Iowa Public Radio - A Possible Merger

If you're like me (an admitted public radio addict, and donor to WOI) - you've probably heard about this story:
Iowa's three university-based public radio stations would get less money from the state, would merge as a network called Iowa Public Radio, and would extend service into western Iowa, under a consultant's recommendations released Tuesday by the Board of Regents.

You might ask "how much money will the state save"?  According to the report:
Authorizing universities to gradually decrease money for public radio stations by $300,000 over the next five years, reducing universities' share of public radio's budget from 35 percent to 29 percent. The money would be replaced with improved private fund-raising.

$300,000?  Considering that many individual public high schools in the state are dealing with budget problems much larger than this, going through the motions of the  "saving money" argument here just doesn't ring true.

(For example, it was estimated that the Des Moines school district needed to cut $4 millon from its budget for this fiscal year.)

A few thoughts on a possible merger - minus the seemingly bogus financial argument:

Pro:  There would likely be an opportunity to see music offerings enhanced and expanded. 

On my wish list:  a good jazz station in Central Iowa  with daytime programming.  A combined offering would  also allow stations to combine resources to produce and broadcast concerts and events from state and private colleges in Iowa.

Con:  Combining news reporting functions into a statewide network seems likely to greatly reduce (or eliminate) the last reliable source of good local radio news in the state.  I listen to WOI Radio, and appreciate the mix of national, state and local (Ames/Des Moines) news and weather reporting - it's something that commercial radio just doesn't do well anymore.

There are some good things going on that could potentially be combined into a joint news production group - the joint WOI/WSUI program "Talk of Iowa" is a good example of such a production.  However, the two different broadcast groups allow for a good mix of discussion topics centered around both Iowa State and the University of Iowa.

What I don't see happening:  the merging of functions creating a resource like the neighbors to our north have in Minnesota Public Radio.  MPR originates a lot of original programming, even spinning off American Public Media to produce original content.  An Iowa network would be able to create a few local programs, but not on the level of MPR without significant investment.

There are some benefits to merging functions, but it should be done with the idea of improving services, not just to cut state funding by a few token percentage points.

(By the way - did anyone ask how much the consultant billed to research and write this report?)