Patrick Cleary’s Appointment as KHSU Interim General Manager Rob Gunsalus’s Opening Statement
August 18, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am pleased to announce today my appointment of Patrick Cleary as the Interim General Manager of Humboldt State’s radio station, KHSU-FM.
Patrick is well-known to the North Coast, so I’ll keep my introduction brief. As you know, he is the President of Lost Coast Communications, which operates three award-winning FM radio stations in our region, all of them with an emphasis on local programming. Before moving to Humboldt County in 1997, Patrick’s broadcasting experience included service on the board of directors of the Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation, Act III Broadcasting and the Independence Broadcasting Corporation.
Some of you will recall that he was interim general manager of the North Coast Co-op from 2002 to 2003. Under his decisive leadership, the Co-op reversed its financial losses, restructured $3 million in debt, negotiated its first labor union contract and hosted the national consumer co-op convention. Before moving to our region, he gained 17 years of experience in finance in New York City. During that time, he was successively vice president and managing director of Chase Manhattan Bank’s Media and Telecommunications Division.
When the position of general manager opened at KHSU, I stated from the outset that I would seek a successor with a record of success in radio and a demonstrated ability to put the station on the path to lasting financial stability. Patrick Cleary meets those requirements 100%.
My third criterion was an individual who possesses strong relationships with the North Coast community. In addition to Patrick’s strengths as a broadcaster and an astute businessman, he is deeply committed to the community service and civic-mindedness embodied by KHSU and Humboldt State. He recently won the NORCAN Non-profit Leader of the Year award for 2008. (NORCAN stands for the Northern California Association of Non-Profits). He is chair of the Headwaters Fund Board and serves on the Humboldt Area Foundation’s investment and audit committees and the audit committee of Six Rivers Planned Parenthood. He has been President of the Humboldt Folklife Society since 2001 and has coordinated the Humboldt Folklife and Blue Lake Blues Festivals since that time. His years of hard work on behalf of our community are exemplary.
I believe it is imperative that KHSU have strong interim management. Day-to-day operations and the upcoming October pledge drive require firm direction. Likewise, station staff and volunteers will be able to function at full strength and underwriters can be assured of sound leadership as the station opens a new and promising chapter. Patrick is a loyal supporter of KHSU and the ideal person to serve in the interim role. His appointment also will enable us to conduct a thorough and systematic search for a permanent general manager. We expect to begin the search not long after the station’s 2009 spring pledge drive. In the meantime, I will approve all new underwriting contracts and review any loss of underwriters. I will also review programming changes with an eye toward how they affect KHSU’s positioning in the market, especially as they relate to Lost Coast Communications.
Patrick Cleary’s Opening Statement
Rob, thank you for that generous introduction; I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute whatever I can to building on its fine reputation.
Step one is to secure KHSU’s financial stability, both short- and long-term. That will be my first priority. We must put the station’s financial house in order, to stem its losses and ensure its viability during a period of serious budget pressures on the state and on the University. Budget constraints are likely to be a fact of life for at least several more years, possibly more.
My second order of business will be to shore up our partnerships with current underwriters, establish relationships with new ones and enlist greater community support for the station. KHSU has many strengths and I’m confident we can ensure its future health and prosperity.
Let me turn from the business side to programming. As many of you know, I have a track record of emphasizing local programming and I believe it can be done in a professional manner. KHSU clearly has done a good job of building a large and passionate audience. I agree with Rob’s view that evaluation of KHSU’s program costs, which are climbing, must be handled professionally, taking into account community support as well as ratings.
Patrick Cleary's contact information
Telephone: 707 826-6085
Email: manager@khsu.org
