WKNO Public Broadcasting

General Information Contact Information Nonprofit

WKNO Public Broadcasting

Address

7151 Cherry Farms Rd. Cordova, TN 38016 4933

Phone

901 729-8706

Facebook

facebook.com/WKNOTV

Twitter

@WKNO_TV

At A Glance Year of Incorporation

1953

Community Foundation staff conducted a site visit?

No

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Statements & Search Criteria Mission WKNO is the Mid-South’s premier public media organization committed to creating and presenting both unique local and national content for television, radio and digital media. Vision A trusted resource of information and inspiration An essential provider of educational and cultural services A preeminent public institution in and for the Mid-South A leader in public media, both locally and nationally Values Be an exemplary steward of the public trust Seek diversity and excellence in people, ideas and services Build and nourish relationships in the community Hold ourselves accountable for results Help each other succeed Have a sense of humor

Background On May 26, 1953, The Memphis Community Television Foundation was chartered under the laws of the State of Tennessee, as a non profit corporation created for the purpose of enhancing the educational and cultural opportunities of the community through the development, ownership, and operation of a non commercial, educational television station. As a result of the Foundation's activities, WKNO TV, went on the air on June 25, 1956. On November 4, 1970, the Foundation charter was amended to permit the Foundation to engage in forms of electronic communication other than non commercial television. As a result, WKNO-FM (91.1) went on the air with an abbreviated schedule in March of 1972, and a full schedule on April 1, 1972. WKNO moved to 900 Getwell Road on The University of Memphis South Campus in May of 1979. On June 15,1980, WKNO dedicated the building to its founding chairman, Julian B. Bondurant, in a live televised ceremony. The public was invited to participate in this event entitled Dedication Day on the Grounds. The building from then on would be known as the Julian B. Bondurant Building. With the move to a new building, the Board of Trustees determined that concerted efforts should be undertaken to upgrade the station's broadcast and production facilities. The actual raising of capital funds was envisioned in 1976, and in 1979, a Capital Development Committee was formed to develop a plan to raise the necessary funds. This ambitious effort was accomplished during the years of 1980 through 1983, resulting in a capital fund in excess of $3 million, which since has been augmented by the successful acquisition of several federal facilities grants. A change in name from The Memphis Community Television Foundation to Mid-South Public Communications Foundation was proposed in 1989. This change, suggested for the purpose of reflecting the full scope of the Foundation's activities, became effective on August 1, 1989. The Foundation's charter remained essentially the same: a non profit corporation created for the purpose of enhancing the educational and cultural opportunities of the community through the development, ownership,and operation of a telecommunications system of non-commercial, educational radio and television stations. August 3, 2004, marked the completion of the first two phases of WKNO-TV's Digital Transition Plan originally adopted by the Board of Trustees in March of 1999. With the sign-on of WKNO-DT, WKNO successfully completed all of the FCC-mandated requirements. WKNO-TV celebrated 60 years on the air on June 25, 2016, and WKNO-FM celebrated 40 years on April 1, 2012. In August, 2009, construction on the WKNO Digital Media Center was completed, and the station moved its operations to 7151 Cherry Farms Road in Cordova, TN.

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Impact This year WKNO-TV celebrated its 60th year of broadcast service to the Mid-South. In this impact statement you will find the programs and services that WKNO has accomplished in the last fiscal year guided by our Mission and Vision statements. • This past year WKNO-TV launched a new On-Demand Streaming Video service for members called WKNO Passport. This is a member benefit offering on-demand access to a rich library of public television programming. • WKNO-TV secured funding from a local foundation to produce twenty episodes of the Best Times. This is a show that provides useful information for our unserved senior citizens. • WKNO-FM increased the number of local segments we aired by adding features on history, health, food and business. We partner with local residents and businesses to provide helpful and entertaining information on our radio station. • WKNO acts as a goodwill ambassador to other public broadcasting stations around the state and country by providing programs we produce at no cost to them. Other stations around the state and country aired shows about the Civil Rights Museum, gardening shows, gospel music and local news features. • We formed a community partnership with cityCURRENT and The Rotary Club of Memphis to present the annual Spark Awards which showcases the individuals, organizations and businesses in our community making a significant impact through their service. In the upcoming year we have new goals and opportunities we are focusing on: • We are focusing on sustainability for our financial future. This includes balancing our operating budget to continue our 60 year tradition of no long term debt, increasing our Endowment Fund, increasing the number of sustainer gifts and meeting with Board members and consultants to increase our major giving. • Managing our technological changes by planning to set aside funds to increase capacity. Both our television and radio operations are completely dependent on the latest technology. • Another cornerstone of public television remains children's programming. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to WKNO for quality television programming and digital content. In the coming year WKNO will launch a 24-hour channel for kids. This new channel will be in addition to the main channel that shows children's programming during the day, giving our kids more options to watch what they want. Needs Capital requirements for broadcast equipment - $250,000. Production of local television programs - $200,000. Funding our Endowment Fund - $3,000,000. Program advertising and promotions - $125,000. Television program acquisition - $100,000. CEO/Executive Director Statement

