Former KTTZ-FM producers, hosts petition Texas Tech for public radio show rights after layoffs

Following news earlier this month of layoffs and program cancellations at Texas Tech Public Media, seven former KTTZ-FM hosts and producers affected by the "reduction in force" are asking Texas Tech to give them the rights to their canceled radio shows.

The Avalanche-Journal first reported the layoffs March 9. Nine employees of the organization's public radio and television stations were laid off and another was asked to retire. Six local radio programs were discontinued.

The layoffs impacted the majority of the production staff at 89.1 KTTZ-FM, Lubbock's NPR member station, including two producers, according to documents obtained by the A-J. Clint Barrick, the longtime program director and a respected member of the Lubbock arts community, will retire at the end of the month.

More: KTTZ layoffs come amid seismic change in Lubbock public media landscape

On Thursday, Barrick and six others — Vikram Baliga, Nicholas Bergfeld, Rachel Boyd, Charles "Chuck" Luck, Charles Olivier and Curtis Peoples — sent an open letter to Matt Dewey, Texas Tech's vice president of marketing and communications. The former KTTZ-FM producers and hosts are seeking rights to their six canceled radio programs so they can "continue to utilize these highly popular and recognizable brands to the Lubbock public media listener community."

"Like many in Lubbock, we read with dismay the details included in the recent article in the Avalanche-Journal," the letter reads. "The outpouring of community support and engagement with our shows while they were aired has motivated us to pursue alternative avenues for sustaining the programming so many have told us has become part of the fabric of their lives."

Texas Tech Public Media, a department of Texas Tech University, operates PBS television stations in Lubbock and El Paso and NPR-affiliated public radio stations in Lubbock and San Angelo, serving an area with more than 1.4 million households.

TTPM ended the 2023 fiscal year with a $2.49 million deficit, according to the organization's latest financial audit, with the station group last turning a profit in 2021. More than $1 million of that deficit is attributed to PBS El Paso, a Texas Tech Faculty Senate committee recently reported.

Related: Texas Tech students protest after university suspends professor for anti-Semitic posts

The hosts and producers say they hope the university will release the rights to "Around Town," "In the Grow," "More Than a Song," "Music Crossroads of Texas," "Noche de Tango" and "The Front Row" so their creators can pick up where they left off with the programming.

"We … want to continue the work of amplifying the many voices here in Lubbock. Our focus has been and will continue to be, to provide great shows for the Lubbock public media radio community," the group wrote, noting they are willing to work with the university to come to a mutual agreement.

"The reclamation of our show rights would enable us to preserve the legacy and integrity of our work. It would also provide us with the opportunity to continue serving our dedicated listeners by making these shows accessible through alternative platforms, ensuring that the content we've passionately created can still reach and impact our audience," they said.

The producers and hosts did not specify what alternate media platforms through which they plan to distribute their content.

Texas Tech had not publicly responded to the letter by late Thursday.

Earlier this month, Tech did provide answers to Avalanche-Journal questions regarding the changes, with the university blaming a lack of sufficient fundraising for what it called a reduction in force.

"The existing revenue streams, primarily reliant on grants, underwriting and membership, fell short of sustaining Texas Tech Public Media’s current personnel and programming levels," a spokesperson wrote. "The decision to undergo a comprehensive restructuring had to be made to ensure the future sustainability of the organization."

Officials said TTPM will focus future locally produced programming on news intended to appeal to a broad listener base.

Last month, the university announced its intent to change the way TTPM operates with a statement released Feb. 9. The announcement did not specifically mention layoffs or staffing reductions, but referred to "a journey to reimagine" the public media organization as it faces fiscal challenges.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Former KTTZ-FM producers, hosts petition Texas Tech for show rights