Stronger for the Future - WAMU

WAMU 2020 Stronger for the Future

A message from J.J. Yore | General Manager I would like to share an exciting process we are undertaking to plan for our future and to create a strong WAMU in 2020 and beyond. We want to connect with you on the platform of your choice, to report on the local, national and global news of the day and to reflect our region’s unique needs. WAMU has experienced unprecedented growth over the last 10 years. We’ve attracted thousands of new listeners, making ours one of the largest public radio audiences in the country* and the region’s most listened to radio station for most of the past three years.*

Growth 2004 - 2014 37% 81 % 37% 118%

increase in listeners* increase in DRS listeners** increase in members increase in audience contributions

We created exceptional news coverage like Kavitha Cardoza’s education reporting, Patrick Madden’s investigative journalism and live mayoral debates. All of this has been made possible thanks to the support of our members and corporate sponsors. After a decade of unprecedented growth, we need to reflect on what we’ve accomplished. Most of our changes have been positive, but our sound and style have become too broad. We need to evaluate what’s gone well and what hasn’t. I believe we will be more valuable to our region if we focus on our core services. As the new general manger, I am committed to strengthening WAMU. There is a revolution occurring in the media industry, and every media organization needs to continually review and reassess its direction. As we look ahead to 2020, we want to be your media organization and cultural institution for civic dialogue, informing and empowering our audiences to make important choices that will shape the region’s future. Programs such as The Kojo Nnamdi Show and The Diane Rehm Show accomplish this regionally and nationally. We want to build on this foundation and improve our local coverage. To better serve our audiences, WAMU’s leadership team is embarking on a journey to improve our sound and style, and to develop a financial plan that allows us to focus investments on the best content and improve our delivery. We are committed to WAMU’s role as the region’s most trusted source for local, national and international news. *Washington, DC Metro, Weekly Cume, P12+, Mon-Sun 6am-Mid, Spring 2004, copyright Arbitron & Washington, DC Metro, Weekly Cume, P6+, Mon-Sun 6a-Mid, Spring 2014, copyright Nielsen Audio **Audience data, Weekly Cume, P12+, copyright Spring 2004 Arbitron, Inc & Audience data, Weekly Cume, P12+, copyright Spring 2014 Nielsen Audio


Focus for the future. We have the privilege to be part of many people’s lives in the Washington, D.C. region, and the responsibility to be a trusted source for news, information and cultural shows. During 2015, we will create a new content and platform strategy that will | Focus on our core services | Ensure we continue to be the audio and web platform for the best coverage | Increase and improve coverage dedicated to our region | Identify areas of growth based on what our audiences value, and | Align our revenues with our most ambitious projects. This will protect and maintain the journalism and public affairs programming the Washington, D.C. region looks to WAMU to provide. And we want our listeners and community members to inform us about what is most valuable to you. With support and encouragement from American University for the specific purpose of developing a long-term strategy, we are commissioning a strategic consulting firm to facilitate the process, ensuring it is objective and unbiased. The first quarter of 2015 will focus on research. Then we will evaluate our content and platforms to determine changes that will enhance our value.

Funding our core strengths. WAMU Revenue and Expense Dollars, shown in millions

$24 $22 $20 $18 $16 $14 $12

FY10

FY11

Fiscal Year

FY12

FY13

FY14

FY15 Expense

FY16

FY17

Revenue

Over 90% of our revenue comes from audience members who donate, corporate underwriters and private foundations. We value this trust in our organization and want to ensure we are the best financial stewards possible with our community’s investments.

In recent years, WAMU’s revenue growth has slowed while our expenses have increased. Like any business, we must grow and diversify our revenue. As a nonprofit, revenue is reinvested in our services as well as reserves to protect against unforeseeable downturns and to seize new opportunities as they arise. We also know that new technology is a disrupter in the media landscape. Like other media organizations, some of the technologies we invested in have been outpaced by other, more rapidly developing ones, such as mobile devices. I and the WAMU leadership team have created a balanced budget for the two next fiscal years. We have a plan to grow our revenue streams. We also have identified several business areas where we can be more efficient.


Listeners will hear the following changes in the coming months: 88.3 Ocean City/Delaware

88.3 Listeners Listeners, shown in thousands

With 17,500 weekly listeners,* 88.3 ranks 14th in that market. To date, it has not been financially sustainable. While we want to continue to serve this region, we need to reduce our expenses We are eliminating our weekly show, Coastal Connection, and exploring other ways to reduce costs.

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2011

2012

2013

2014

Intersection HD 3 HD Listeners Listeners, shown in thousands

HD radio has been outpaced by digital platforms . A s a result, Intersection reaches only 1,800 listeners a week.** We will eliminate this station in 2015.

25 20 15 10 5 0

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

WAMU’s Bluegrass Country 105.5 We are refining the schedule to provide a more consistent format and sound, reflecting both a national and local "sense of place." We will replace four local shows with syndicated shows, bringing more consistency to the bluegrass genre. This will also help us better manage our expenses. For more information, please visit bluegrasscountry.org/2020.

Thank you for your interest in and support of WAMU. We will post updates as we progress with our journey. Please continue to follow our progress. To share your thoughts, send an email to [email protected].

*Salisbury Ocean City Metro, Weekly Cume, P12+, Mon-Sun 6a-Mid, Spring 2014 Survey, copyright Nielsen Audio **National Regional Database Report, Radio Research Consortium, USA Total, Weekly Cume, P12+, Spring 2009-Spring 2014, Copyright Nielsen Audio