KUNM is trying to find a balance between old, established programs and the need for student input.
On Jan. 7, Keystone International, a consulting group, unveiled the findings of a KUNM staff and volunteer survey, yielding an assessment with a long list of recommendations for improvement.
Keystone’s recommendations included hiring new staff to getting more students interested in listening to KUNM.
Michelle Detry, president of Keystone, said during her presentation that much of KUNM’s programming isn’t representative of the University’s academic mission.
“Many people said that students are the academic mission of UNM, but we see very few of them at KUNM,” she said.
KUNM General Manager Richard Towne said there is an equal ratio of paid students to paid staff, and KUNM always gives students first priority at the station. However, programming may not always represent what is happening on campus because the station serves much of the state.
“I think it does reflect, but it is not consistent in doing it,”
Towne said.
Student-age listeners currently account for 16 percent of the KUNM listening base, Towne said.
KUNM volunteer Tim Oswald said the station lacks young energy and the ability to capture the attention and loyalty of students.
“It just doesn’t seem like it would be that appealing to younger people,” Oswald said. “I think the students may not be getting involved because the station doesn’t really hold anything for them.”
Deputy Provost Richard Holder said it is difficult to find a way to involve students while maintaining the professional sound expected by KUNM listeners.
“I have puzzled over a number of years trying to figure out how we could get more students involved,” Holder said. “We have a very professional sound, and students have to learn that sound in some way. How that happens — I don’t know.”
Keystone recommended having students participate in off-air production or developing a younger listener base.
“We have many different kinds of communities to serve, though we do have programming that is attractive to students,” he said.
Keystone also recommended changes in the organizational structure of KUNM. Their suggestions included hiring a full-time volunteer coordinator to manage the station’s 160 volunteers.
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“This is one of the key recommendations for improving overall volunteer satisfaction and the experience within activities at KUNM,” Detry said.
Holder said, though he agrees that the recommendations could be very useful, budgetary constraints may keep KUNM from implementing them.
“I agree with it in theory,” Holder said. “The question is whether there is enough budget resources to do that.”
Towne said UNM supports its radio station with services, including money from student fees, but does not provide any money for general operation. The station is responsible for generating its own funding.
“Our funding is stable,” Towne said. “But is harder to find
contributions — we are having to work harder.”
Towne said KUNM plans to consider Keystone’s recommendations and then engage the staff, volunteers and advisory board in a discussion to develop action steps.
“We are always working to improve the things that we do,” Towne said. “In this case we will be looking at ways to improve our work environment.”
Oswald said he is uncertain that KUNM has the motivation and organization to implement Keystone’s recommendations.
“It seems like it takes forever to get things done or to find something out,” Oswald said. “It is definitely the land of mañana down there.”
KUNM will have a staff meeting on Jan. 20 to discuss what actions they will take as a response to the survey. Oswald said he is curious to see what will come of the assessment.
“I don’t know where I see it going from here,” Oswald said. “I am kind of skeptical as to what kind of results this survey will bring.”
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89.9 KUNM-FM
kunm.org*
