGS HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED UNTIL THE CRISIS IS PAST.**
Management
Joe Riley, President and CEO
Joseph_Riley@baylor.edu
(254) 710-7888
FCC and FINANCIAL REPORTS
ANNUAL CPB LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICES REPORT
CPB Question 1 - Describe your overall goals and approach to address identified community issues, needs, and interests through your station’s vital local services, such as multiplatform long and short-form content, digital and in-person engagement, education services, community information, partnership support, and other activities, and audiences you reached or new audiences you engaged.
Answer - With the help of volunteer producers and hosts, KWBU continues to create much local programming, totaling 9 long- and short-form programs. These include: Central Texas Leadership Series (12 half-hours in FY '22), sharing conversations with community leaders on Waco/McLennan County’s important issues. In the past year, interview topics have included: the growth and priorities of United Way of Waco; support of fatherhood in the African American community; the work of Prosper Waco, an organization dedicated to improving the community’s education, health, and financial security through collective impact; Waco Habitat for Humanity; local digital media; the Baylor University chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; teaching journalism to university students; the World Hunger Relief Farm, located in McLennan County; the Art Center of Waco; Central Texas YMCA; and a “State of the Station” presentation, highlighting the mission of Waco Public Radio and our vision for the future. The station partners with Baylor University to produce Baylor Connections, a weekly half-hour interview program introducing the Waco community to the people behind Baylor’s teaching, research, and distinct role in higher education and providing additional information and context to issues facing the University and higher education. KWBU also partners with the local arts organization Creative Waco to produce the monthly half-hour Conversations with Creative Waco, looking at Waco arts and culture through conversations with local leaders and innovators. Topics included: Waco’s “Artprenticeship” program; local Juneteenth celebrations; development of public art in Waco; the 2022 Chalk Walk Festival; events of Black History Month; the Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival; Waco Symphony; the Mayborn Museum; Dia de Los Muertos Festival & Parade; Waco Civic Theatre; and the Deep in the Heart Film Festival; and reviews and previews of the state of the arts in Waco. Austin Meek, writer of the blog Waco Business News, hosts the bi-weekly half-hour interview program Downtown Depot, looking at the ins and outs of development in Waco. And KWBU continues to produce I Hear America Singing, a weekly hour-long folk-music program hosted by local volunteer Ross Burns. In addition, KWBU works with local volunteers to offer five weekly segment-length productions, including Likely Stories, a weekly book review hosted by Jim McKeown, English professor (now retired) at McLennan Community College; David and Art, a weekly module examining new ways art reveals the world to us; and Business Review, stories of local and national business interest. The station partners with the Baylor University Libraries’ Black Gospel Music Restoration Project and Baylor Professor Robert Darden to produce Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments, a weekly two-minute segment exploring the distinctly African-American sound of the “Golden Age of Gospel” (1945-1975). Shout! presents cultural snapshots that reveal the depth of a people, their community and the influence they have had on the rest of American music. In addition to these nine productions, KWBU also partners with the Waco Tribune-Herald to share the paper’s daily headlines during local newsbreaks every weekday morning.
KWBU has begun holding monthly “Lunch This Month” meetups again at restaurants in Waco’s various communities, giving listeners the opportunity to get to know station staff, ask questions, and share their observations and suggestions about the programming.
CPB Question 2 - Describe key initiatives and the variety of partners with whom you collaborated, including other public media outlets, community nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, the business community, teachers and parents, etc. This will illustrate the many ways you’re connected across the community and engaged with other important organizations in the area.
