2023 CPB Local Content and Services Report

1. Describe your overall goals and approach to address identified community issues, needs, and interests through your station’s vital local services, such as multiplatform long and short-form content, digital and in-person engagement, education services, community information, partnership support, and other activities, and audiences you reached or new audiences you engaged.


KOTO addresses these specific engagement goals and community needs and issues in myriad ways. For one, KOTO has several public access opportunities for people to get involved over our airwaves. These include public commentaries that run after the local news, live public affairs programming on Tuesday evenings and a segment called ACCESS that allows anyone to have 15 minutes live on the air Monday-Friday. KOTO has a strong pulse on the needs of our community due to consistent coverage of local meetings, nonprofit news, education topics and more. Our award-winning local news team produces content Monday-Friday with a hyper-local focus. KOTO also has a CitizensAdvisory Board that helps inform programming decisions and community needs. They also produce an annual programming survey to help keep KOTO relevant in its programming offerings. This survey is available on our website. KOTO holds several Latine Open Houses during the year to engage the local Spanish-speaking community. We provide food, beverages and DJ training. This helped recruit a number of new voices to our airwaves in 2023. KOTO has a website with archives of all local news content as well as a programming schedule and free community calendar. The calendar is also read multiple times a day by DJs. KOTO is updating its website and content management system this year (2024) with grant funding from DOLA.

2. Describe key initiatives and the variety of partners with whom you collaborated, including other public media outlets, community nonprofits,government agencies, educational institutions, the business community, teachers and parents, etc. This will illustrate the many ways you're connected across the community and engaged with other important organizations in the area.


KOTO provides a platform for almost every other nonprofit in our local listening area. We are the one-stop shop for sharing important news and information, as well as informing community members about resources, opportunities and critical emergency events. KOTO partners with local nonprofits in a number of ways, from the Collaborative Action for Immigrants to help guide our Spanish-language news programming andstation activities to Telluride Arts to offer a free off-season concert series. KOTO partners with local law enforcement agencies to disseminate breaking news and public safety information to the masses. KOTO is the only source of such information in real time, in both English andSpanish, in our region. KOTO covers local governmental meetings and works with local officials to stay up on important community topics and news. These stories are incorporated into our regular news programming Monday-Friday. School news comes to us from parents, faculty members and board members who inform KOTO of impacts such as school closures, late starts and pressing topics. And lastly, KOTObelongs to a statewide network called Rocky Mountain Community Radio, which comprises 13 community radio stations across the state. This partnership is invaluable as stations are able to share news content, network on fundraising and development items and cross-share employment opportunities. These are just a few examples of the many ways KOTO engages our local communities.

3.      What impact did your key initiatives and partnerships have in your community? Describe any known measurable impact, such as increased awareness, learning or understanding about particular issues. Describe indicators of success, such as connecting people to needed resources or strengthening conversational ties across diverse neighborhoods. Did a partner see an increase in requests for related resources? Please include direct feedback from a partner(s) or from a person(s) served.


It is relatively easy to measure KOTO's impact on the local community through our public access, news and public affairs programming. Our community is quite vocal and we often receive feedback and input on station operations, programming and more. During the pandemic, KOTO played an important role in our community by serving as a crisis communications partner. Staff worked with local governmental and health entities to disseminate important information, in both English and Spanish. And finally, we estimate that our expanded Spanish programming has resulted in a 30 percent spike in listenership. KOTO is the only source for local news in Spanish. We have heard anecdotally from Spanish-speaking listeners that KOTO is the only place they can turn for local news in Spanish. KOTO is more than a community radio station. Residents turn to KOTO for so many reasons beyond our programming, including for news and information about resources about incentive programs and other opportunities.


4.       Please describe any efforts (e.g. programming, production, engagement activities) you have made to investigate and/or meet the needs of minority and other diverse audiences (including, but not limited to, new immigrants, people for whom English is a second language and illiterate adults) during Fiscal Year 2023, and any plans you have made to meet the needs of these audiences during Fiscal Year 2024. If you regularly broadcast in a language other than English, please note the language broadcast.


KOTO continues to make great strides in DEI initiatives and efforts to become a more inclusive organization. KOTO hired its first Spanish-language news reporter in the fall of 2022 and has since established the following:

  • Local news in Spanish on Monday evenings

  • National news in Spanish on Monday evenings

  • Spanish DJ training (which has helped recruit at least four new voices to the airwaves!)

  • Three Latine Open House events to welcome Spanish-speaking and immigrant community members.

  • Continued collaboration with the Collaborative Action for Immigrants group to determine new ways to reach Spanish-speaking members of our community and engage them in KOTO's on-air programming and station activities. In 2024, KOTO applied for and received funding for newsroom equity and advancement. This will allow us to increase the hours of our Spanish-language news reporter and offer this person a well-earned raise. We are also exploring ways to reach the more rural areas of our region and how to improve upon the digital engagement of KOTO's audience.

5.       Please assess the impact that your CPB funding had on your ability to serve your community. What were you able to do with your grant that you wouldn't be able to do if you didn't receive it?


The impact of CPB funding on KOTO is imperative for us to continue serving our community at the current level. Without grant funding from the CPB, it's unlikely we'd be able to offer daily local news or public affairs programming in such a high-quality and consistent capacity. This is a service that is of utmost importance to our community and has served as a lifeline for locals for decades. During emergency situations, we are able to provide listeners with the most up-to-date information and news, in real-time. Without CPB funding, staffing levels would be decreased and our community would be at risk. In summary, KOTO is extremely grateful for the CPB's funding and the ways it allows us to serve our community and fulfill our mission to inform, educate and entertain.