The Story of KMFA
by Katherine Tanney
The Listeners of KMFA
Is there such a thing as “the typical classical music lover” and if so, is KMFA’s longevity due to a greater percentage of them in Central Texas?
In the station’s first decade, data showed that its donors were better educated and had higher incomes than average. One of its problems getting by was the fact that there just weren’t enough of them.
Scott Dawes Later, when Dawes came to KMFA, the prevailing theory was, “we had two very defined audiences out there: the somewhat older crowd, as one might expect, and then a lot of students that liked to use the radio station when they were studying. But as far as the kind of people that would walk in here to hand us a check as a donation for their memberships, we had people walk in in three-piece suits and people walk in in coveralls. They came from all walks of life, it seemed to me.”
When asked why KMFA has survived, Eddins said, “We had a lot of discussions about that—Board level, staff level, talking with listeners and such. The thing that seems to stand out is that Austin has the exact right mix to make this work. We have a formidable institution of higher learning here, so we have a high level of professionalism, both in education and in other areas, [such as] a tech industry, which normally sort of favors classical music.”
Upton sees a similar “combination of the fact that Austin is very arts inclined and entertainment inclined, and over the years there have been a lot of high end businesses that have come in here and a lot of wealthy people who are able to support a number of nonprofit organizations. I think people like the fact that we’re noncommercial.”
Hessel mused, “Maybe this couldn’t happen anywhere except Austin.”
“It says something about our community here,” Kodosky remarked. “Maybe it’s of above average intelligence. Maybe it’s a reflection of the people who come to UT to go to the school of music, say, and then want to stay in Austin. They appreciate a fine station like KMFA.”
Since Jack Allen was hired three years ago, there has been a 23% increase in memberships. In 2006 alone, the increase was more than 10%--good trends, according to development director Joan Kobayashi, who compiles and pays close attention to listener feedback. Some of her favorite donor remarks are:
--“I’m in Beijing, China at the moment and, to put it mildly, enjoy the streaming broadcast online.”
-- “I love classical music and KMFA is the best classical music station I've
ever heard. I've traveled all over the world and no other station compares. I only wish I could give more!”
-- “Through the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I had been working as a volunteer with the refugees who ended up in Austin. When not there or at my own job, especially the first ten days, I listened to CNN, unable not to. But periodically, I would turn to 89.5. I don't know if the music was especially selected or it just represents the station as a whole, but after listening for a while, I would feel refreshed in spirit and better able to do whatever I needed to do and think and feel. Thank you for sustaining this beautiful music and giving us listeners time to regain a sense of normalcy, even for short durations, which was sorely needed during the events occurring and the stark realities brought before us.”
Szafir, one of KMFA’s original organizers, thinks that Allen, who spent 10 years at Minnesota Public Radio before coming to Austin, is the best station manager/program director since Dale Jones and Leonard Masters split those duties, respectively, back in 1967.
Allen said, “Coming to KMFA was like getting back into a small kitchen where I could cook again, make radio.” By the time he left Minnesota, he’d moved up the corporate ladder to a point where he felt removed from his own love of the medium.
“I chose Austin because of this pure classical music format, which is very rare and my area of expertise as a programmer, but also because of the very quirky and fun community.”
The KMFA Board recently re-signed Allen as their General Manager/Program Director for the near term, a clear indication of their satisfaction with his performance.
