An updated statement on ”Issues, Etc.”
This debacle is getting uglier and uglier. Now we have press statements coming out which intentionally neglect the largest part of the Issues Etc. listenership in order to twist the truth. Oh my, this is becoming quite the black eye for Mr. Strand and the Synod. With articles in National Review and Wall Street Journal speaking against the action, when are they going to fess up and tell us the real reason WHY?
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod – An updated statement on ”Issues, Etc.”
An updated statement on ”Issues, Etc.”
March 27, 2008
Dear Christian Friends:Last week the decision was made to discontinue the “Issues, Etc.†program on KFUO-AM Radio, a ministry owned and operated by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). A brief statement was posted soon after on KFUO-AM’s website citing programmatic and stewardship (business) reasons for this decision.
Following the discontinuation of the program, some KFUO-AM listeners asked for more information as to why “Issues, Etc.†had been ended. Detailed reasons are not usually provided when making program changes, and I intend to continue our policy and practice not to publicly discuss specific personnel matters. However, I do want to provide additional information regarding some of the significant challenges we faced prior to the discontinuation of the program and to respond to the inquiries of those who were particularly fond and appreciative of “Issues, Etc.â€
In fiscal year 2007-08, KFUO-AM’s operating deficit was $620,698. Since 2001, the accumulated deficits at the station have been in excess of $3.5 million. The LCMS budget, entrusted to our care by members of our Synod’s congregations, has absorbed these shortfalls for years. After long and prayerful consideration, it became clear that measures had to be taken to stop the ongoing, staggering losses.
Although some are under the impression that “Issues, Etc.†was profitable and self-supporting, the fact is the program lost approximately $250,000 in the last fiscal year. While airing for only 18 percent of KFUO-AM’s programming week, “Issues†accounted for more than 40 percent of the station’s total deficit. These figures are based on the audited financial statements of the LCMS.
Over the years, every effort has been made to cut expenses at KFUO-AM. At the same time, particularly in the past year, extraordinary measures were taken to bolster the financial support of the station. A sizable portion of those efforts focused on assisting “Issues, Etc.,†the most costly program on the AM schedule. Unfortunately, these measures have not solved the problem. As of February 29th, two-thirds into the current fiscal year, KFUO-AM was on pace to suffer heavy losses again.
Some may also be under a misapprehension about the size of the “Issues†audience. In 2005, station management decided it could no longer justify paying for expensive ratings reports in light of the predictably low and static nature of KFUO-AM’s audience numbers. At the time, a blending of the spring 2004 and spring 2005 “books†showed an average listening audience during the “Issues†Monday-Friday timeslot of 1,650. There is no indication these numbers have grown appreciably since.
As for the audio streaming of “Issues, Etc.†via the Internet, the numbers are similarly low. During the last full month (February 2008) for which we have reports, the average number of live, streaming listeners during the “Issues†Monday-Friday timeslot was 64.
On Sunday nights, when the first hour of “Issues†was syndicated in a number of markets (an opportunity for which, during the past fiscal year, the LCMS actually paid $66,000 in broadcast fees), and where the second hour was available only on the Internet, the peak number of online listeners on the KFUO stream was 39.
Sadly, very difficult financial conditions sometimes require decisions that are not popular among all affected. In the case of KFUO-AM, the time had come when good stewardship of the church’s funds required a decision that meaningfully curtailed the deep, ongoing losses at the station. Ending the costs associated with “Issues, Etc.†was the only viable option, and the decision to do this was prayerfully and contemplatively made.
I am sorry that those who enjoyed “Issues†are disappointed, but I have made the show’s archives available, and I respectfully hope that all listeners will support the ongoing radio ministry of our beloved Synod.
Sincerely in Christ,
David L. Strand
Executive Director
Board for Communication Services
Save the LCMS!: A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words
A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words
The graph below gives a visual analysis to the bootlegged download logs we posted earlier.This chart shows that…
In October 2007 Issues Etc. was downloaded 171,428 times while all the other shows combined were only downloaded 1,179 times.
In Novemeber 2007 Issues Etc. was downloaded 316,115 times while all the other shows combined were only downloaded 4,685 times.
In December 2007 Issues Etc. was downloaded 152,197 times while all the other shows combined were only downloaded 8,118 times.
In other words, by canceling Issues Etc. the LCMS obliterated over 97% of KFUO’s ENTIRE on-line listening audience.
David Strand today made a two-pronged case to support his cancellation of Issues Etc.
1. The show lost $250,000 in the last fiscal year.
2. Listenership was too low to justify the cost. To support this assertion, Mr. Strand quoted these numbers:
a. Avg. weekday radio listenership is assumed to be around 1,650.
b. Avg. weekday streaming listenership was 64.Less than 12 hours later, we have access to KFUO logs, showing the number of people who downloaded Issues Etc. in the 4th quarter of 2007:
October = approximately 170,000
November = approximately 320,000
December = approximately 160,000
The November number appears to be an anomaly. The report shows 134,000 downloads of the May 10, 2007 episode (Hour 2). That’s almost certainly a mistake or a glitch in the reporting. Removing that number brings the November total into line with the other months.On the other hand, this total reportedly does not include downloads from iTunes — the most popular download service for podcasts — and downloads of the Windows media file format. It is safe to say, given these limitations, that the total download numbers are understated by this report.
But let’s assume a total of 480,000 downloads in the three-month period. There were 60 original shows produced during this time, including Sundays. (Keep in mind that the show is a repeat on Fridays, and took off the week of Christmas.) That means 167 1-hour segments available for download.
On average, each 1-hour segment of the program was downloaded 2,874 times, not including iTunes or WMA file downloads. These numbers also fail to include the pass-around value of downloaded files. There is no way to track the number of times a file is copied, once it is downloaded to a computer. Many churches distribute CD copies of the show, for example.
All told, when considering the download numbers, the listenership of Issues Etc. was approximately 3 times higher than David Strand reported in his letter — perhaps higher.
Did David Strand know this information when he wrote the letter justifying his decision to cancel Issues Etc.? If he did not, he has failed to do his job adequately, and should be held accountable for the oversight. If he did, he must answer to the synod about why he failed to disclose the information in his communication earlier today.
Update: Here is a graph showing how Issues Etc. downloads compare to downloads for all other KFUO programs.
Update #2: I have some question about whether iTunes downloads are included in this count. I’ve crossed out references to those downloads for now. In any event, the analysis above intentionally left potential iTunes downloads out of the equation.
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