Hello Mast Radio Listeners,
I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for taking part of Mast Media’s experiment into radio. This is new ground for us as a converged newsroom, and we are excited at what the future holds as we bring news and talk content to the LASR network.
In regards to all of our Mast Radio shows, we use a news and talk based format called “the Reporter’s Notebook”. This means that our on-air personalities and their respective guests will freely move from reporting news to sharing their opinions. While portions of our shows are scripted, the opinion portions are generally not. We recognize that some opinions of our on-air personalities and guests may be not well received by some of our audience members. We invite our listeners to comment on the podcast pages associated with our shows. You are also welcome to contact me directly with any comments or concerns. For more details about the Mission, Vision and Policies of Mast Radio, click here.
KPLU Story
In regards to our recent Mast Radio Hour broadcast and podcast, I would like to clarify some of the content that was shared.
We originally said that KUOW will have 20 new positions open for the new all jazz station they plan to create after they acquire KPLU, and that KPLU will be losing 16 staff positions. As more information has come to light, we would like to report that all KPLU employees will be laid off after the sale of the station becomes final. According to Lindsey Moyer, an employee of KPLU, there are currently 36 full time and 15 part time employees at the station.
In regards to the $1 Million in Underwriting, the underwriting will include on-air ads and PSAs for PLU that will presumably air on both the 94.9 and 88.5 frequencies.
In regards to characterizing President Krise’s quote about the decreasing listenership, we recognize that the saying “because nobody listens to radio anymore” was an exaggeration.  But, at a recent faculty assembly, Krise read from his prepared notes that radio listenership was down, then a professor questioned the legitimacy of $1 million in underwriting on a format he just said was losing listenership.
In regards to the opinion shared by Samantha Lund that the Martin J. Neeb Center was built and dedicated for journalism, the point that Lund was trying to make was the facilities were built for broadcast radio, journalism being a part of what KPLU does in its local news reporting and the internships provided to PLU students for news reporting.
And in regards to LASR possibly losing its abilities to broadcast copyrighted music as a part of the shared licensing with KPLU, more information has yet to be received. We await official word from PLU’s legal department on this, but as of right now, we understand that a separate University and Colleges license from ASCAP covers LASR separately from an FM airplay license to covers KPLU. But again, more information is needed, specifically regarding music licensed under BMI and SESAC.
For more information about the KPLU story, please check out “Students, Alumni Dissipated with Sale of KPLU” and “PLU President, Faculty Respond to Sale of KPLU.”
We want Mast Radio to be a great addition to Mast Media, and hope that you, our listeners, will continue to support our shows, and again, if there is any content from our shows that you would like to comment or ask a question about, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks for listening,
Eddie McCoven
Mast Radio Producer and Program Director
mccoveej@plu.edu
(253) 535-7494
