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Papers Worker’s
Independent News VISION:
A radio strategy must have two components: content provision and broadcast venues. To gain maximum effectiveness a content provision strategy must be combined with a strategy to acquire the actual broadcast outlets. The purchase of broadcast venues is a longer term and more costly enterprise which can be pursued with other progressive partners concomitantly with the content provision strategy. This paper will outline both aspects of this strategy. GOALS: I. Working people get their news from radio Radio is where people get their news in the morning; it guides their day. Radio leads both TV and newspapers as the preferred news medium when listeners first wake up, while they are getting ready for the day, during the morning commute, while at work, and during the drive home. Research shows that radio is an important news source for working people. It is the number one workplace news source and the preferred medium for news followers who work full-time. Significantly, the audience for radio news is greatest among people of working age, particularly those between ages 30 and 55, three-fourths of whom work full-time jobs. Ninety-three percent of all consumers 12 years of age and older listen to radio in a given week, and no other medium can claim as many weekly consumers as radio. More than three quarters of commuting news followers get most of their news from radio while traveling to and from work. A large proportion organized labor’s media strategy can be built on radio at a cost significantly less than that of television and print ads. America’s working men and women rely on radio news, with the average radio consumer spending more than nineteen hours listening to radio each week this avenue is clearly the right medium to communicate with them.
Organized labor has relied on one dominant media strategy – the “media buy” model; i.e., purchasing time or ad space, primarily during organizing campaigns, strikes and other job actions, and during election campaigns. Labor spent about 65 million dollars in the last election cycle using the “media buy” approach, with nothing permanent to show for it in terms of long-term market penetration or infrastructure building. Right-wing news and talk radio has been a critical element in building the conservative political base in America. It continues to support extremist anti-worker policies. If we are going to reverse the political direction of our country, organized labor has to have a voice on the public airwaves. We must look long-term at building a sustainable media infrastructure to support progressive attitudes and political goals. III. Provide National News in Targeted Markets, Regions or Industry Sectors. WIN will provide on-going news to specific regions or cities. That news can be supportive of on going organizational campaigns in industry sectors or even campaigns aimed at specific employers. A regional approach also lends itself to providing the news that working people need to vote their concerns and not their fears. A
continuous flow of news – daily and accessible, is needed
to support both political and organizing campaigns. Because radio
is a very flexible medium it is possible to produce a national news
headline service but add local, regional or industry specific stories
depending on the need and venue. PLAN - Content Provision: I. A news and feature strategy Produce news content which focuses on economic matters relevant to middle class American workers. Every business day, produce and distribute a headline newscast and an economic report for working people. In addition, produce up to three special features each week about a campaign or issue. Provision of comments from labor leaders are also an important component of a well rounded national news service. II. Long-term placement in multiple, targeted markets, focused on our demographic A
long-term strategy capable of moving the political direction of
the country must include adequate, sustainable funding to keep a
reliable, daily voice of organized labor on the airwaves. It must
be focused to reach and appeal to working people, in targeted markets
in key Congressional districts. With the support of local reporters and stringers, and the ability to produce up-to-the-moment news and features, this media strategy could be targeted to support local or regional organizing efforts or political campaigns. For example, WIN news targeted efforts by the entertainment industry unions in New York City to win decent contracts, or nurses in the UFCW in St. Louis to change the balance of forces vis a vis St. Francis hospital. Radio
news is cost-effective Structure •
Two complete newscasts per day, including an economic report A core staff of twelve full-time people could perform the above tasks combined with additional locally based reporters. The core staff would be supported by news bureaus located initially in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and a southern or western city, such as Miami or Houston. News staff would also be supported by reporters/stringers where needed. The total estimated cost of such an operation would be about $1.2 million per year. Total expected income after one year should be about $300,000. Income is derived from the sale of content to radio stations, networks, individual programs, web sites, and the sale of advertising. Thus, the net cost to unions who join in this effort would be approximately $900,000 per year, perhaps less, after the first year. Cost • Internet would be the primary method of distribution, and internet costs would remain relatively stable. (Satellite distribution is also a possibility, depending on cost). • The production facility would be located in a city like Madison, thus reducing some costs by as much as 50%, as compared with a major city such as New York or Los Angeles. • Reporters and stringers would primarily be drawn from the excellent individuals already reporting on our issues. WHY NEWS News is perceived differently by listeners than is talk or advertising. News is readily accepted as “fact”; i.e., legitimate information, by most listeners. Additionally, listeners to the top news station in a major market have an established understanding of that station as the news authority in that market. Thus, labor’s message is delivered with maximum credibility. ? When labor-oriented newscasts run within regular news segments, they become part of each station’s overall newscast. Labor news is then legitimized and accepted as “headline-worthy”. ? WIN newscasts are placed in “island” positions between other newscasts, not in a string of commercials. The advertising spot within the WIN newscast is then a prime location for a particular union’s message. The newscast provides a framework, which makes that union’s message more valuable. Well-written, high-quality news provided every working day can help shift perceptions and thus aid organizing and political mobilization. News focused on labor’s issues and written from labor’s perspective broadens what is currently available to the broadcast media. A national news service combined with a local news segment allows a radio station to have national content at low cost, with a local “hook” to attract listeners and local sponsors. Additionally, including local sources can serve the needs of an organizing campaign in a specific region, focusing on particular employers or sectors of industry. It also helps build local reporting and production capacity, which aids in creating a sustainable market presence. PLAN - Station Purchase: Ownership of a radio station and license can ensure that labor oriented content is actually aired. It can also mean that progressive content providers can be paid from station receipts, generated from advertising, thus lessening the funding burdens on progressive content providers. A small network of stations can thus have a huge leveraging effect on content provision. What does ownership entail? Ownership of a station means that a group of investors actually owns the license and broadcast facility. Usually the consortium of owners hires a station manager and operating staff. Financing
For unions to get involved in such activity certain criteria must be included in any arrangement: 1.
The investment must meet the fiduciary standards for pension investments
Selection of Stations: Stations can be selected based on numerous criteria, other than simply cost. •
Political- Purchase stations in areas that will leverage political
power These criteria are not mutually exclusive and can be applied to the purchase of stations currently broadcasting in English, Spanish or other languages. Technical Considerations The technology of radio is changing rapidly. HD radio offers the owners of specific frequencies (actually a band of frequencies) to actually divide that frequency into three portions- thus drastically increasing the amount of material that a single station can broadcast. Radio will also soon be available via an individual’s cell phone. These considerations need to influence our estimate of cost effectiveness. Cost As to the first, there are already organizations such as Nova-M engaged in attempts to purchase radio stations employing some of the above criteria. As to the second, stations that can reach large numbers of working people in cities such as Milwaukee, WI or Mobile AL are available for a price that together is less than 10% of what labor spent on media in the last presidential election. IMPLEMENTATION: The strategy outlined in this proposal can be implemented almost immediately. Individual elements are already in place. WIN produces labor-oriented news once every business day, distributed in a full spectrum manner. Various organizations in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere have been contacted and are willing to provide some resources to set up news bureaus. High quality producers/reporters are currently providing news focused on labor’s issues in almost every major market in the U.S. – in both English and Spanish. A corporate structure exists to manage a “for profit” and a non-profit media organization. Efforts are also underway to buy radio stations. Progressive business people are engaged in radio station purchase and are seeking partners. They have already agreed in principal to most of the criteria outlined above. Frank
Emspak
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