Posted on 10/16/2011 7:18:30 PM PDT by jjotto
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - It's your money and even in these hard times City leaders are finding unusual ways to spend it, like a $250,000 loan to keep a radio station on the air.
KCPW would default on a loan without the help. Listeners promised $230,000 in pledges, but they were never paid.
KCPW is the only public radio station to focus on only on Salt Lake County. It has 11 reporters and reaches a potential 1,000,000 listeners.
Its coverage would have ended without a loan from Salt Lake City, one of the very groups it covers.
KCPW President Ed Sweeny says his relationship with the City is strictly business. "I think it comes down to the integrity of the news director," said KCPW listener Howard Brown.
ABC 4 talked with listeners about the loan. "My honest opinion is-- I'm torn a little bit, but I do support KCPW. I do support them financially," said Brown.
Salt Lake City Councilman Luke Garrott says the City provided the loan because KCPW raises property values by increasing the quality of life.
It's broadcasts performances from Abravanel Hall and is a source of free information to the public.
"I actually don't think I mind," said Kristi Schwerin.
"I think it's a great idea. I think public radio is very important," said Jennifer Nasman.
"As a loan that's to be paid back with interest. I personally see nothing wrong with that," said Greta DeJong.
But shouldn't public radio be publicly funded by the good will of the listeners and not a City responsible for sidewalk and road repairs?
"I would hope that it wouldn't result in a loss of perhaps more needed funding," said Dave Johnson.
KCPW expects to pay the loan back with five percent interest, but it's a risk to Salt Lake City.
If the listeners don’t care why should anyone else?
Thanks for posting/commenting. DEFUND socialist collectives, foreign and domestic.
Too funny! Sounds like a liberal M.O. to me.
Thank God, they almost had to demean themselves and sell advertisements.
"We've established what you are, madam -- now we are only haggling over price."
Seriously, they could pay off that loan, and likely be well in the black, simply by keeping present staffing and capping salaries at $50,000 a year. But I guarantee the leadership of the station is pulling down at least a million dollars between them, and all looking forward to heavily subsidized retirements for the rest of their lives.
Every trick learned by the public drone is out-shined by their NPR and PBS counterparts.
Sounds like Solyndranomics at work. The radio station doesn’t have a viable business plan. It’s customers have reneged on their promises to pay. It hasn’t found any other revenue sources. It takes out a loan, but hasn’t restructured to make sure that loan can be paid. If they couldn’t get their existing customers to pay their obligations, where in the world are they going to get the revenue to pay the debt PLUS interest?
The SLC city council is just as stupid as the depart of no-energy. Every government at every level across the land is infested with idiots.
“demean themselves and sell advertisements.”
lol Public radio is full of “endorsements”, plugs for books, musicians, movies, concert, and more. They do advertising, but it’s a different format than commercial radio. The only advertising they don’t do is “public service announcements”.
This hour generously supported by the Python Programmer Corporation, the nation’s premiere source of accredited Python code and a grant from DBrow Foundation for support of randomness in radio programming.
The taxpayers didn’t contribute voluntarily so the taxpayers are made to pay forcefully without any say in the matter.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=128718
...Blair Feulner, KCPW/KPCW General Manager: “We are the best in the country at what we do. And we have the paperwork to prove it.”
Feulner doesn’t dispute the Salt Lake Tribune’s report on his salary: 150,000-plus per year. Before his wife retired, together they made 280,000 two years ago. She worked there before they got married.
Blair Feulner: “She ran the business side and I ran the programming side. And I believe in equal pay for equal work.”
But Salt Lake’s other community station managers get a third to a half as much...
They are not stupid. They are beholden to the liberal media to hold their various ponzi schemes together. Lately it appears that they are running out of other people's money. That is the reason that the recent "lending" has been getting so blatant.
If the taxpayers of SLC accept this loan from tax receipts they are idiots. The proviso should be that the city council members should be personally on the hook for making this loan. That’s all there is to it.
What horse s***!
There are dozens of other stations that carry news and entertainment that don’t beg for public donations.
THe market (ie listeners) determine their makeup. There are also sports and news stations. Good grief you can listen to radio across the internet.
Hey SLC! Think that loan is ever going to be paid back? If you do boy do I have a bridge to sell you!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!
That is the most important factor that will bring down the nanny/welfare state and end big government.
I just made it my tagline.
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