Interview with Lou Morin lmorin@mpbn.net Marketing and Communications Manager

They use a Community Advisory Board-federally mandated---WE SHOULD CHECK THE CPB REQUIREMENTS for what constitutes such a board to see if WFCR is meeting that mandate

"You have to have a community advisory board mdae up of citizens from your listening area and meet no less than twice a yearŠthey serve in an advisory capacity for us

CPB.org they have the whole l967 law.

Public radio stations tend to look at their community advisory boards in different ways.

"We use them as the resource as they were intended to be-we use them as eyes and ears. We don't make radical changes without consulting them.

Application progress-we have determined the membership committee of the board look for certain criteria-we do phone interviews WITH EACH APPLICANT FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD WE SEEK:
€geographical diversity (extra rep from populated cities
€range of ages balance of gender
€diversity we try to be sensitiveŠ..parental status. alsoŠŠ.


Right now, for example, we feel we are a little light on reps from the towns near theCanadian border,,,,,,,so we took out ads in those papers seeking advisory board applicants

4-year staggered termsŠ

We look at Abritron ratings but don't make our program decisions based solely on them. We survey our own listenership. If you are a member you get a program guide and we frequently include a quesionnaire asking people to rate shows. (describe feelings) Constantly taking the temperature of our audience. The views of our existing listening audience matter to us, not only the random public out there. Surveys are on our website.

We depend on our community advisory board ­we poll then, send questions between the meetings

We pay attention to what is working in other parts of the country. What works and what doesn't.

We try to serve as many audiences as we can.

We once had a big crisis with our audience after a programming decision: We do opera on Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. and we decided to get rid of it a few years ago. It provoked a huge outcry and cry. The opera lovers are not large in number but they are loud and they give us money. We put it back.

There was also a concerted campaign to get us to carry Democracy Now program. We refused because it is a daily program and it would become the editorial policy of the station. And we try to tell all sides and not be an advocacy station.

We combine information from our surveys and community advisory boards and national trendsŠ.as well as ratings. All is a mix of information to help us.

We are wholly owned by the Maine Public Broadcasting NetworkŠ..501 © 3 A board of trusteesŠŠ