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Tensions separate KMHD volunteers, staff
The Advocate
Tensions between the volunteer disk jockeys and the paid staff at KMHD is providing a back story in the debate whether the MHCC jazz radio station should be absorbed by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
At an April 8 MHCC District board meeting, that tension between the volunteers and staff became abundantly clear. The volunteer DJs mostly seemed to speak in favor of the proposed partnership with OPB, while the staff spoke against the partnership.
The proposal, presented at the April 8 meeting by MHCC President John Sygielski as a cost-cutting measure, will again be considered May 13 by the district board.
In interviews in the past two weeks with KMHD volunteers and staff, differences centered on the role of disk jockeys, the role of the staff and even the definition of jazz. Other issues focused on the importance of student interns and the personality of the station.
In order to restore the relationships between the staff and the volunteers, KMHD Development Associate Mary Burlingame suggests the staff and volunteers move “forward as a team with the understanding by current KMHD volunteers that the station’s staff is accountable to do good business for KMHD and MHCC. And ultimately, so must they be.”
KMHD Volunteer DJ Tom D’Antoni is not so optimistic. He said everything needs to change to restore the relationships. “Fire all of the paid staff except for Calvin Walker. Bring in a GM who will be a GM,” said D’Antoni.
KMHD has been without a general manager since the departure of Doug Sweet in July 2008.
KMHD Music Director Greg Gomez said the college needs to reconnect with the Integrated Media Department and allow more student involvement, “to serve not only students but also the listening audience.”
As for volunteer-staff interaction, Burlingame said, “KMHD staff needs an ability to provide professional growth critiques; in radio they are called ‘air checks.’ A KMHD staff member gives suggestions to the volunteers of what KMHD needs from them, providing them guidelines of the station’s sound and professional presentation.”
Burlingame said the majority of KMHD volunteers are great people that show up to do good public service; she said what has been heard is a few squeaky wheels that are unhappy with their volunteerism at KMHD.
“Those few should not be allowed to do any more damage to KMHD, the sound of the station and the station’s ability to generate revenue,” said Burlingame.
Gomez agreed with this statement, adding that KMHD has 40+ volunteers and it is only a handful of people who are creating tension between the staff and volunteers.
As for MHCC interns working at the station, Burlingame said the majority of the volunteers have the attitude that students can’t produce good radio shows for KMHD.
“Some of the best and most professional sounding programming KMHD presents is done by students because they are individuals who are really thinking about their craft and wanting to do the best work possible. They receive the exchange of air checks with open minds and appreciate the feedback,” said Burlingame.
Burlingame said the volunteers have to understand that the students are involved in the station, because of its educational license.
KMHD was founded in 1977 by John Rice as an assignment from then-MHCC president R. Stephen Nicholson. The radio station was build to promote MHCC outside of the district.
Rice is the former KMHD general manager. He also served the college as director of college advancement and director of the radio broadcasting program and is now a part-time speech instructor.
Rice said, “No educational institution realizes, in my experience, how different a broadcast facility is from an educational institution and how difficult it is to fold broadcast into the educational model seamlessly.”
Rice said KMHD is as successful as any other jazz station across the nation. He said it would be “satisfactory to reintegrate into an instructional program.”
“All formats should evolve as their audiences evolve. It hasn’t done much evolving over the past years,” said Rice.
Rice said there are three or four people working at MHCC that could provide the necessary leadership for KMHD to succeed.
When MHCC President John Sygielski was asked whether the college had done anything to mend the situation between KMHD staff and volunteers, he said, “I believe so; however, I would ask Greg Gomez, KMHD volunteer liaison, for greater details.”
Gomez said, “That really hasn’t happened.”
A handful of KMHD volunteers refused to go on record because of the current management at the radio station.
But D’Antoni said, “The DJs and staff do not interface, with the exception of Calvin Walker who is a valued resource.”
D’Antoni wrote on his blog, “The number one toxic asset is Greg Gomez, KMHD’s music director, often called ‘music preventor.’ His job is to have a good relationship with labels worldwide and musicians here in Oregon; to make sure he gets everything that’s released in the jazz and blues world, listen to it and then make available to the DJs the new albums he deems the station should play. After a suitable period in the ‘New Releases’ shelves in the studio, his job is to add albums to the station studio library and the computer database so DJs can find them on the shelves. These things he has not done. Two of his biggest failures are keeping the station library stocked with music and not just having poor relationships with jazz labels, but having hostile ones.”
According to KMHD Development Associate Mary Burlingame, the volunteers at KMHD are responsible for musical programming content, while the KMHD staff is responsible for generating revenue by presenting programming that gives maximum listenership and financial support.
At the April board meeting, D’Antoni said, “I would like to lend my support” to the proposed partnership with OPB.
This statement was seconded by fellow KMHD volunteer DJ Melodie Horn, who said, “This is a positive thing.” KMHD DJ Jan Mancuso also asked for support of the MHCC District board “so OPB can make KMHD better than ever.”
Regarding station management, Gomez said at the board meeting that “it’s hard to run a team when you don’t have a leader.”
On Thursday, he said, “If we had someone with solid radio core values we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
It was JoAnn Zahn, director of fiscal operation, budget and auxiliary service, who became responsible for KMHD when Sweet left nine months ago.
She is in charge of the radio station, and when asked about the tensions between volunteers and staff, responded by e-mail that it is “inappropriate to respond to personnel-related issues.”
As for the music on the radio, Burlingame said the staff and volunteers do not agree on the meaning of jazz.
“We currently have volunteers who are playing everything from Marvin Gaye and the Temptations to Gnarls Barkley,” said Burlingame.
Gomez said that in order to reestablish good relations between staff and volunteers there needs to be a definition of the format.
Gomez said in the 20 years that he has been involved with KMHD, the format has been mainstream jazz, but that currently there is music that could be considered pop jazz played on the air.
According to Gomez, it would be fundamental to establish core standards and values and get away from “self-indulgent radio and work primarily as a public service.”
Some of these core standards are quality on-air presentation and thinking about the larger audience, according to Gomez.
Tara Taylor, vice president of marketing and planning for OPB, said OPB plans to keep as many volunteers as possible on KMHD, but would not give an exact number of volunteers OPB would be willing to retrain.