Areas Of Service Areas Served Areas TN - Shelby County TN - Crockett County TN - Dyer County TN - Fayette County TN - Hardeman County TN - Haywood County TN - Madison County TN - Tipton County TN - Lauderdale County MS - DeSoto County AR - Crittenden County AR - Mississippi County

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WKNO TV/FM operates from the Digital Media Center at 7151 Cherry Farms Road in Cordova. The transmitters are located at 7192 Raleigh LaGrange Road, a little more than a mile from the studios, and are interconnected by a microwave system. The TV tower is 1,114 feet tall, making it one of the tallest in the region. WKNO-TV (WKNO-HD, WKNO2 and WKNO3) operates on channels 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3 at an effective radiated power of 835,000 watts with a 60-mile radius coverage area. These stations operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year serving a population in excess of 1.65 million people. WKNO-TV is seen on many cable and satellite systems. WKNO-FM operates on 91.1 with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts. The WKNO-FM tower is 584 feet tall giving the station a 75-mile radius coverage area. WKNP-FM, located in Jackson, Tennessee as an affiliate of WKNO-FM, operates on 90.1 with an effective radiated power of 18,000 watts.

Service Categories Media & Communications Radio Television

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Programs Programs Radio - NPR and Local News Description

News is broadcast on our FM stations Monday through Friday, 4 to 9am every morning and 4 to 7pm every evening on WKNO1. News is broadcast each weekday from 9am to 4pm on our second channel, WKNO2.

Budget

$646,000.00

Strategy

Yes

Long term Success

NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” are award-winning newsmagazines that have been the gold standard in broadcast news for the last 40 years. WKNO-FM 91.1/Memphis and WKNP-FM 90.1 Jackson, TN produce local news and features on the arts, history, food , culture, business and health for these NPR news programs. Through the advanced technology of HD Radio, WKNO-FM offers three digital program streams at the same time which makes NPR News/Talk programming and the BBC World Service available 24 hours a day.

Short Term Success

WKNO/WKNP are the NPR stations for the Mid-South making news/information programming available to everyone in our community regardless of economic standing . The goal remains to inform and educate listeners on the local, national and world issues of the day. WKNO-FM continues to enhance its online service with the recent refreshing of its website providing more news and information. In addition, the WKNO-FM stations are available on iTunes Radio. As this is an ongoing part of WKNO’s core mission the presentation of news and information programming will never end.

Radio - Classical Music and Local Arts Description

Between our two primary stations, WKNO1 and WKNO2, we air classical music 24 hours a day. In addition, we partner with most of the local arts and cultural organizations and interview them on air discussing their programs. This program is called "Checking on the Arts" and is broadcast twice a day, five days a week.

Budget

$167,800.00

Strategy

Yes

Long term Success

WKNO’s mission is supported financially through listener contributions which demonstrates the value placed on the program services and outreach efforts.

Short Term Success

WKNO receives feedback from listeners via e-mail, social media, donor surveys and audience research.

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Television - Children's Programs Description

WKNO-TV devotes 24 hours per day to curriculum-based, award winning, children's programming like Sesame Street, Curious George, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, The Cat in the Hat, Dinosaur Train, Pet + Cat, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad and more. The curriculum included in these programs includes literacy, socialization, math and science.

Budget

$207,506.00

Strategy

Yes

Long term Success

Studies have shown that the PBS Kids lineup contains many of the most watched children's programming on television today. This is complemented by an interactive, educational website currently ranked #1. We have added at third channel dedicated to 24 hours a day of children's programming and services.

Short Term Success

The audience for children's programming in our viewing area is predominately minority children, children learning to speak English, and a high percentage of homes below the poverty level. In many cases the only education a child in our area may receive on a given day when they are not in school are PBS programs.

