Emo's
What Has Happened to My Beloved KUT?
RECEIVED Mon., Aug. 31, 2009
Dear Editor,
Wow. I came back from vacation and was sickened to hear what’s been going on at beloved KUT! I am appalled at the station’s irreverence for the “old guard” deejays who spent so much of their lives enriching the Austin music community through their dynamic radio shows. I’m speaking, of course, of Larry Monroe, Paul Ray, and John Aielli. From what I understand, the reasons given for cutting their on-air hours (now and in the past) are rooted in 1) saving money and 2) lack of listener interest.
If cutting Monroe's and Ray’s shifts will save the station $60,000 – according to the Chronicle’s “Media Watch: Unwinding the Twine at KUT” [News, Aug. 7] – that seems like peanuts compared to the huge annual budget we hear about during each fund drive. And doesn’t the station have to pay a premium for syndicated shows like UnderCurrents? So, what would be the net gain? And why is it that this year the money isn’t there, but last year it was, even with a smaller budget? Furthermore, from the outside, it’s hard to know how programming or business decisions are made, but I see no excuse for leaving these guys hanging without health benefits.
The same Chronicle article confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for a while that deejays are limited in their freedom to play what they want on their shows. This is truly befuddling! I might expect that from a standard commercial radio station, but KUT? These veterans of the Austin music scene have a finger on the pulse of what Austin is all about. Perhaps if they were “unleashed,” so to speak, their ratings would go back up (addressing point No. 2 above).
I hope this letter isn’t dismissed as another rant from an old fogy resistant to change (hey, I’m not that old), and I’ll take this opportunity to express gratitude for most of the new news/talk programming that has come along with the changes. So, it’s not all sour grapes.
Wow. I came back from vacation and was sickened to hear what’s been going on at beloved KUT! I am appalled at the station’s irreverence for the “old guard” deejays who spent so much of their lives enriching the Austin music community through their dynamic radio shows. I’m speaking, of course, of Larry Monroe, Paul Ray, and John Aielli. From what I understand, the reasons given for cutting their on-air hours (now and in the past) are rooted in 1) saving money and 2) lack of listener interest.
If cutting Monroe's and Ray’s shifts will save the station $60,000 – according to the Chronicle’s “Media Watch: Unwinding the Twine at KUT” [News, Aug. 7] – that seems like peanuts compared to the huge annual budget we hear about during each fund drive. And doesn’t the station have to pay a premium for syndicated shows like UnderCurrents? So, what would be the net gain? And why is it that this year the money isn’t there, but last year it was, even with a smaller budget? Furthermore, from the outside, it’s hard to know how programming or business decisions are made, but I see no excuse for leaving these guys hanging without health benefits.
The same Chronicle article confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for a while that deejays are limited in their freedom to play what they want on their shows. This is truly befuddling! I might expect that from a standard commercial radio station, but KUT? These veterans of the Austin music scene have a finger on the pulse of what Austin is all about. Perhaps if they were “unleashed,” so to speak, their ratings would go back up (addressing point No. 2 above).
I hope this letter isn’t dismissed as another rant from an old fogy resistant to change (hey, I’m not that old), and I’ll take this opportunity to express gratitude for most of the new news/talk programming that has come along with the changes. So, it’s not all sour grapes.
Sincerely and with hope,
Andrea DeLong-Amaya
Andrea DeLong-Amaya