Friday, September 26, 2003

By Adrian McCoy, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

WQED-FM and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust last night unveiled its new Downtown satellite studio, which the classical music station will use to broadcast live from the cultural district five nights a week.

The Carolyn M. Byham WQED fm Studio was a big surprise for the woman for whom it was named. The name was kept under wraps until last night's opening.

WQED President and CEO George Miles Jr. called the new studio "a further extension of WQED serving the community. It's going to take us to a new level. WQED-FM has always been a standard-bearer on how we can get involved with the community."

Funding was provided through a partnership between WQED Multimedia, the Cultural Trust, with support from WQED board member William Byham.

The station's new Downtown presence is designed to get the word out about activities in the cultural district and give listeners more information and access to performers and events there, said WQED Station Manager Jim Cunningham.

"It seems like a natural fit since part of the station's mission is to help the arts grow."

The live broadcasts will run Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7 p.m. to midnight. They'll feature music related to what's going on that evening in cultural district venues.

Last night's play list included Gilbert & Sullivan, in conjunction with the opening of "The Mikado" at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

Next to the broadcast booth, which has a window overlooking Katz Plaza, is a small studio where individual performers or small ensembles can play live on the air. There will be interviews before and after performances, along with comments from audience members.

The studio's opening capped yesterday's WQED Multimedia's annual board meeting, where Miles outlined some of the challenges and opportunities facing the company in 2004.

Among the opportunities are the station's 50th anniversary celebration (which will start April 1), production of the much-anticipated documentary "The War that Made America," the possible WQEX sale and the Time-Life video deal.

Challenges include declining state and federal funding, advertising sales and membership growth, and funding for "On Q" and "War that Made America," according to Miles.

In the financial report for the period ending July 31, the operating budget ended in the black with $868,690, compared to a loss of $358,024 for the same period in 2002. Factoring out restricted funds that are set aside for specific uses, the budget showed a net loss of $8,603.

Contributions remained at about the same as the previous year.

Foundation and institutional giving was down. Distribution, royalties and ancillary services were up, to more than $3.1 million, compared to $1.9 million in 2002.

Miles said the company expects to break even by the end of the year.

WQED also announced that WQED-TV will start broadcasting 24 hours a day Monday through Saturday, beginning Oct. 1. The overnight broadcasts will start at 1 a.m. and will feature rebroadcasts of the previous evening's prime-time programming. Saturday overnights will feature favorite fund-raising programs. The station will sign off at 1 a.m. on Sunday.

The board also approved a budget for fiscal year 2004. The $25.8 million budget represents a 14 percent increase over this year's spending.

Projects increased revenues for the sixth year in a row.

The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2003 to Sept. 30, 2004.

The board elected six new members: Cecilia Golden, chief executive officer of the YWCA of Greater PIttsburgh; Katherine Henderson, president of Point Park College; James Maher, provost and senior vice chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh; Kevin McMahon, president of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust; Kathleen Mulcahy, glass artist and former artistic director of the Pittsburgh Glass Center; and Sylvia Wilson, assistant to the president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

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