2016 Station Update from Jessica Evett, General Manager

In any given year, many of us find ourselves in league with others trying to fix an insurmountable problem. These problems range from the personal — like a loved one whose behavior troubles us or an ongoing health issue — to greater societal challenges — like rooting out systemic prejudice or fixing access to health care. When genuine fear and emotion surrounds a problem, the peaceful or natural solution is often hidden, or the person who desires to change injustice is trapped in a role where they can’t easily affect the change that is needed.

When multiple people attempt to fix something that really seems broken, it’s rare that you see alignment among the opinions regarding how to fix it. What you see are suggestions – some reasonable, some unreasonable – but no guided vision or magic bullet. Without an emotion capable of dissolving fear present, those problems will continue to appear impossible to solve.

As Radio Boise’s General Manager, I frequently receive feedback from individuals who are connected with the station in some way. After the election, I’ve seen a great deal of discourse regarding the shortcomings of corporate media and social media, and I’ve seen a great deal of suggestions on how to “fix” our media landscape. It’s clear that people are looking for their way forward, and that’s positive. It’s also clear that much of the dialogue surrounding media is short on highlighting the importance of community-owned media like Radio Boise. This particular lack speaks to the need for us to remind people of how important stations like ours have always been, and will continue to be with your support.

Since the election, I have yet to receive a single communication about how Radio Boise’s mission should dramatically alter course to adjust to recent events in our world.  In fact, it has been stunning to me how much alignment there has been  among our listeners, programmers, volunteers, board of directors, staff, nonprofit partners, and other stakeholders. In times of perceived and actual upheaval, the fact that Radio Boise is perceived by many of you to be a refuge from the upheaval is powerful.

Could we improve on what we do? Absolutely.

Do we need to change who we are? Absolutely not.

Do we need to protect what we stand for? More than ever.

2017 is right around the corner, and while there’s already a lot of incredible music to share, there’s more of it right around the horizon. Music is and will continue to be the bedrock of Radio Boise’s programming. Arts and culture aren’t just a nice afterthought during times of social upheaval. They are absolutely essential to imagining solutions and creating authentic hope.

Our current public affairs block will also remain an essential part of what we do. We’re excited to continue to expand our corps of local volunteer storytellers and journalists with an eye on radio pieces centered around issues affecting the Treasure Valley. We see limitless possibilities for engaging our community in the creation of stories that can be distributed online and accessed outside of our terrestrial broadcast.

Rest assured, not only have our values not shifted, but neither has our commitment to you. The only obstacles to Radio Boise’s role in 2017 and beyond are the natural limits to our resources. Since the bulk of support for Radio Boise comes from individuals and underwriters rather than federal grant funding or corporate dollars, we’ve always been mindful of how much we reach out to you for support.

As 2016 comes to a close, we’re asking you to be bold along with us on December 29th and 30th as part of GiveBig to MyStation.

Why? The vision behind Radio Boise has always been an ambitious one, but we’ve had the benefit of time to build our volunteer and staff capacity over the years. To take the next step, we need more resources to do more. Resources allow us to engage more people, inject more imagination into what you hear, and reach the legions of people who might love Radio Boise if they knew it existed. We can’t wait for 2018, 2019, or 2020 to be strong. That strength can start today, with you.

When so many different people connected with a resource like Radio Boise are so strongly aligned with its core mission, you know you have something truly special on your hands. Regardless of how you felt about 2016, this station supports causes and people that matter to you. We certainly don’t want anything that feels this good falter because we hesitated to ask you to support it. Our future, in short, is you. Nothing less, nothing more. That’s why we hope you’ll consider supporting our vision for 2017 and beyond with a contribution today.

Thanks for being a part of our radio community,

Jessica Evett, General Manager

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