WBHM Interviews

2010 Legislative Interviews
The Race for Governor
Jefferson County Sheriff Resistant to Budget Cuts
North Korea Nukes
No Child Left Behind: Year 4
The Pentecostal Century
From BSC to Saturn's Moon
Mental Health & Workplace Productivity

Our live stream webcast is authorized by our agreement to abide by the terms of the license issued by the Recording Industry Association of America. Among the limitations set out in the federal law that created the compulsory license to distribute sound recordings over the internet, we agreed that the webcast would not be distributed on a subscription basis; that it cannot be interactive or "on-demand'; and that we not publish or distribute a program schedule or list of the titles of the specific sound recordings that will be transmitted in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: When will this programming change take place?

A: Our new midday schedule begins Monday, March 31st.

Q: Why are you making this program change?

A: We are changing midday programming to strengthen our NPR News and information programming and to improve our public service. We believe this program change is in the best long-term interest of WBHM in terms of both listeners and fiscal stability.

Q: Why is this programming change happening now?

A: WBHM used the services of the Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN) for nearly all of the station's classical music programming. CPRN recently announced the service will be discontinued in the coming months. Our options for continuing midday classical music included switching to an alternate classical music service or using part-time announcers to present classical music. After careful consideration, we believe those two options will not render significant public service or public support of WBHM.

In addition to CPRN shutting down, the news is more important every day not just with the Presidential election coming up but in the years after as well. National and international news require thoughtful, civil, public discourse, which the new programming schedule will provide. In addition, this change also creates the opportunity to increase the amount of local, high-quality news coverage that WBHM provides locally.

Q: What do you hope to gain from these new programs?

A: Foremost is increased public service, indicated by more people listening to public radio with this additional choice available. We are excited by the prospect of better fulfilling our mission by having a larger impact on the civic discourse in the communities we serve. We anticipate, of course, that serving more listeners, and serving them better as they listen longer, will turn into fundraising success so that we can provide even better service. Our long-range plans call for increasing our community involvement and more coverage of Birmingham and North Central Alabama news and issues.

Q: What do you mean "public service"? Don't you just mean ratings?

A: No. At WBHM, we put programming on the air to attract an audience and if over time if we don't see an audience develop, then we must ask the difficult question as to why the programming should remain on the air. Also, the programming must significantly resonate with our audience -- that is, it must sound like public radio. If WBHM were just interested in getting the largest audience possible, then we wouldn't air programs like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, or Car Talk -- popular public radio programs but compared to commercial radio, they garner a small audience. If this change was all about ratings and maximizing our audience, it is very likely there would be no public radio as we know it in Birmingham.

Q: Will I be able to hear classical music at all on WBHM?

A: Yes. WBHM will continue to play classical music weekday evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. through the overnight hours (including early Monday morning). Classical music can also be heard Saturday and Sundays from 12 pm to 4 pm, as well as Saturday nights from 7pm into the overnight.

Q: There's plenty of talk on commercial stations. Why add more?

A: Public radio talk programming is very different from talk programming on commercial radio. Listeners have commented over and over about the intelligent, non-sensational approach to discussion of issues, an approach that welcomes and, importantly, respects many different opinions, that challenges listeners to think more deeply about things. Our consistent goal is to inform and advance the vital civic discourse of the community and the nation, and to foster better informed citizenship, not simply to entertain with sensationalism or to criticize those whose opinions differ from the show host's.

Q: Aren't you abandoning the arts and culture?

A: No. NPR News gives considerable coverage to arts and culture in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Our own arts and culture program, Tapestry continues to address arts and culture, and we will continue to feature local arts and culture in our own station reporting. As we have for years, WBHM will continue to sponsor and promote many arts and cultural activities in our communities, including classical music. In fact, we expect to be more effective in promoting these events as our audience grows. We believe that people who care about the issues and challenges the world faces are also among the most active participants in the cultural and artistic lives of their communities.

Q: If you're still playing classical music in the evening and overnight hours anyway, won't you be using a different classical music service? And if so, then why not use that same service during midday, just like what was done before?

A: We believe we can increase our public service with a new daytime format -- NPR News and information programming. It's a unique format in the market, which will, over time, allow us to acquire the resources needed (through listener donations and business support), and to eventually produce high quality programming that's unique to Birmingham. Additionally, 59 percent, nearly 6 in 10 listeners, never use the classical music from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. And, only 7 percent of our audience listens exclusively to classical music during midday. By airing NPR News and information programming during midday, we believe this is the most responsible thing to do for the station and our listeners.

Q: How did you decide on the current line-up of programs?

A: After auditioning programs and looking at national listener trends, the new programming (The Diane Rehm Show, Here and Now, and Talk of the Nation) in addition to Fresh Air and All Things Considered offers some of the strongest programming available in the public radio system and, we believe, the best opportunity for increased public service.

Q: Why not program other types of music on WBHM such as jazz, Triple A, folk, etc....

A: The most effective way to program radio (both commercial and public) is to stick with a single format. Over the years, NPR News and classical music has proven to be the single most effective formats we can offer in terms of audience growth and underwriting support. However, at this time, offering NPR News and information programming is the best public service WBHM can provide. People are increasingly interested in knowing what's happening around the world and have fewer services to keep them connected, particularly on radio. Our listeners already turn to us for in-depth news more than anything else we do, and now they'll be able to count on us through the day as events unfold and require updating and analysis.

Q: I will no longer support WBHM financially due to this program change...

A: We are truly sorry to lose your support, and understand that some people will miss the classical music, but we hope you'll give the new daytime programming a chance. We've chosen it especially for our classical audience; to meet their news and information needs -- particularly in this historic Presidential election year. We want to keep you part of our WBHM community, and believe that NPR News by day, classical by night format will deliver a "best of both worlds" service you may someday want to support again.

Q: How exactly do you measure a program's performance on WBHM?

A: We receive data and research from several different companies. Arbitron is the company that collects the initial information. They issue diaries to radio listeners in the Birmingham market and ask participants to track their listening. The company uses the accepted practices of sampling and polling to determine radio listenership. Over time, patterns emerge. Ratings only inform our decisions - they are not the reason we decide to change programming. Furthermore, we take a long-term approach and usually give a program every opportunity to succeed before we even consider removing it from the schedule.

Q: Is this research available to the public?

A. You can make an appointment with Michael Krall, WBHM's program director, or Mike Morgan, WBHM's general manager, and they will be happy to give you an overview of the data. The information is proprietary so we are forbidden from sending it out or making it available on our website.

Q: Why not take a poll or survey of the members to see what programming they want to hear?

A: The data collected from Arbitron, over time, translates to hundreds if not thousands of listeners, and is the most accurate indicator we have of listener preferences.

| Share

Programs

WBHM Interviews

Frequently Asked Questions: