In existence for almost half a century, WFCR, the region’s public radio station, is at the forefront of changing times within the broadcast industry. Everything from delivery methods to equipment to fundraising efforts are shifting, on both national and local levels. The station’s leaders say that when it comes to survival, it takes a community as diverse as FCR’s new, multi-platform model to achieve that goal.

Not long ago, a check of WFCR’s program schedule at 6 p.m. — drive time — would reveal one program, perhaps National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, Marketplace, or All Things Considered.

But today, a 6 p.m. check reveals such fare, as well as a classical music program, and a weekly offering from the BBC. If none of those tickle the fancy, there are four new podcasts ready for download, all covering local topics.

The breadth of programming seems impossible until the realization hits that WFCR isn’t just WFCR anymore — it’s a blend of three different radio stations and online components, all working together to keep the station on level ground in the fast-changing broadcast industry.

When asked how to survive in a forever-shifting work climate, Martin Miller, WFCR’s general manager, said perception is the first thing that must change internally.

“The simple answer is that we don’t look at ourselves as a radio station anymore,” said Miller, listing the many components of WFCR programming: WFCR HD2, a digitally-based programming stream; WPNI 1430, an AM companion station; podcasts available through the WFCR Web site; and the Web site itself, which provides not only station and program information but also links to online programming, an online store, and regularly updated daily news headlines. “We’re not in the radio business anymore; we’re in the broadcasting business, and that includes multiple platforms.”

New Waves

That also creates an entirely different set of strategies and challenges for WFCR than when the public station was founded 45 years ago, as it moves further into the digital age. An independent, nonprofit entity (UMass holds its license), WFCR is one of 800 member stations of NPR, also a private nonprofit that was founded in 1970. Despite that affiliation, member stations are still responsible for their own mix of national and local programming.

New outlets for broadcast increase the number of programs WFCR can offer, but the fast pace of technology is still a hurdle for broadcasting companies.

“The audio quality available is so much better,” said Miller, “but the standards change much more quickly now. We’re seeing upgrades in available technology every six months, and this is an industry that could at one time go years without seeing a change to equipment.”

To take advantage of that new quality in audio, however, Miller said the station has made investments in both national and local programming to cater to a diverse audience as well as to recruit new ears to its cadre of about 170,000 on-air listeners each week.

“We could run without local programming … other stations do it,” said Miller, “and it is an expensive commitment — we have six full-time news people, a part-time reporter at the statehouse, and we share a reporter at the Connecticut Statehouse.”

But he said investments in local programming can help the station thrive in the long term by filling niches with unique offerings that can’t be found anywhere else.

“One thing that makes people care about a public radio station is a sense of shared values with the station,” said Miller. “People expect the content on the Web site to reflect that, too.”

In addition to news, classical music, and jazz programming, for instance, Miller said some additions have been made to the local news department to fill a niche that is waning among many commercial broadcasting stations. Those additions have included hiring a reporter who broadcasts in both Spanish and English, in response to the large Spanish-speaking population in Western Mass., and forging partnerships with other local stations, such as WMUA, the UMass Amherst campus station; WTCC, the campus station at Springfield Technical Community College; and WUMB, a sister station at UMass Boston.

The push to augment local programming doesn’t come without its challenges; Miller said listeners want to hear the same quality in local programming as national programming — in other words, a listening experience that is seamless between the two — and that puts the onus on the station to broadcast not only a good quantity of local programming, but also programming of exceptional quality.

“People won’t listen if it’s not of a great quality,” he said.

The Budget Buzz

However, the focus on local programming also plays a role in the tricky financing picture of a public radio station.

Richard Malawista, WFCR’s director of broadcasting, explained that the cost of sharing national broadcasts is rising; fees to use NPR programming have gone up significantly. That alone places greater importance on local programming.

“As we have grown, fees have grown,” he said. “The programming attracts more people who are listening, but not necessarily contributing to offset those NPR costs.”

Some of the local content that has been produced of late includes the ongoing ‘Field Notes’ series, which explores natural history in New England, a weekly ‘Arts Interview’ feature, and a recent series titled ‘Voices of HIV,’ which examines national trends through interviews with local experts and activists.

All three are available to anyone online through podcasting, which Malawista said broadens the scope of WFCR’s programming without changing its local focus.

However, he said there is still a disconnect between national and local repertoires. While many stations like WFCR are producing quality work, promoting that work beyond the regional listening circle is still a challenge.

“I think that’s illustrative of the challenges and the opportunities we face,” he said. “It’s logical to assume that other stations in other parts of the world have done similar things. But at the moment, there is no easy way to see what else public radio has done across the country. We need to find a way to make all local programs easier to tap into.”

There are some rumblings of such a service on the national level, said Malawista, that will likely continue to cement WFCR’s new identity as a multi-media business.

It’s a new world, that also changes the station’s approach to fundraising and development.

Jerry Moore, WFCR’s director of development, said the station’s fundraising practices and goals are being examined closely, but as technological advances gradually make the station more global, some development initiatives are focused closer to home.

“While WFCR’s flagship station is and will remain 88.5 FM, the industry is now multi-platform,” he said. “We’re going to continue to look where those platforms will lead us, but also work to build a community around the media group.”

Moore said the development of a community is important as WFCR settles into its new identity, because it’s that group of listeners that will beget donors at all levels.

“We may reach different audiences and work with those audiences differently than ever before,” he said, “but what remains are the costs of programming and new devices, as well as the fact that we must deliver what’s important to our listeners.

“Now,” Moore continued, “we’re reaching them through several different mechanisms, and over the next 10 years, it will be incredibly important to be responsive and to keep our development programs as broad-based as our platforms.”

Moore said on-air appeals are still the cornerstone of WFCR’s development efforts; however, other, more targeted initiatives are being put into place. A development campaign slated for this spring, for instance, is being retooled with new language that speaks to overall growth and the people who can foster it.

And in regard to year-round development, a move to expand the involvement of two specific groups — investors who can contribute $10,000 or more, and those who currently fall in the ‘Broadcaster’s Circle,’ contributing at least $1,000 over the course of a year — is underway. But so is a move to accommodate contributors at all levels.

“Estate planning is a viable investment option that we’re talking a lot about,” said Moore. “People can essentially leave a legacy to the station. And as for the group that contributes about $1,000 in a year, many people don’t realize that amount, and that group, makes a major difference. Those essentially are the people who are pushing us ahead.”

Moore said that creation of that community surrounding the station will be less focused on dollar amounts and more on impressing the importance of support of public stations in this new era.

“Knowing what’s in our listeners’ ears is critical to our industry and to broadening our significant investor pool,” he said. “And a ‘significant investor’ is anyone who cares enough to tender money they’ve earned to the station. We’ll be looking at things we’ve done over the years, and at some new things, to determine what makes people feel like they’re part of a community with us.”

Program Notes

Perhaps it’s a turn of the dial at drive time that makes listeners feel included, or a download of recent coverage of the region’s Homelessness Symposium. Indeed, today’s WFCR was constructed using a more complicated infrastructure than the WFCR of yesterday.

However, that means there are more roads leading in.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at stevenson@businesswest.com