Television Primetime Programming Description

WKNO-TV, as an affiliate of PBS, airs the icon series PBS Newshour, Frontline (Escaping ISIS, Vaccine Wars), NOVA (Rise of the Hackers, Chasing Pluto, Nuclear Meltdown), Nature (Orphan Animal Babies, Soul of the Elephant, Pets Wild at Heart), Masterpiece (Downton Abbey, Poldark, Sherlock) as well as the wildly popular Antiques Roadshow. Special programming events like the anniversaries of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina keep our audience connected and engaged. History and heritage programming is added to the schedule throughout the year, particularly for the African-American community. As we are able, we add British syndicated programming like Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, Father Brown and Doc Martin.

Budget

$908,944.00

Strategy

Yes

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Television - Local program acquisitions and productions Description

WKNO-TV acquires and creates local programming to complement the national PBS schedule. Programs of interest to our Senior community and programs that highlight Memphis and the Mid-South have the highest priority. Examples include: The Best Times (active living over 50), Memphis Memoirs (local/regional nostalgia), The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South (gardening specifically for this area), Behind the Headlines (local news and politics), Sports Files (in-depth stories about local sports teams and events), as well as perennial favorites like Classic Gospel and Lawrence Welk. Also of particular interest to the Seniors in our audience are health-related programming like Healthy Body Healthy Mind, Second Opinion, and Sit and Be Fit.

Budget

$401,867.00

Strategy

Yes

Long term Success

Adding local programs to our national programming gives people in our community a voice in what type of broadcasting they want. Most channels broadcast the same exact programs from one market to the next and do not offer any local content.

Short Term Success

WKNO-TV receives regular feedback from viewers and members letting us know how much they enjoyed a certain show, or they learned a great deal watching a certain program. Many respond to our local history shows as they remember "being there" when those events were happening.

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Board & Governance Board Chair Board Chair

Mr. Rick Schultz

Company Affiliation

Hilton Hotels Corporation

Term

June 2015 to June 2018

Email

[email protected]

Board Members Name

Affiliation

Status

Calvin Anderson

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee

Voting

Glen Brandow

Federal Express

Voting

Mike Bruns

Self-Employed

Voting

Tom Carpenter

International Paper

Voting

Dr. Craig Esrael

First South Financial

Voting

Jim Hartigan

Orgwide

Voting

Micheal LaBonia

WKNO TV/FM

NonVoting

Montgomery Martin

Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC

Voting

Paul Matthews

Bourland, Heflin, Alvarez, Minor & Matthews

Voting

Dr. Robert Miller

The Family Medicine Group

Voting

Dr. Andrea Lewis Miller

Lemoyne-Owen College

Voting

Carol Ross-Spang

Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare

Voting

Jim Rout

BankTennessee

Voting

Rick Schultz

Hilton Hotels Corporation

Voting

Ray Stitle

Monogram Food Solutions

Voting

Board Demographics - Ethnicity African American/Black

2

Asian American/Pacific Islander

0

Caucasian

13

Hispanic/Latino

0

Native American/American Indian

0

Other

00

Board Demographics - Gender Male

13

Female

2

Unspecified

0

8

Governance Board Term Lengths

2

Board Term Limits

4

Board Meeting Attendance %

69

Written Board Selection Criteria?

Yes

Written Conflict of Interest Policy?

Yes

Percentage Making Monetary Contributions

100

Number of Full Board Meetings Annually

4

Standing Committees Finance Executive Development / Fund Development / Fund Raising / Grant Writing / Major Gifts Nominating Community Outreach / Community Relations

Comments WKNO TV/FM has a Board of Trustees Responsibilities plan. A board member agrees to active participation in nine different areas. These include fulfilling the organization’s mission and purpose, evaluating the Chief Executive, fundraising, personal contributions, attending special events, providing proper financial oversight, enhancing the organization’s public standing, ensuring legal and ethical integrity and maintaining accountability, and recruiting, orienting and assessing Board members. Board members are required to attend a certain number of quarterly board meetings and other committee meetings. Annually they will fill out a Self-Evaluation on their performance over the previous year. Board members will seek to be part of a “Triple A Board”. This includes they become an ambassador, advocate and asker for WKNO. We have had a conflict of interest policy for transactions with the organization for many years that was incorporated into the new plan.

