Stop Rice from Selling KTRU
According to the Houston Chronicle:
“The University of Houston is planning to buy the radio station operated by students at Rice University for almost 40 years in a $9.5 million deal that would give UH the broadcast tower, FM frequency and license used by Rice’s KTRU.
UH’s governing board will vote Tuesday on whether to give Chancellor Renu Khator authority to complete the deal. Rice spokesman B.J. Almond said its trustees already have given similar authority to administrators there.”
This site is intended to be a clearinghouse for information about this impending tragedy. It is also here to foster calls to action. I believe that many Rice students, alumni, and greater Houston community members will oppose this action by Rice’s Board of Trustees.
Please use this page and this Facebook Page to discuss these events and to gather ideas, with the goal of taking effective action.
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This goes completely against the V2C!
One of the coolest things I’ve ever done was to play with Culturcide live on KTRU back in the 80’s. Even then, there was a strange tension between the campus authorities and the station staff.
This is a tragic example of our city’s tendency to pave over it’s history. I will surely miss the never ending surprise of KTRU programming.
As a Rice alum, KTRU listener, and local musician, I am ready to take on the struggle to save KTRU.
We have to organize quickly, as we not only are up against money and power, they also have been planning this for some time.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=152403161436840&ref=ts
Nick Cooper
Rice ’91
Free Radicals
This is a great disappointment. KTRU is one of those jewels in the rough. It is the only place to attune to an eclectic and current music venue. It is a little like having a contemporary art museum of music available. Understanding the condition of the economy, sometime it makes you wonder wether anybody has the courage to support art over commerce. I am fairly sure Rice owns this hardware and probably the entire cost of the use of this institution is at best minimal in the overall financial stability of the Rice Institution. Unfortunately most older folks have no idea of the magic in the ever changing variety of music and furthermore do not understand how difficult it is to find a platform to locate this music. I believe that the audience you have is probably much much larger than you are able to track as these underground venues never lend themselves to the conventional measuring systems. The people that are supporting this decision will never have a clue as to the strange, but vital role this little gift of musical versatility has provided to the world of listeners looking for a global musical enlightenment, education, experience and most of all pleasure. Best, WD
Who do we call and email to show our contempt with this decision?
General contact information.
-KUHF’s phone number is 713.743.0887
-UH’s contact info here, http://www.uh.edu/contact-us/index
-Rice’s is here, http://www.explore.rice.edu/explore/Contact_Rice.asp
Anyone have specific numbers we can target to most effectively let our voices be heard?
the grapevine says kevin kirby is the rice admin dealing with this issue directly…
http://professor.rice.edu/professor/Vice_President_for_Administration.asp
Anyone remember the movie “FM” that came out back in 1978?
There’s a suggestion for you. “I’m just sayin”…
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/KTRU
Sign the petition!
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/KTRU
Hmmm…. 🙁
http://twitter.com/organprinter/status/21411878164
@sohum — note that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. U of H (barely) approved buying the license. Doesn’t mean that $$$ has changed hands. I think rice may be in a bad position with this one… it’s hard to save face when you offer to sell off a student club.
FROM DAVID LEEBRON this AM:
I am writing to let you know that we have reached a preliminary agreement with the University of Houston System to purchase Rice’s 50,000-watt radio frequency and broadcast tower for use by Houston’s local public broadcasting station, KUHF. Rice’s station, KTRU, will continue to operate a Web-based radio station at http://www.ktru.org.
We made the decision to sell the radio tower and frequency for several
reasons. The economic downturn which began two years ago has forced Rice — and virtually all colleges and universities across the country — to make hard choices to prioritize spending and maximize the use of our resources.
As we have implemented necessary budget cuts over the past two years, our goal has been to focus on our core missions of teaching and research and, to the extent possible, to avoid layoffs. We have constantly asked, and will continue to ask, how we can best apply our resources to achieve our aspirations.
The KTRU tower stood out as one of the university’s most underutilized
resources. In an era when Internet radio is rapidly growing in popularity,
it became apparent that the 50,000-watt radio station that broadcasts KTRU’s programming is a valuable but vastly underutilized resource that is not essential to providing our students the wide range of opportunities they need, including media opportunities.
A recent Arbitron report showed that KTRU’s audience was so small that it
did not even register in the ratings. Most college radio stations around the
country have less than 5,000 watts, and since the late ’90s a number of them have added the online format and moved to online only.
At the same time, KUHF, Houston’s National Public Radio station, was looking for a way to provide both 24-hour all-news and all-classical music
programming. Houston is the only major city in the country that lacks these dual services. To fill that gap, the University of Houston System expressed an interest in purchasing Rice’s FM frequency and tower, and we eventually agreed on a price of $9.5 million.
The sale must be approved by the UH Board of Regents at its meeting today, and then by the Federal Communications Commission.
Some of the sale proceeds will go toward the cost of the new East Servery,
which will be adjacent to Lovett and Will Rice residential colleges on the
south campus. This will both provide one of the most desired improvements to the residential experience in the south colleges, as well as help us achieve the overall capital plan approved by our board of trustees. We also plan to form a committee including students to provide input on other uses of the proceeds, such as for scholarships, improvements to recreational facilities and enhancements to the online station and other student media facilities and programs.
KTRU will continue to serve its campus and external audience with
student-managed programming via http://www.ktru.org. The Internet already brings KTRU to national and global listeners, and there are opportunities for that audience to grow. Will Robedee, the station’s first general manager, will continue in that role.
KUHF plans to use the additional frequency to broadcast 24-hour classical
music and fine arts programming on 91.7 FM; 88.7 FM will become its all-news channel. KUHF will raise funds to pay for the acquisition.
