Democracy Now! heroine Amy Goodman will be visiting the Springs on Sunday April 20th, but you wouldn’t know from listening to DN!’s own local radio affiliate KRCC. Today, in the segue for the 7pm slot, “Coming up next, Democracy Now,” instead of mentioning Goodman’s upcoming appearance, the DJ added “if Amy Goodman is not your bag, check out KRCC’s HD2 on which you can hear The Thomas Jefferson Hour.”
Can you imagine KRCC introducing Fresh Air with Terri Gross like that?
On her last appearances, Amy Goodman filled the 900-seat Shove Chapel. Where do you suppose KRCC gets off thinking they can ignore her local following? It’s insulting enough that they gave DN! a mediocre time-slot, they’re trying to sabotage Goodman’s opportunity to speak to their listeners in person? No mention either on their calendar. Search their website for “Amy Goodman” and you get nothing!
Over the last few months, KRCC has promoted appearances by all sorts of Neocon conservative global-warming deniers and war profiteers. As recently as yesterday KRCC had uncritical promotion of ex-Interior Secretary and crook Gale Norton. What’s happening to Colorado College? What’s happened to KRCC?
I heard that she’ll be at the open house on Sunday afternoon. Come on over to 912 N. Weber and voice your support! There will be live music and food too.
Eric… I sent you an email to, apparently, an old email address on March 26 telling you about the event. I even encouraged DN’s tour manager to work with the Bookman re: book sales at the event. Here is the email I sent you:
Subject: Amy Goodman at KRCC 4/20
From: dutterback(at)ColoradoCollege.edu
Date: March 26, 2008 10:26:01 PM MDT
To: eric(at)waycottlaboratories.com
Hi Eric,
I’m not quite sure where to email you these days. Hope this makes it to you. Amy Goodman will be at KRCC at about 3pm on Sunday, April 20th. She’ll speak out back–mid-music fest–pitch on air a bit and sign books. I gave Denis Moynihan–denis(at)democracynow.org–(he’s arranging her tour) your info, because they were looking for local book sellers to handle the books she’ll sell and sign at the open-house. I don’t know if they contacted you… I hope they have. But, I thought you’d like to know so you can meet her… if you haven’t already. Get in touch and I’ll be sure to get you behind the scenes for the event. Please pass the info along to anyone who would be interested.
Delaney
PS We’re a Pacifica affiliate now… thought that might interest you.
—
Delaney Utterback
[email protected]
General Manager
KRCC-FM / Radio Colorado College
912 North Weber Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
719-473-4801 / fax 719-473-7863
http://www.krcc.org
——
I’m sorry this didn’t reach you sooner. We’re planning our open house blitz next week, where, naturally, we will announce Amy’s appearance (we did mention it in a 7000 person email and and 5500 person mailer, btw). This is a last minute town, and, additionally, I’ve been reluctant to announce the appearance because we didn’t know for sure that she would be coming until late March. My original email to you was also a probe to see if they had contacted you, because we hadn’t heard anything. She will also be speaking in Alamosa (KRZA) and Salida (KHEN) on the 20th.
DN is, also, on at 10am on KRCC HD2, weekdays. We carry other programs that might interest you on HD2, as well. We’re in the infancy of promoting HD2. We had just had a staff meeting, where I encouraged announcers to promo HD2… which is why Mike promoted TJH at 7pm. No slight to Amy intended… we’re just promoting a new, very expensive, service that we offer. (World Café is on during Fresh Air, btw… which I opt for regularly, and I’d have no issue with mentioning. Some folks like music more than news or talk.)
I’ll be the first to confess, our search engine sucks. There IS an announcement about Amy in the newsletter that was posted on March 25th (http://dada.krcc.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive/krccnews/20080325130026/)… around 7000 people got notice about that. (http://www.krcc.org/community/index_newsletter.php) I’ll be launching a new website with a search engine that actually crawls our *entire* website soon.
-d
Dear Delaney,
Thanks for the info. Sorry you had trouble reaching me. No, I wasn’t contacted about the books. I’ll look into that. Don’t worry about access for me, etc. I’ve spoken plenty with Amy, but thank you for asking. I would like to work with KRCC to ensure a good turnout.
I’m thrilled by the Pacifica detail, although I wonder what it means, or what are the implications of having heard now from you about Amy’s visit, and still having heard nothing on the air. I hear repeatedly about Ira Glass, coming up in JUNE, and up to recently, a barrage of announcements of Gale Norton. I didn’t catch Noel’s interview. Was it scathing?
Did the Pacifica affiliation change your on-air content? I am a fairly steady listener, if chiefly a monitor. I haven’t discerned anything yet hopeful.
All the news programming, including FRESH AIR, has become lately worse in following the corporate/military line. ATC, PRI and BBC-WORLD EDITION offer only press releases and book promotion for “reformed” Neocons. BOB EDWARDS WEEKEND is simply the worst. And your addition of MARKETPLACE, to provide business news Lite, is absolutely whore-ific.
Delaney, HD2 is for the sophisticate who already knows what’s going on. The socio-political power of a radio station lies in its public signal, whichever reaches the most cars. AM stations retain their popularity because for the longest time AM radios were the best cars had. For purposes of informing and educating the KRCC demographic, you’ll need to use your 91.5 frequency. I used to worry about reaching the masses. Now I’m quite focused on just reaching the “Liberals” who listen to public radio. They’ve become, unknowingly, so uninformed.
I look forward to improvement.
Yours,
Eric
(UPDATE: Just a quick perusal of the krcc.org front page. Let’s see, IRA GLASS, scrolling down, Kimya Dawson, IRA GLASS, Daniel Johnston, Woody Beardsley, Gale Norton… Hmm. Try Apple-F for “Amy” …nope, nothing.)
Thanks for helping to spread the word. I look forward to talking to you at the open-house.
Thank you for the updates about Amy Goodman’s visit that KRCC has sponsored, Delaney. I imagine there will be quite a crowd that will be there at the KRCC building in the afternoon when she comes by.