Lakeshore Public Media radio station will simulcast WBAA
Lakeshore Public Media in Northwest Indiana will begin simulcasting a feed from WBAA on its radio station as a cost-saving measure.
Starting July 6, Lakeshore will begin rebroadcasting the station in West Lafayette, Ind., on its station WLPR. WBAA is operated by WFYI in Indianapolis.
The change responds to “significant financial challenges facing public media nationwide,” Lakeshore Public Media said in a press release.
The revenue of the Merrillville station declined 38% last year due to federal and state funding cuts, according to the release. Interim CEO Nancy Clifford told Current in an email that the station reduced staff from 20 last spring to six by August.
The smaller crew “can get a lot done, but obviously we experienced a loss of institutional memory and talent,” Clifford wrote. “In the intervening period our audience has stepped up their support, the industry has responded with expense relief, and we have explored collaborations for improved efficiency.”
Lakeshore’s expenses for programming will be “virtually unchanged,” Clifford said, but the station will see other benefits from the simulcasting arrangement. “Programming and traffic control, with a small crew, is relentless and demanding,” she said. “Simulcast allows the crew that is currently scheduling to allocate more time to their areas of professional expertise, and spend more time on production projects.”
WBAA and Lakeshore will both provide on-air spots for their sponsorship supporters on the simulcast, Clifford said, and some of Lakeshore’s local shows could remain available as podcasts. Its local offerings include the weekend program Art on the Air and Midwest Beat Blues, a regional music show.
“Implementing the simulcast model now does not preclude a return to our current model, though increasingly our audience is accessing local content digitally, which will continue to be both supported and expanded,” Clifford said.
In an email to Current, WFYI CEO Greg Petrowich said the partnership “aligns with WFYI’s broader commitment to preserving and strengthening public media across Indiana. By sharing services and programming, we’re able to expand reach while sustaining essential journalism and cultural programming for more communities.”
Petrowich said the stations are not exchanging financial support but are exploring other service-sharing arrangements “to reduce operational duplication and generate cost efficiencies across operations.”