Answer - KWBU partners with numerous organizations and individuals from throughout the Waco community, as listed in response to question 6.1 (community issues, needs, and interests). The station continues to work with the Waco Tribune-Herald to share the newspaper’s daily headlines during local newsbreaks every weekday morning. In addition, KWBU partners with Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business to produce The Business Review, a weekly segment that features business topics important locally, regionally, and nationally. Segment topics during the year included: understanding bottom-line mentality; making an about-face in business; valuing audiences of color; the “crossover effect” of work and home; phishing; choosing the right tool for the task; pitching ideas to investors; leading multi-generational teams; building brand behavior; addressing unacceptable behavior; data collection and digitalization; stakeholder equity; performance reviews; fear-based marketing; angel investors; and leading effectively in a caustic workplace situation. With McLennan Community College English professor Jim McKeown (now retired), KWBU produced Likely Stories, a weekly series of book review segments. Volunteer Ross Burns, retired librarian from Sul Ross State University, produces I Hear America Singing with KWBU, a weekly hour-long program featuring American folk music. Partnering with Austin Meek and his Waco Business News blog, KWBU produces the bi-weekly half-hour interview program Downtown Depot, providing updates on new businesses, closures, and the ins and outs of development in Waco. KWBU partners with the Baylor University Libraries’ Black Gospel Music Restoration Project and Baylor Professor Robert Darden to produce the weekly two-minute segment Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments, exploring the distinctly African-American sound of gospel music in the 20th century. (Shout! is offered to other NPR stations via Content Depot.) With Baylor history professor David A. Smith, KWBU produces the weekly segment David and Art, looking at the importance of all types of art in our community and the world. The weekly half-hour program Baylor Connections is produced in partnership with Baylor University to introduce the Waco community to Baylor’s teaching, research, and distinct role in higher education and provide context to issues facing the University and higher education. And KWBU partners with Baylor University’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media to provide internships and training opportunities for students who produce content for broadcast on KWBU.
CPB Question 3 - What impact did your key initiatives and partnerships have in your community? Describe any known measurable impact, such as increased awareness, learning or understanding about particular issues. Describe indicators of success, such as connecting people to needed resources or strengthening conversational ties across diverse neighborhoods. Did a partner see an increase in requests for related resources? Please include direct feedback from a partner(s) or from a person(s) served.
Answer - Via the station’s website (KWBU.org), mobile app, and weekly e-newsletter, KWBU posts information on Waco area events and resources and shares appropriate links. As stated before, KWBU continues its relationship with the Waco Tribune-Herald, sharing the newspaper’s daily headlines during newsbreaks every weekday morning. The newspaper’s opinion editor has told us, “The evolving partnership of KWBU-FM and the Waco Tribune-Herald has helped both station and newspaper accent more intensely local issues.” In other partnerships, the popularity of McLennan Community College English professor (now retired) Jim McKeown’s Likely Stories book reviews remains strong; it routinely is downloaded from KWBU.org by hundreds of users; and listeners have formed a book club to discuss the stories McKeown has reviewed. KWBU maintains a formal partnership with Baylor University’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media to provide internships and training opportunities for students who produce content for broadcast on KWBU. Baylor professor Cassy Burleson writes: “The partnership between Baylor University’s Journalism, PR & New Media department and KWBU offers interns an opportunity to originate stories, interview sources, write copy, learn about effective use of ambient sound, and, in short, get excellent experience in radio broadcasting. . . . The chance to give our students experience in broadcasting at such a prestigious location as KWBU-FM in invaluable – the entire KWBU staff practices good journalism with a national scope and interns get to experience what life is like outside the ‘Baylor bubble.’ We have had many successful interns at KWBU who have gone on to become full-time employees both at KWBU and in other NPR locations, and we appreciate our partnership immensely because it helps our students in ways no other organization can.”
KWBU also contributes regionally, occasionally sharing stories from Waco and McLennan County with the state of Texas via the statewide news program Texas Standard, produced at KUT in Austin.
CPB Question 4 - Please describe any efforts (e.g.. programming, production, engagement activities) you have made to investigate and/or meet the needs of minority and other diverse audiences (including, but not limited to, new immigrants, people for whom English is a second language and illiterate adults) during Fiscal Year 2018, and any plans you have made to meet the needs of these audiences during Fiscal Year 2019. If you regularly broadcast in a language other than English, please note the language broadcast.
