Christina Kuzmych

This month, ‘Best of Wyoming’ looks at Gillette and the area up in northeast Wyoming.  All through April our curator, Diana Denison, will feature organizations and events that make Gillette one of the fastest-growing and exciting communities in Wyoming.  We also plan to visit Gillette for a meet-and-greet event in a local establishment – date and location still in the planning.  For me and for our WPM Director of Engineering, meeting our listeners and hearing their compliments, complaints, questions, and suggestions is a true highlight of working for public radio.  Sometimes, it’s just being able to chat with someone who is a public radio listener and comes by to say “hello.”

There is hopeful news about federal funding. On February 13, the President submitted his FY 2013 $3.8 trillion budget proposal to Congress. It contained a request for full funding – $445 million – for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)’s FY 2015 two-year advance appropriation.

For over 30 years, CPB has received two-year advance appropriations, a practice we believe to be essential for stations’ continued autonomy in program decision-making and certainty in business planning. To date, CPB has retained level funding at $445 million for FY 2012, 2013, 2014, and now 2015 in the President’s proposed budget.

March 19 and 20, 2012 are Casper Days!  Groundbreaking for the Student Union and UW/CC Center takes place on Monday March 19, at 2:30, and I hope to be there to cheer the progress.

President Obama submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget to Congress.  He requested full funding – $445 million – for CPB’s FY 2015 advance.

CPB’s two-year advance appropriation, in place since 1976, serves as a “firewall” designed to protect public media’s independence.   CPB’s appropriation provides essential funding to local and national content and approximately 70 percent goes directly to stations across the country to support service to communities. 

The President's request reaffirms that federal funding for public media is a vital investment – one that continues to deliver proven value and service to our country. 

We appreciate the President’s support, which is very important as Congress now considers our appropriation. 

It’s difficult to predict the future of federal funding for public broadcasting.  If the last few years are an indicator, the future will be very bumpy.  Congress is in deficit-cutting mode, and cutting or elimination of federal funding to public broadcasting makes for an easy and high-profiled target for politicians.

Any cut in Wyoming Public Media’s federal funding is a blow.  We currently receive a yearly $280,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which comprises approximately 12% of our operating budget and provides funding for key positions and services.

General Manager Christina Kuzmych joined Wyoming Public Media in June, 2011, bringing 27 years of public broadcasting experience to Wyoming.

Kuzmych serves as President of PRIMA (Public Radio in Mid America), a position she has held since 2009.  She is an active leader and member of several  professional organizations including Western States Public Radio, and serves on committees dealing with public broadcasting legislative issues as well as initiatives in new technology.  

·         Wyoming Public Media held a successful fund drive, meeting and surpassing the goal.  The next drive is coming up in April.  We’re deeply grateful to all listeners who contribute during the fund drives making it possible for WPM to support the annual operating budget.

·         Several new revenue “points of opportunity” will be coming up, including a “Day of Dedication” on Valentine’s Day and possibly Memorial and Veterans’ Days.  These are one-day opportunities for listeners to purchase short dedications to air on Wyoming Public Radio.

Gary Knell on KPBS: On 1/11, Gary visited KPBS and was interviewed on Midday Edition. He also made a television appearance on KPBS’s Evening Edition (19 min in.).

Gary E. Knell, the longtime President and CEO of Sesame Workshop, will become President and CEO of NPR, Board of Directors Chairman Dave Edwards announced today.

“Gary is an extraordinary leader with extensive experience in public media, programming and education,” Edwards said.  “As CEO of Sesame Workshop for more than a decade, he has led a large, complex organization through a tumultuous media environment, helping it grow by providing innovative, engaging content in new and creative ways.”

“He has the skills, experience, talent and vision to lead NPR into an even more dynamic future, while maintaining its commitment to serve Member stations and the public,” Edwards added. “That’s why, after an in-depth and collaborative search, the Board unanimously chose Gary.”

Wyoming Public Media includes Wyoming Public Radio, Classical Wyoming, and Jazz Wyoming.  And now, it includes online content on our redesigned website Wyomingpublicmedia.org.  Here you can read news and arts stories, participate in discussions on Topic of the Week, make a gift of support, or read updates about the public broadcasting industry on General Manager Updates.  And now we’re adding a special online program --  Best of Wyoming – where you can discover interesting information about Wyoming, its residents and its history.