Making waves

Back in the early 1970s, a South Hill couple began broadcasting music from their basement via a backyard antenna and a transmitter the size of a small file cabinet.

Each night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., listeners within 7 miles could tune into whatever music the station’s volunteers felt like playing, from classical to soul to big band.

Gradually a more ambitious vision emerged, and the station – KPBX – went silent for several years as public-radio proponents sought money and expertise for a round-the-clock operation.

The station returned to the air in 1980 with nine full-time and four part-time employees working out of a modest second-story office in north Spokane.

Spokane Public Radio broadcasts now blanket 20,000 square miles.

This summer, its three FM stations – KPBX (91.1), KSFC (91.9) and KPBZ (90.3) – will begin moving into new headquarters at 1229 N. Monroe St.

The two-story building – historic Fire Station No. 3 – has undergone a $2.9 million renovation to accommodate state-of-the-art performance and broadcast studios, as well as SPR’s business operations. The public will be invited to tour the facility in the fall.

During a recent interview, SPR president and general manager Cary Boyce discussed how the nonprofit organization has evolved during the past 35 years, and what role he sees public radio playing in the region’s future.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Boyce: I was born in Santa Rosa, California, and grew up in Sacramento.

S-R: What were your interests as a teenager?

Boyce: I taught myself to play piano in high school – I was a late bloomer – and went on to earn a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in music, intending to be a music teacher.

S-R: How did you end up in radio?

Boyce: Right after graduation, I got a call from a woman at Indiana University’s public radio station saying she was looking for someone with a substantial musical background who was very handy with computers and mixing boards. “Is that you?” she asked. I said, “That sounds like me.” And she said, “Good. Be here at 9:30 tomorrow and bring your résumé.” I joined WFIU as a part-time production assistant, and soon was promoted to full-time marketing director. I did that for five or six years.

S-R: Then what?

Boyce: I was hired by the Indiana University Foundation and given an intense formal education in fundraising. I helped kickstart and revamp the IU Foundation’s online efforts. A few years later, I was having lunch with my former boss at the radio station, and she said they wanted me to come back as operations director. I took over as interim general manager when she left to run the Wyoming network.

S-R: What brought you to Spokane?

Boyce: My wife, who was finishing up her doctorate in music, is from the West Side and wanted to be closer to family. So I started looking around for a job, came across this one in 2012, and here we are.

S-R: You studied for a career in music, but ended up in administration. Which skills transferred?

Boyce: You’d be surprised how many musicians there are in public radio. My boss at WFIU, Christina Kuzmych, had a doctorate in composition, and at least one-third of the staff had some music background. Musicians are flexible. They tend to be handy with machines, to be very goal-driven, and attentive to details.

S-R: What lessons did you learn from your first boss?

Boyce: Christina impressed upon me that what we do is important because a well-informed citizenry can make better decisions about where we should be going as a society. I’ve become quite evangelical about that.

S-R: Tell me about the decision to upgrade Spokane Public Radio’s facilities.

Boyce: We had to move. Our current building was meant to house one station with five full-time employees. We now operate three stations with 13 full-time and 15 part-time employees. A $10 million capital campaign was launched in 2007, then the bottom fell out of everything a year later. People assumed fundraising would bounce back, but it didn’t. Some hard decisions had to be made when I came on board in 2012. We tried to renegotiate the price of a building we’d hoped to buy, but that didn’t work. So we restructured the campaign. Luckily the fire station became available, and its owner loved the idea of it housing Spokane Public Radio.

S-R: What advantages does the firehouse offer?

Boyce: It doubles our workspace and triples our production capacity. It will accommodate future growth, and allow us to produce programs we can distribute regionally and nationally. It will be remarkably less expensive to operate. And we’ll be able to build equity. We’ve been paying rent for 35 years.

S-R: When will you move?

Boyce: Construction is nearly complete. We’ll start moving in July or August. The process will be spread over several months, so we don’t have to interrupt service.

S-R: As general manager, what are your responsibilities?

Boyce: I spend most of my time on grants and fundraising, and overseeing work on the new facility. I’m also responsible for staff, budgets and general oversight of the three stations’ content, balancing the programs we purchase from syndicators with what we can afford to produce.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Boyce: The programming, for which I get a lot of help. People are always offering opinions.

S-R: What’s most popular?

Boyce: “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “This American Life” also are huge.

S-R: What’s your least favorite part of the job?

Boyce: Having to decide what to cut, or what not to take, during rough patches.

S-R: How can you avoid that in the future?

Boyce: I always say the best time to start an endowment is 20 years ago. The next best time is now. Once we get through the construction project, we’ll turn our attention toward building an endowment over time.

S-R: If an endowment covered expenses, would pledge drives disappear?

Boyce: No. I think it’s important for the community to take some ownership – to demonstrate that they consider us an essential public service.

S-R: What distinguishes Spokane Public Radio from other local stations?

Boyce: The national content, and the expertise and context we bring to what we do. NPR (National Public Radio) is one of the most respected journalistic entities out there. Our goal is to fill the vacuum being created by the decline of newspapers across the country. Our local news and arts coverage is good, but we need to expand it.

S-R: What’s your favorite feedback from listeners?

Boyce: Just the other day, someone said, “Damn you. I was late for work because I was so taken by ‘StoryCorps’ that I had to sit in the car until it was finished.” I hear that sort of comment quite often.

S-R: What misconceptions do people have about public radio?

Boyce: The biggest one is that we’re totally tax-funded. We’re not. Only about 12 percent of our revenue is federal money. Half our operating budget comes from our listeners, and a good portion from business underwriters.

S-R: When someone finds out what you do, what do they ask?

Boyce: Not so much questions. More like, “I love this program. I hate that program. I want more of this and less of that.”

S-R: What do they want more of?

Boyce: Mostly news. We have roughly two and a half reporters trying to cover 20,000 square miles. In a couple of years I hope to significantly improve that.

S-R: What’s the career outlook in this field?

Boyce: It’s very good right now. Our services, including journalism, are rapidly expanding, and a lot of people in my position are aging out. Public radio has a bright future.

S-R: What qualities do you look for when hiring?

Boyce: Many things, depending on the job. Someone who can write and communicate well, think on their feet and be flexible.

S-R: Does public radio pay competitive salaries?

Boyce: No. Not compared with large commercial entities. People do this because they believe they bring something important to the community.

S-R: What advice would you offer someone interested in a public radio career?

Boyce: Volunteer at your public radio station and see how it’s done. That’s how I got into it.