Public media neighbors,
I can’t believe it, but today is the final day of WBOI’s fall membership drive. I hope that you’ve enjoyed hearing from our hosts, our DJs, our business staff, and other listeners.
I’m often asked what being defunded by the federal government and the state of Indiana looked like. As you might expect, it’s looked like trying to provide the best in public audio with less resources than we’ve previously had.
But there are other things too. It’s also looked like working with Rebecca Green to cover only the things we have the resources to cover. It looked like partnering with Lea Inman to decide how often we can afford to cut our grass and replace our aging broadcast systems. It’s implementing these improvements in how we get NPR programming that kept Brianna Barrow in the office late on more than a few summer evenings. David Hunter spent the summer heads-down on a new addition to our website to make it easier for you to give and easier for you to update your membership. It looked like fifty-hour work weeks for myself and a few others.
Still, we did what you sent us here to do. We embraced longform storytelling. We brought you pieces on the Google Data Center, two unlikely pals at the Allen County Library, and what it’s like to produce a musical like Grease. Julia Meek brought you news of all the arts and culture happening in your community. We revamped our weather reports to reflect all of our broadcast area, including Northwest Ohio. We found new ways for businesses to support our programming. We delivered a sweeping update of WBOI Music’s format so that you can count on the news you need every hour and the music that makes you toe-tap and two-step. Live and Local at The Landing delivered another season of local artist showcases unmatched anywhere. We produced more original programming than we have in a decade, including three new music shows.
If you’ve given to support this public media company, thank you so very much. You made these hard days and big successes possible.
Today, during the Last Chance Challenge, you have an opportunity to have your gift amplified if you haven’t already made one. I wanted you to know what we’ve been up to before you make the decision to support us that I know you will. For us, being defunded looked a lot like bringing you the most relevant news and the most diverse music under even more pressure.
From one public radio nerd to another, I think we did you proud.
Yours in good audio,
Travis Pope