We realize that some loyal fans of KTRU may lament these changes, but it is important to remember that KTRU is not going away. Fans can still find
KTRU’s unique blend of music and programming online. Meanwhile, a greater number of students can benefit from the improvements in campus facilities and offerings made possible by the sale of the broadcast tower.
As much as I prefer to consult widely and involve all stakeholders in
important decisions, this sale required months of complicated and, by
necessity, confidential negotiations. My management team and I approached those discussions always with the best interests of our students, faculty and alumni and the future of our university as our highest priorities.
For more information about the KTRU plans, see the story and FAQs on
rice.edu.
Thank you, as always, for your hard work and dedication.
Warm regards,
David W. Leebron
President, Rice University
FROM KTRULISTSERV THIS AM… KEY CONTACTS:
“…KTRU is one of just a few independent radio stations left in this country. We need to explain why this matters. This is the equivalent of replacing the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston with a gallery dedicated to impressionist painting. The gallery may be better attended, but that doesn’t mean that Houston wouldn’t lose something if the CAMH were shuttered. So what can we do? I have a few ideas:…”
…For people not in Houston or not able to go, contact the University of Houston Board of Regents. Board members are listed here: http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/board_members/.
Unfortunately there isn’t any contact information for individual board members. The number for the Board’s Executive administrator, Gerry Mathiesen is 832-842-3446 and her email address is glmathisen@central.uh.edu. The number for the Executive Secretary, Marquette Hobbs, is 832-842-3444, and her email address is mdhobbs@central.uh.edu. I left voice mail messages for both of them. You can also send the Chairmen of the Regents a message on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/welcomewilson or leave him a message through his company GSL: http://www.gslwelcome.com/ContactUs/CompanyDirectory.aspx. The email address listed there is wwilsonsr@gslwelcome.com. His extension is x6910
4.) Contact the Rice Administration. They have already signed off on this, but they should still hear from us. President Leebron’s address is: president@rice.edu. The phone number for his office is 713-348-5050
5.) In the worst case scenario, we can file a petition to deny the transfer of a license. A former KTRU DJ who is now a lawyer may be able to help us out with this. The key is to be civil, but active. If anyone else has any ideas please circulate them. Actions like these have worked in the past:
http://www.houstonpress.com/2001-01-11/news/spin-control/
Try emailing or calling people in charge to let them know you are unhappy.
-Rice President and Board of Trustees info, http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Office_Staff.asp?SnID=2036673462
-News & Media Relations office at Rice information, http://staff.rice.edu/staff/Contact_Us2.asp
Oh geez, Leebron just sent out an email.
Send an email to Kevin Kirby, David Leebron & John Hutchinson at Kevin.Kirby@rice.edu,president@rice.edu, jshutch@rice.edu
And contact the giving office, giving@rice.edu or 713-348-4600
When they shut ktru down in 2000, sarah pitre, alexei angelides and i met with administration vp dr. camacho several times. when we met the friday after the shutdown, there was no willingness to budge.
Over the weekend, the administration received 400 letters from alumni who said they were no longer going to donate.
On monday, dr. camacho was willing to negotiate.
This is the best way to have your voice heard.
Thanks everyone.
I am confused by something that maybe people more knowledgeable can clear up. One of the reasons Leebron cites for selling the station is that not a lot of people listen to it, claiming that ‘a recent Arbitron report showed that KTRU’s audience was so small that it did not even register in the ratings.’ I did not think this was the case and just googling around found that ‘KTRU has a large listenership for a college radio station; in 1997 a survey estimated that KTRU had 23,000 listeners who tuned in for an average of three hours per week’ (http://www.ktru.org/include/attachedFiles/KTRUFallFolio2007.pdf). First of all, what Arbitron report are they referring to? KTRU hasn’t done a survey since 1997 due to lack of funds but was planning on redoing it. Did the regents do one secretly? Secondly, if that is the case has listenership really gone down while Houston has increased in population?
[…] sway the Rice board; the better route to go might be to go after the U of H board, instead. Check here for contact info for folks on both sides. If this ends up happening, folks, all of Houston will be […]
I wrote a letter to the entire board this morning pleading and promising no more donations to Rice. All I got back was a lame form letter.
I have been a loyal listener for over 25 years. I have been criticized by some and praised by others on my choice of free-form radio. The reason that makes your station so unique is the students. Every year new students with different views on music play what they want to hear and that is what is change. Change is good. I feel sorry for those people that are still stuck in that top 40 sound, but I guess its safe for them not to get out of their boundary. Please keep KTRU on the air!!
@avr
It absolutely does make a difference that ktru will be web-stream only. As I was reminded during tonight’s meeting: record labels send music to the station with the intention of having it broadcast to as large an audience as a 50,000 watt transmitter would allow. A web-stream outlet will not give labels the incentive.
I was horrified to read in the Chronicle that Rice is planning to sell KTRU to U of H.
KTRU fills an important niche in the Houston radio market. It is the only station that plays an eclectic mix of non-commercial music and it is the only radio station I listen to.
The administration at Rice insists the station “is not going away”, however, if KTRU will only be available on the internet, then KTRU will, in effect be “going away” for individuals such as myself who listen to the station in our cars.
I am not a Rice student or alum, rather, I am a 54 year-old graduate student at U of H (sorry to say).
Perhaps the station could be saved through a fund raising campaign. I will gladly donate money and time to save the station.
Please let me know what I can do to help.
Sincerely,
Michael Williamson
Sounds to me like someone isn’t managing the finances very well. I attended a college that had to sell off its assets and spent its endowment because of mismanagement. Now we are government slaves. If money is the issue, why not ask the alumni to step up to the plate? My experience is that once you sell the assets you can’t get them back.
What about Arbitron? They didn’t poll me and my friends. You have big numbers with us.
President Lebron, your legacy will be “The man who killed KTRU.” Thanks.