KLRU takes steps to strengthen operations
KLRU is taking proactive steps to strengthen operations in light of budget shortfalls and tough economic times by making staff reductions and other cost saving measures.
KLRU remains fully committed to our vision – that the PBS programs we are privileged to present can play an important role in building a stronger, more engaged and informed Austin community.
Beginning next week KLRU will cease broadcasting between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Although we will be signing off overnight, we are still increasing total broadcasting hours with the addition of a new channel – 18-3 – later this summer.
We are also moving forward with our efforts to make more content available on the Web, allowing viewers to access KLRU content anywhere and at anytime at klru.tv.
We are suspending production of Docubloggers, KLRU’s weekly community journalism series and revising the scope of In Context to focus instead on a series of specials featuring local arts organizations. The next special will air May 14th at 8 p.m. featuring Ballet Austin’s Hamlet.
Public broadcasting and KLRU are more important and relevant than ever before for its unbiased programming. The need for trusted, reliable information during periods of rapid change is vital. For more than 4 decades, KLRU has provided our viewers with a way to come together to honestly address community concerns and opportunities. That is why public broadcasting is a fundamental part of our community, and will continue to be well into the future. Help us continue to fulfill our mission by showing your financial support or by placing a comment below.
– Bill Stotesbery, KLRU CEO and General Manager
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May 6th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Can these losses be reversed as viewers are able to increase their donations? Other than the Food Bank, KLRU is the only nonprofit I’ve supported with cash this year…just wish it could have been more. Your local shows are stellar, and Masterpiece and the British Comedies–especially Doc Martin–are wonderful antidotes to the challenges of Here and Now!
May 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I am very sorry to hear this… but I have little doubt KLRU will come back stronger.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Thanks to you both for your comments.
Gloria, we hope that, as the economy rebounds, viewer contributions, along with corporate and foundation support, will pick back up.
Robert, thanks for your support and hard work over the years. We are also confident about KLRU’s future!
May 8th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
We too hope the economy recovers and that the KLRU funding increase. We have been giving money and time to KLRU for 25 years now and wish we could do more. We love the programming and find ourselves on KLRU or Create most of the time. By the way, Doc Martin is one of my favoritest program of all.
Fred
May 8th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
05-08-2009, Sat.
Your station produces “Austin City Limits” for other PBS stations. Will that production and its distribution be negatively affected?
From a viewer in south Florida
Editor’s Note: These changes do not impact the production of Austin City Limits. Go to austincitylimits.org and click on blog for details about the 35th season of the series.
May 8th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
“Strengthen operations”… that’s a new euphemism for “cutbacks” and “downsizing” that I hadn’t heard before…
May 9th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I send a regular donation of $35 every month and I really can’t afford to send any more. Hopefully I can continue at that level.
I love to stay up late and watch the Charlie Rose show and Tavis Smiley. I am pleased to see that you have moved them to an earlier time. However, I also like to watch Nightline, so I guess I will have to decide whether I will watch Nightline until it ends and then miss part of Charlie Rose.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:21 am
It is unfortunate that this occurs 1 week after KLRU FINALLY fixed their largest lineup hole by putting a daily Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in the mornings at 5am. This is probably the last thing keeping our family from becoming contributors, and has stopped several of our friends from donating who previously were. Too little, too late, I guess.
PLEASE make Mr. Rogers Neighborhood a daily show on KLRU-3. The stories are continued for an entire week, and they just don’t make sense as a daily 1-off show on Fridays.
It’s unfortunate that the quality of PBS kids programming in general has deteriorated even though the adult programming remains excellent.
Thanks!
May 15th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Your new changes are an incovenience. I enjoyed watching most of Create during the late night hours and now I have to rearranged my viewing schedule. But since I live in Bastrop County and have a DTV converter, I have access to other PBS Stations and have no problem there. But there is also another puzzling matter that’s begging me to inquire about. The other PBS stations I can get on DTV are in San Antonio and College Station and they have four channels with one of them in spanish. Would you also care to explain that broadcasting descrprepancy?
May 16th, 2009 at 2:08 am
I understand it was probably a hard decision, but I do want to register my dissatisfaction. I watch most of my PBS on the reruns late at night, often b/c I record other shows during prime time because I work late. So, even if I’m recording PBS shows, it’s often the second or third time around showing. In particular, I’m just crushed to see you do this now, because I’ve been watching “We Shall Remain” late Saturday nights and it’s been great. Now you cut programming so that I can’t see the last episode. Sucks for me, especially because I didn’t know I needed to find a way to record it earlier in the week.
