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WFYI and WBTU Combine Most Operations in Five Year Agreement |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 19 June 2000 |
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Current Online Most operations combined. Independent WFYI and Butler University's WTBU have consolidated their program decision-making, fundraising and master control functions at WFYI under a five-year contract [August 1999 article]. The university will still have to spend $200,000 a year to help support its station, but will save money in the long run by not having to build digital production facilities, according to General Manager Ken Creech.
The project estimated that the stations will save $660,000 in the first five years, says John Hershberger, a consultant who facilitated negotiations. Though the stations are sharing a program director, the university controls its channel up to 12 hours a week and will have its name on it. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis duo are engaged in revived talks about further collaboration with nearby stations in Bloomington and Muncie, according to Hershberger. "Ideally, for a partnership to work over time, you need both parties on more or less equal footing," says Hershberger. "In Indianapolis, it came about on a contractual footing — basically, hiring WFYI to run WBTU." Total CPB spending: $648,000.
More information on the background and agreement can be found at http://www.current.org/pb/pb916I.html |
