I disagree with Thad Hopper‘s opinion that the issue of KHNS “providing written word stories to their listeners” is a personal/professional problem. I see it as a marketplace issue. The Chilkat Valley News relies on the marketplace for 100 percent of its revenue. KHNS is funded primarily with public money; additional revenue is secured from the marketplace in the form of memberships, donations, fundraising and underwriting. Theoretically, the more successful KHNS may be in drawing from the marketplace, the less is directed to CVN in advertising.
The real issue is the nature of the Internet. It is immediate. It goes beyond encouraging competition: It demands innovation. This reality was introduced by KHNS News Director Margaret Friedenauer indirectly: increasingly, journalistic content will come to us through self-designed “multi media outlets” that utilize various features of print, broadcast and cable in addition to the Internet, which in time will trump them all. When an entity gives their news product for free, it is impossible for the other to charge.
Legally, currently, KHNS is licensed by the FCC only to broadcast. Its medium is the public airwaves. Historically, the CVN is print. The Internet is opportunity for both.
Thad found your editorial perplexing. I find it perplexing that KHNS “listeners” are described as demanding that KHNS news be delivered by written word. I like my radio in my ears and I will read the last word you print, Tom, and if you broadcast, I will listen.
Debra Schnabel