Yeah, you’re expanding online programming, but until bandwidth increases or technology improves, the quality of online shows makes watching unpleasurable. (Yeah, I admit it, I watch PBS documentaries for both knowledge and enjoyment.) And yeah, you plan to offer another channel later in the year, but how many current first run original PBS features are going to make it there? Don’t get me wrong, the teasers of Calexico, Carrie Rodriguez, and Ghostland Observatory give me shivers thinking about you showing the Whiskeytown/Old 97’s Austin City Limits (and the like) again. But guess what? I just got back from Centromatic, it’s about 2am and I’m not watching any KLRU channel. (So speaking of Carrie Rodriguez on Austin City Limits, when are you running it again? I recorded it on my DVR when it first aired, but deleted it before I watched it and before I realized that the copy i burned off to DVD was faulty.)
Alright, sorry to vent, but thinking of feedback as representative of viewer desire, I vote to cut something other than late night programming. At the risk of raising the ire of parents all across town, I’d much rather see you cut out some of the lame children’s programming during the day than lose multiple showings of the really good shows (and Mr. Rogers is not lame, but some of those shows must seem as bad to children as they do to me). And 30 minute how-to shows do NOT represent the best of PBS either. I’ve donated every year since I got in the black, but these cuts really cut into the value of that investment for me.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:19 am
I am sorry I cannot contribute more money but I am certain Austin will come to the aid of this station, God Willing.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I am with Greg regarding Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. We would really like to see the five days per week reinstated. It is such a unique and important program for young children. There is nothing else like it. Having it on one day a week only is just not right.
May 17th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
i’m terribly disappointed by the dropping of your late night programming. i’m a night person. i’ve done the majority of my television watching with your overnight programs. now i’m left with shear garbage - Jerry Springer and infomercials. i left Time-Warner because they weren’t showing KLRU the respect i believe it deserves (not that i subscribed to any more than the basic channels. they became unnecessary with the conversion to digital…). will you go back to the 24 hour programming in the future? please?? thank you for your ongoing tremendous contribution to our community!
May 18th, 2009 at 1:08 am
It is more important to have 24 hours on two channels than an early morning blackout on three channels. 1am - 6am is pretty desolate over the air w/out PBS… No matter how you market your broadcast decisions, signing off overnight is too last century! Austin is better served with two 24 hour/day channels than with three 18 hour/day channels. Please consider.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:07 am
i am so bummed about the new hours! i work nights and watch all my show on the rerun times. I almost exclusively watch from 11pm on. I know you are making the best decisions you can but i truly don’t understand the need for 3 separate channels… if they will all cut off. why have three channels, if money is an issue?? i know some people watch tv on line, but i don’t want to watch my computer screen for bill moyers, masterpiece theater, american experience, the series “we shall remain” etc. these are my own version of “appointment television”. pbs is the only tv i really watch. i don’t have cable. i don’t have a recorder. i am pretty simple in this area, so i really depend on the news and documentries and the bbc, pbs shows. i would think a lot of your audience would be older and maybe would have the tv on late at night for company even. i am truly heartbroken about this. please keep your later viewers in mind … we are just as obsessed with our shows as those who can watch them in prime time. thanks.
May 19th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Maybe if you all would put on some new programs on the weekend you all would get more money. Tired of the same old progams!! Nothing will change with the management that runs the station now. People are tired of the same old fund raisering shows. it is well past BORING!!! Cannot continue to show the same thing over and over again, in the end people will and most likely have already stopped watching and sending in money!!
Also what good does it do to run more then one station when you all can’t afford to run the main station 24 hours a day?
Makes no sense to me!!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Also not having cable, now I have to settle for reruns of “South Park,” which are fun the first 3 or 4 times. But 1am is the only time I can watch “Christina Cooks” or “Daisy Cooks!” I agree, I don’t understand why we need 3 stations anyway. The two that I frequently watch often show the same shows. I would rather see at least one of those stations offer overnight programming.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I came back from being out of town for a week only to find that KLRU had cut back its hours. I frequently have insomnia and so often find myself enjoying KLRU late at night. I do hope you are able to restore those hours very soon. While I welcome an additional channel (I too don’t have cable or satellite), I would rather have the late night programming than the additional channel.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I agree with Kristen, R. Alexander, Mary, Terry, Kathleen, and Elizabeth. I have found another solution. I tune into 46 KNCT DIgital, which is the PBS station for Belton / Kileen and get programming all night long, plus I get to watch all of the shows that I have watched on PBS for over 20 years, but KLRU does not show. I have hit the jack pot. I have been asking KLRU for years to broadcast shows that have been on most other PBS stations, to no avail. In this day and age of over 72% insomniacs, gee only seems logical to have late night programming.
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:03 am
Most of the really good stuff came on really late at night.
May 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I read a lot of comments here expressing frustration over the cuts. I hope that viewers will not only
complain to KLRU, but will be equally vocal with their family, friends, neighbors etc. when they explain the importance of the community support KLRU needs. (I contribute slightly above the sustaining level.)
Some programs mentioned I never heard of, so I may not be able comment on whether the right cuts were made (I get only two channels over the air). I watch KLRU mostly for the outstanding news coverage and also for Nature, Nova, Independent Lens, Masterpiece etc.
