Cascade Public Media has a long-standing relationship with ACD to provide call center support outside of regular business hours.  Transitioning to ACD’s services 24/7 to allow for more an efficient use of operational and financial resources.

Outsourcing the DART team will directly affect four positions.  Two positions will move to new roles within the development department and two positions will be eliminated.  Severance packages will be provided to those leaving. 

Because Cascade Public Media has a long standing relationship with ACD, callers should continue to expect the same level of excellent customer service that they are accustomed to.

No. There is nothing planned at this time. 

Outsourcing the master control function has been an industry trend to improve efficiency and upgrade to state-of-the-art technology. It is a recommended ‘best practice’ by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through which grant funding is made available to stations who make the transition.

Master Control is the department that ensures KCTS 9’s broadcast signal is on-air.

We estimate that the transition will be completed by the end of March 2020.

As a result of this transition four regular team members will be laid off who currently serve in Master Control.  One full time position will be retained.

KCTS 9 viewers should not experience any interruptions to television service during this time.

The media environment is changing rapidly and where possible we need to support our digital technology, brand and audience growth, local journalism and our future facility’s requirements.

Specifically, outsourcing the master control function has been an industry trend to improve efficiency and upgrade to state-of-the-art technology. It is a recommended ‘best practice’ by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through which grant funding is made available to stations who make the transition.

No. We are a nonprofit. Every donor dollar we raise is devoted to the organization’s mission. As the media business continues to evolve, we are considering this option in order to place more of our resources toward the programming and journalism that is at the heart of our mission.

No. We do have significant future needs to be sustainable as a local nonprofit media organization. We are considering this option in order to place more of our resources toward the programming and journalism that is at the heart of our mission.

Technology is evolving and the media landscape is changing. If we make this transition, it will help to focus more of our resources on our most significant challenges.

Yes, approximately 59 public television stations use third party master control solutions, and the majority of commercial stations use them. In fact, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), who provides funding to public broadcasting organizations like ours, provides additional grant funding to transition to joint master control operations.

Additionally, many nonprofits use third party providers to handle donor and customer service calls. Most public media organizations use an outside vendor during fundraising periods and many are expanding these relationships to handle all donor and viewer calls.

No.

Cascade Public Media remains absolutely supportive of our collective bargaining units and our employees represented by them. We have many employees represented by IBEW and the newly formed newsroom bargaining unit represented by CWA.