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Management Executive Director/CEO Executive Director

Michael LaBonia

Term Start

July 1990

Email

[email protected]

Experience Mr. LaBonia is a career broadcaster, having spent more than 50 years in both commercial and public broadcasting. He has served as Executive Producer of numerous nationally distributed programs in such areas as public affairs, international cooking series, musicals and childrens' programming. He joined WKNO TV/FM in July 1990 as its President & CEO. Since his arrival in Memphis, he has placed a new emphasis on quality local productions about this community. He is a graduate of the 1992 class of Leadership Memphis. The 12 years before he came to WKNO were spent at WYES, Channel 12, public television in New Orleans. He served first as Director of Broadcasting upon his arrival in December 1978.In the intervening years he served in a number of upperlevel management positions including Executive VicePresident and Station Manager. LaBonia is also responsible for the development of YESCOM, the station's highly successful forprofit subsidiary. In 1987, Mr. LaBonia was named President/General Manager of WYES. LaBonia graduated with a degree in Broadcasting and Journalism from DrakeUniversity and began his career as producer/director at commercial station KRNTTV in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1967, he moved to public broadcasting and began his public television career as producer of a children's educational series. In 1969, he participated in the creation of the Iowa Public Broadcasting Network and served as its Director of Broadcasting until 1978, when he departed for New Orleans.

Staff Full Time Staff

36

Part Time Staff

6

Volunteers

286

Contractors

18

Retention Rate

0

Plans Organization has a Fundraising Plan?

Yes

Organization has a Strategic Plan?

Yes

Years Strategic Plan Considers

4

Date Strategic Plan Adopted

Nov 2013

Management Succession Plan?

Yes

Organization Policy and Procedures

Yes

Nondiscrimination Policy

Yes

Whistleblower Policy

No

Document Destruction Policy

Yes

Directors and Officers Insurance Policy

Yes

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Affiliations Affiliation

Year

Association of Public Television Stations

2016

National Association of Broadcasters

2016

Public Radio International

2016

National Public Radio

2016

Tennessee Association of Broadcasters

2016

Tennessee Public Television Council

2016

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Financials Fiscal Year July Fiscal Year

2017

Projected Revenue

$4,870,000.00

Projected Expenses

$4,815,000.00

Endowment Value

1258663

Spending Policy

Income plus capital appreciation

Percentage (if selected)

0%

Form 990s Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990 Form 990

Detailed Financials Revenue and Expenses Fiscal Year Total Revenue Total Expenses Revenue Sources Fiscal Year Foundation and Corporation Contributions Government Contributions Federal State Local Unspecified Individual Contributions Indirect Public Support Earned Revenue Investment Income, Net of Losses Membership Dues Special Events Revenue In-Kind Other

2016 $4,785,865 $5,673,060

2015 $4,939,150 $5,794,299

2014 $5,674,084 $5,775,671

2016 $1,009,736

2015 $1,074,996

2014 $1,096,111

$1,494,855 $971,771 $471,189 $51,895 $0 $1,851,850 $0 $425,901 ($93,425) $0 $64,114 $32,834 $0

$1,495,040 $967,834 $465,986 $61,220 $0 $1,880,350 $0 $400,001 $30,319 $0 $39,801 $18,643 $0

$1,621,953 $965,316 $625,317 $31,320 $0 $2,185,438 $0 $422,295 $299,521 $0 $48,766 $0 $0

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Expense Allocation Fiscal Year Program Expense Administration Expense Fundraising Expense Payments to Affiliates Total Revenue/Total Expenses Program Expense/Total Expenses Fundraising Expense/Contributed Revenue Assets and Liabilities Fiscal Year Total Assets Current Assets Long-Term Liabilities Current Liabilities Total Net Assets Short Term Solvency Fiscal Year Current Ratio: Current Assets/Current Liabilities Long Term Solvency Fiscal Year Long-Term Liabilities/Total Assets

2016 $3,986,384 $794,025 $892,651 $0 0.84 70% 20%

2015 $4,113,186 $756,879 $924,234 $0 0.85 71% 21%

2014 $4,118,893 $758,549 $898,229 $0 0.98 71% 18%

2016 $10,902,081 $2,009,378 $0 $81,444 $10,820,637

2015 $11,773,179 $2,438,040 $0 $65,347 $11,707,832

2014 $12,639,868 $2,782,729 $0 $76,887 $12,562,981

2016 24.67

2015 37.31

2014 36.19

2016 0%

2015 0%

2014 0%

2015 Contributions $1,773,241 Government Grants $1,384,633 Corporate Sponsorships $1

2014 Contributions $2,152,290 Government Grants $1,415,480 Corporate Sponsorships $1,048,242

Top Funding Sources Fiscal Year Top Funding Source & Dollar Amount

2016 Contributions $1,802,737 Second Highest Funding Source & Dollar Government Grants Amount $1,398,627 Third Highest Funding Source & Dollar Corporate Amount Sponsorships $862,581

Capital Campaign Currently in a Capital Campaign?

No

Goal

$0

Capital Campaign Anticipated in Next 5 Years?

No

State Charitable Solicitaions Permit Permit?

Yes Dec 2017

Created 01.27.2017. 13

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