To Greg:
I find it incredulous that, say, a reduction affecting Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood would keep someone from (finally) contributing. You may have an overwhelming interest in children’s programs only, but also consider to sustain the programs your child will need after growing up. Without the news and political coverage of KLRU (which you find outstanding) the population will be even more ignorant. Do you really want your children grow up into that society?
My suggestion is to look at
http://www.amazon.com/Mister-Rogers-Neighborhood-Adventures-Friendship/dp/B0007LPSUO
and subtract your cost from the amount you would contribute if KLRU aired it and send only the difference to the station…
Also consider this: I recently emailed KLRU to put the Miiller Debates on the schedule and accompanied it with an additional donation. My guess/hope is that they will listen more to a regular contributor than someone who never contributed.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:35 am
It seems to me to be a bad management decision to cut the twenty-four hour programming schedule for budget reasons and then add a third station. You already show the same programs on both create and klru. You should condense you schedule to two channels and not add the third. You are alienating forty percent of your audience by eliminating your late night audience.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
KLRU is currently working on a plan that would permit us to move back to 24 hours on all of our stations without the need to add back staff.
As far as the new channel, there is no cost to the station of utilizing the bandwidth to deliver a third channel; the only costs are for the programming content and for the personnel to program the channel. Regarding the programming content, we are using PBS content, which we have already paid for as part of our annual PBS programming fees. As far as the cost of the staff to program the channel, no new positions are required. The person who is programming the channel is the same person who has previously programmed KLRU2 and KLRU-G, which are being eliminated effective June 30. The decision to eliminate KLRU 2 and KLRU-G is based on our desire to end the practice of programming channels that are only available to customers of certain cable companies and not to others — by ending the two channels and, instead launching one new one that is available to everyone.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I also would much prefer having KLRU on late night instead of having three channels. Also, the reason I don’t donate is because KLRU limits the amount they will accept online to $25 or more, which I can’t afford right now. In addition, the pledge drive programming is the WORST programming KLRU shows. Celtic Woman specials over and over and over again, New Age music like Yanni, self-help blabber shows on ALL DAY, etc. preempt programs that actually make me watch KLRU, like This Old House, Antiques Roadshow, NOVA, Frontline, American Experience, etc. Maybe that gets a certain older demographic, but you’re really alienating the young people who would like to donate now and as their incomes continue to rise in the future.
June 14th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Love KLRU! Unfortunately, now that 6/12/09 has come and gone, I don’t get any of your stations over the air. Before, I was able to get three of your stations and especially enjoyed the addition of Create programing. What happened? I am just outside Austin at Lake Travis?
June 17th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
i guess this would make too much sense, but why not sell those 5 hours or whatever to telemarketers and pay for the rest of the shows? make a little money the old fashioned way instead of constantly begging people to send in donations
June 21st, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I’m also discouraged that you’re not broadcasting 24 hours. When waking up in the middle of the night, I always turn on KLRU Create or would catch reruns of NOVA, Frontline or Amercian Experience. Not having cable, all that was on was infomercials. (please don’t take Scott’s advice!) I thought maybe it had something to do with the DVR switch. I too contribute when I can. I would rather have KLRU off one day a week (not a weekend though!), instead of the hours you have chosen.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:56 am
I’m posting this at 2 a.m., so yeah, color me dissatisfied with the decision to cease late-night programming. I also have to agree with LP, your programming during pledge weeks is some of the worst on broadcast television, especially when compared to your regular programming which is stellar. I’m also concerned about some of the stories I’ve heard about the manner in which staff were let go. For the first time in my 25 years as an Austinite, I’m seriously beginning to question the management practices of KLRU. I hope this dark chapter soon passes and I can once again donate with pride.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Thank goodness for “Nightly Business Report”. It’s the best and most honest business information program on the air. I do wish you could move the “Worldfocus” news program to an earlier time though. It along with the regular PBS news program at 6pm are head and shoulders above any of the major network news reports which are mainly entertainment programs.
Thanks for the effort,
Virg
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Dear KLRU-
I am a contributor and watch PBS almost exclusively. I was disappointed about discontinuance of KLRU2.
If I missed Jim Lehrer’s News Hour at 6:00 pm due to work demands, I could catch it at 10:00 pm–it was the only national news that I watched for many good reasons. I have no idea of what KLRU Q 18-3 is–except that I don’t receive it. If I missed an episode such as “Behind Closed Doors–WWII” I could always count on seeing it later on KLRU 2. I guess I won’t see the missed episode. Also, I keep getting these periods when KLRU goes silent in the middle of a program while the video is still on–sometimes the screen goes completely lime green–is this degeneration of broadcasting a result of the budget cuts too?
Too bad for those of us who are KLRU fanatics. It’s not hard times yet, but it sure is a loss in quality of viewing.
Karl