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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

Send a message to KWBU

KWBU/Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation Board of Directors

Jeffry Archer, Chair

Baylor University Regent Member (vacant)

Krista Brinser

Cara Chase, Vice Chair

Jason Cook

John Cullar, Chair

Cathi Davis

Lori Fogleman

Dr. Torie Johnson

Marlon Jones

Mike Jones

Dr. Linda A. Livingstone

Dr. Johnette McKown

Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez

Beth Olson

Alfred Solano

Camille Wilder

Beth Wooten

Meeting schedule for the Board of Directors:

  • To be determined

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:

  • Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 9:00 am in the KWBU offices, 2100 River Street, Waco, TX

Trusteeship Committee Meeting: 

  • To be determined

Finance Committee Meeting: 

  • To be determined

KWBU Advisory Council Meetings

  • Friday, April 19, 2024 at 12:00 noon in the KWBU offices, 2100 River Street, Waco, TX

KWBU Community Advisory Council

Candi Cann

Sherrie Dodson

Rachel Goodwin

Esther Lee, Chair

Eric Linares

Franci Rogers

Scott Snyder, Vice Chair

**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 - KWBU continues to create much local programming with the help of volunteer producers and hosts, totaling 9 long- and short-form programs. These include: Central Texas Leadership Series (12 half-hours in FY '23), sharing conversations with community leaders on Waco/McLennan County’s important issues. In the past year, interview topics have included: access, leadership, and justice for and by people with disabilities; the Black Gospel Music Restoration Program; leadership in the town of Bellmead; affordable healthcare for McLennan County; NPR reporter Korva Coleman; services for veterans; new leader of CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Virgil Bell, “The Praying Man” of Waco; Larry Holze, long-time Communications Director for the City of Waco; Habitat for Humanity; the life and journey of Dr. Van Allen through the civil rights era to become vice president of Paul Quinn College; and a “State of the Station” look at the work and mission of KWBU in Waco. The station 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: historical contributions of black composers, including Waco’s own Jules Bledsoe; Waco’s bilingual Air Collaborative, encouraging arts and business collaboration; the Levitt AMP Waco Music Series; Waco’s Silent House Theatre; the Waco Family and Faith Film Festival; a “State of the Arts” look at Waco; local art gallery events; Waco’s Dia de los Muertos Parade and Festival; local. Poets; local photographer about his Way-koh project; public art in Waco; and the Deep in the Heart Film Festival. KWBU 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 partnered with 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 (note: this partnership will shift to the CenTex Hispanic Chamber in FY-24). 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. (Note: Likely Stories went on hiatus after January, 2023, when Jim McKeown stepped down as host. The series has been revived as a weekly segment in FY 24 with book reviews by multiple volunteer producers from KWBU’s listening audience.) David and Art is a weekly module examining new ways art reveals the world to us; and Business Review provides 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 holds monthly “Lunch This Month” meetups at restaurants in Waco’s various communities, inviting listeners to join us 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 -   As listed in response to question 1 above (community issues, needs, and interests), KWBU partners numerous organizations and individuals from throughout the Waco community. 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. Topics during FY 23 included: marketing to new generations; “pivoting” in business when needed; knowing an employee’s I.T. identity; fear-based marketing; how experience in sports can enhance business skills; what makes good leaders; workplace stress; angel investors; caustic workplaces; strategic negotiators; setting goals; crucible experiences; focus groups; marketing budgets; employee wellness; A.I. and trust; amoral management; “gut instinct”; remote work; and numerous business leader profiles. (Business Review is offered to other NPR stations via Content Depot.) With McLennan Community College English professor Jim McKeown (now retired), KWBU produced Likely Stories, a weekly series of book review segments (NOTE: after Jim McKeown stepped down in January, 2023, the segment went on hiatus; it has been revived for FY24 with numerous volunteer reviewers from KWBU’s listening audience). Partnering with Austin Meek and his Waco Business News blog, KWBU produced the bi-weekly half-hour interview program Downtown Depot, providing updates on new businesses, closures, and the ins and outs of development in Waco (NOTE: in FY24, partnership shifts to the CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce). 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. 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 - KWBU posts information on Waco area events and resources and shares appropriate links via the station’s website (KWBU.org), mobile app, weekly e-newsletter, and often through KWBU social media. As stated earlier, KWBU maintains a relationship with the Waco Tribune-Herald, sharing the newspaper’s daily headlines during newsbreaks every weekday morning. JB Smith, the newspaper’s managing editor, has told us, “KWBU’s morning roundup of Waco Tribune-Herald stories is a mutual benefit. It heightens the newspaper’s visibility and encourages more people to pay attention to local public affairs.” In other partnerships, the popularity of McLennan Community College English professor (now retired) Jim McKeown’s Likely Stories book reviews remains strong (and as we enter FY 24, it is broadening its audience as we include numerous new reviewers from our community); 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 has written: “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 -  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 FY23, interviews included: the Black Gospel Music Restoration Program; access, leadership, and justice for and by people with disabilities; new leadership at the CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; the service of Habitat for Humanity; and the life and journey of Dr. Van Allen through the civil rights era to become vice president of Paul Quinn College. 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); it 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 FY23 KWBU’s Conversations with Creative Waco highlighted, among its many topics, celebrations of diverse cultures, a Black History Month roundtable, and Waco’s celebration of Juneteenth. Creative Waco continues to feature issues of diversity as it moves into the future. Among the many topics examined on Baylor Connections, the program looked at Black worship, intercultural engagement on campus, and recognition of early trailblazers of integration at Baylor University. Going forward (into FY24 and beyond), we will partner with the CenTex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on production of the local business program Downtown Depot, with plans for quarterly focus (at a minimum) on minority issues.

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 a very small station, but the service it provides is vital to this small market. As the only public radio/NPR service available to Waco/McLennan County, TX, KWBU relies on CPB funding as “seed money”; approximately 85% of KWBU’s funding comes from local (Waco and McLennan County) sources, and the station’s Community Service Grant provides an important match-incentive for local fundraising. CPB funding helps pay for all aspects of station operations. Staff and resources are dedicated 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 eight full-time staff members. Of these, five are women (Station Manager, Business Affairs Manager, Membership Manager, Reporter and Membership/Community Engagement Coordinator) and three are men (President/CEO, Operations Assistant and Account Executive). There is one part-time female employee (Operations/On-Air Host).

There are seventeen members of the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation's Board of Directors (one position is currently vacant). Of these, eleven are women and six are men. Three 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 seven current members, five 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.