CPB LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICES REPORT FY17

  1. Describe your overall goals and approach to address identified community issues, needs, and interests through your station’s vital local services, such as multiplatform long and short-form content, digital and in-person engagement, education services, community information, partnership support, and other activities, and audiences you reached or new audiences you engaged.

Meaningful digital content is vital to success in the changing landscape ofradio. KBEM revamped the website to create a hub for information about the jazz, blues and roots community in the Twin Cities. The site is mobile-friendly andplatform-agnostic. It offers options for listening to live programming from our terrestrial signal, our Minnesota Jazz Tracks pure-play stream, and our on-demandprogramming archives. Station playlists are more accessible and organized than ever. Articles about the local jazz community, CD reviews, and archived interview/performance sessions are featured too. The Twin Cities has a long history of great jazz musicians and clubs. To honor that history KBEM produced a concert recognizing our jazz pioneers. Minnesota Jazz Legends: The Elders brought together a group of singers and musicians over 70 for a wonderful concert at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The concert audio was merged with interviews and stories of the history of the Twin Cities jazz community, for a special two-hour radio broadcast.Three times a week, we air a short-form music/interview segment called Twin Cities Weekend. It helps listeners make plans for the upcoming weekend by coveringupcoming area performances by musicians of many genres, and provides an inside look at the creative process. An extended version of the interview is provided for the artist so they can use it as a promotional piece. KBEM supports a live monthly event series called The Feels which bills itself as “a night of intentional happiness through the arts.” The events include soul and hip-hop music, comedy, and spoken-word performances, and appeals to an audience significantly younger and more ethnically diverse than KBEM’s average.

  1. Describe key initiatives and the variety of partners with whom you collaborated, including other public media outlets, community nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, the business community, teachers and parents, etc. This will illustrate the many ways you’re connected across the community and engaged with other important organizations in the area.

KBEM sponsored a day long jazz workshop for high school students. Jazz Around Minneapolis (JAM) brought together student musicians from the seven Minneapolis Public High Schools. The day included workshops with professional musicians, clinicians, and band instructors. In the evening the students performed in various combinations in the first half of a concert that was open to the general public. The second half of the concert featured a Minnesota jazz orchestra. This concert was free and open to the public.KBEM partnered with the Mill City Farmer’s Market to broadcast Bluegrass Saturday Morning twice over the summer. KBEM negotiated a trade agreement with Mill City Farmer’s Market to offer memberships as one of our premiums during our pledge drives. Every summer the Twin Cities Jazz Festival occurs in Downtown St. Paul. This is a free outdoor concert that features regional as well as national jazz artists. Approximately 200 regional musicians are booked in downtown clubs throughout the festival. KBEM is a media sponsor for the event that draws 30,000 to 40,000 people over three days. We also broadcast most of the festival live on our terrestrial signal. We continue to have a sponsorship agreement with the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. MSPIFF is Minnesota’s largest film event and one of the longest running film festivals in the country. Each year, the festival presents more than 250+ bold, exciting, and moving works from new and veteran filmmakers from around the globe.KBEM is a media sponsor of the event, and we use tickets to the event as premiums during our pledge drive.

  1. What impact did your key initiatives and partnerships have in your community? Describe any known measurable impact, such as increased awareness, learning or understanding about particular issues. Describe indicators of success, such as connecting people to needed resources or strengthening conversational ties across diverse neighborhoods. Did a partner see an increase in requests for related resources? Please include direct feedback from a partner(s) or from a person(s) served.

The JAM Workshop mentioned earlier was a good example of bringing together students from many parts of the city, from differing economic backgrounds and different cultures. After the JAM concert band directors solicited comments from the student musicians. One student from Southwest High School felt more confident at the end of the day: “I realized I don't suck as much as I think I did. Everyone at Southwest is SUPER good and I'm kind of average, so I've always felt horrible. It was nice to be in an environment with more people like me, I felt super confident and in control. It was a safer environment because I didn't know people.” When asked what their most positive experience was, one student said: “Bringing many different and creative jazz minds together to create a warm and welcoming community.” During the years that we’ve partnered with The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival their ticket sales have doubled. KBEM partnered with the Minnesota History Center to produce a concert featuring an artist who plays jazz with Native style flute. Bobb Fantauzzo performed with a jazz trio and an Ojibwe singer, Lyz Jaakola, and informed the audience about the connection between jazz and Native Americans. Fantauzzo presented music composed by jazz musicians with Native Roots. Audience members were entertained and informed. Comments included: “All the musicians were fabulous, but I especially enjoyed hearing Lyz Jaakola singingtraditional Native chanting mixed in with the jazz pieces.” And another: “The creative energy of Bobb Fantauzzo was unique and exciting. Combo was superb,Liz's contribution authentic and meaningful. Loved every moment!”

  1. Please describe any efforts (e.g. programming, production, engagement activities) you have made to investigate and/or meet the needs of minority and other diverse audiences (including, but not limited to, new immigrants, people for whom English is a second language and illiterate adults) during Fiscal Year 2017, and any plans you have made to meet the needs of these audiences during Fiscal Year 2018. If you regularly broadcast in a language other than English, please note the language broadcast.

KBEM is licensed to the Minneapolis Public School Board with studios in one of the seven main high schools. Over 90 languages are spoken in the Minneapolis Public Schools. KBEM regularly attends school-sponsored events and we address a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities. KBEM airs Paraiso Musical, a three-hour music and community affairs program with bilingual Spanish/English hosts, music from Spanish speaking countries, and features with local community leaders and local and international performers. The program provides the audience a chance to connect to Latin music, news and entertainment worldwide. Topics covered include immigration issues, political and community involvement, community news and local announcements about health fairs and community meetings. KBEM also carries The Brazilian Hour, with music and cultural content in Portuguese. KBEM produced the concert and broadcast event A Weaving of Traditions, an exploration of jazz musicians with Native American roots and Native musical influences present in jazz.

  1. Please assess the impact that your CPB funding had on your ability to serve your community. What were you able to do with your grant that you wouldn't be able to do if you didn't receive it?

CPB provides funding for vital programming that would be financially unattainable without these funds. Jazz Night in America, BBC World Service News, andMarian McPartland’s Piano Jazz are a few examples of national programming, exclusive to KBEM in this market, that informs, educates and entertains our audiences. KBEM’s Bluegrass Saturday Morning celebrated 35 years on the air in 2017. To honor this anniversary, we hosted a concert that featured regional and statewide bluegrass, folk and old-time music artists. We were able to cover our expenses with CPB funds so the concert could be a fundraiser for KBEM. The CPB funds also cover portions of salaries of staff that support our local programming.