Answer - In FY ’22 KWBU’s Conversations with Creative Waco highlighted numerous issues of importance to local minority groups including: local Juneteenth celebrations; Dia de Los Muertos Festival & Parade; the Creative Waco organization’s role in the current socio-political landscape; and a conversation with Dr. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, founder of the Waco Faith and Family Film Festival and Baylor marketing professor specializing in the consumer behavior and attitudes of people of color. The program will continue to feature diverse issues in the future. KWBU’s Central Texas Leadership Series features half-hour long interviews with Waco and McLennan County leaders about local issues, including the concerns of racial and ethnic minorities as well as economically distressed communities. In FY ’22, interviews included: Kerry Burkley, Vice President of the Baylor University Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez, professor and chair of Baylor’s Department of Journalsim, Public Relations, and New Media; and Pastor Marlon Jones, Dr. Brianna Lemmons, and Drexel King about addressing issues of fatherhood in Waco’s African American community. As stated earlier, Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments, a weekly two-minute segment, explores the distinctly African-American sound of the “Golden Age of Gospel” (1945-1975), presenting cultural snapshots that reveal the depth of a people, their community and the influence they have had on the rest of American music.
CPB Question 5 - Please assess the impact that your CPB funding had on your ability to serve your community. What were you able to do with your grant that you wouldn’t be able to do if you didn’t receive it?
Answer - KWBU is the only public radio/NPR service available to Waco/McLennan County, Texas. It is a very small station, but the service it provides is vital to this small market. KWBU relies on CPB funding as “seed money”; the station’s Community Service Grant provides an important match-incentive for local fundraising. Approximately 85% of KWBU’s funding comes from local (Waco and McLennan County) sources. CPB funding helps pay for all aspects of station operations. We dedicate staff and resources to covering issues that go unexamined in the greater Waco mainstream media, including long-form interviews with area leaders about community issues on our Central Texas Leadership Series, Conversations with Creative Waco, Baylor Connections, and Downtown Depot, along with segment length stories and news reports on minority neighborhoods, immigration, local education initiatives, and issues concerning the economically disadvantaged.
DIVERSITY PROGRAM
KWBU currently employs five full-time staff members. Of these, three are women (Station Manager, Business Affairs Manager and Membership Manager) and two are men (President/CEO and Account Executive).
There are sixteen members of Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation's Board of Directors (two positions are currently vacant). Of these, nine are women and seven are men. Two female board members are African American and two male board members are African American. One male board member is Hispanic.
KWBU's Community Advisory Council is composed of seven - fifteen members. Of the nine current members, seven are women and two are men. Currently one male member is Hispanic and one female member is Asian.
KWBU strives to ascertain that, as much as reasonably possible, its staff, board of directors and community advisory board are reflective of the diverse population it serves. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s (CPB) Diversity Eligibility Criteria require public media organizations to adopt formal goals for diversity and to report annually on steps taken to work toward those goals. These actions are required for all stations receiving Community Service Grant funds (CSG).
KWBU has set the following diversity goals:
· To provide equal opportunity in employment.
· To educate our management and staff annually in best practices for maintaining an inclusive and diverse environment for all persons.
· To seek candidates for KWBU’s Community Advisory Council that represent the diverse composition of the community we serve.
· To seek diverse candidates for our Board of Directors, nominated through our Trusteeship Committee.
· To review with the station’s governing board those practices that are designed to fulfill KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation’s commitment to diversity and to meet the applicable FCC guidelines.
In addition, KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation shall undertake one of the following initiatives on an annual basis:
· Include individuals representing diverse groups in internships or work-study programs designed to provide meaningful professional level experience in order to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve and further public broadcasting’s commitment to education;
· Include qualified diverse candidates in any slate of candidates for elected governing boards that KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation controls;
· Implement a diversity training program for members of the organization’s governing board of directors on an annual basis;
· Participate in minority or other diversity job fairs; or
· Implement formal diversity training programs for management and appropriate staff.