Russ Stanton has a temper.
The vice president of content for KPCC parent Southern California Public Radio responded to TheWrap's report about the state of the station by accusing this reporter of "arrogance" and "ignorance" — while offering her career advice.
After a correction request was rejected due to a disagreement over interpreting the station's donation record, Stanton wrote in an email on Wednesday night:
"…You (or your editor) have (has) now combined arrogance with ignorance. Those are two highly combustible traits for anyone to manage, particularly a person of your age and experience. Best of luck navigating those to a successful career in journalism."
Read also: KPCC Fights Identity Crisis as It Tries to Reinvent Itself for Digital Age
Stanton, a former editor of the Los Angeles Times, added:
"The best advice I can give you, Sara, and I mean this in all sincerity, is to take a cue from two very highly regarded editors (Ms. Fung and Mr. Thurber) and get the hell out of there if you still have something resembling a positive reputation. Because no credible news organization is going to hire someone with a portfolio of clips like the one on KPCC." (Former Times staffers Lisa Fung and Jon Thurber are former editors at TheWrap.)
Ouch. The backstory?
TheWrap's investigation of KPCC found that individual gifts and membership support dropped from 2011 to 2012 by almost 8 percent, even though overall revenue rose.
Stanton claims that revenue from individual donations rose — but that's only true if you count money that was committed in previous years. So to gauge how the station is doing, TheWrap compared individual donations made in 2011 for that year to donations made in 2012 for that year. Those have in fact declined.
The full email chain is below the document. Click to enlarge.
Here is the full email chain:
On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 1:38 PM, Stanton, Russ <rstanton@scpr.org> wrote:
Hi Sara,
Our CFO spotted this upon reading your piece yesterday.
This sentence is factually incorrect:
According to its most recent financial report for the period ending June 30, 2012, Southern California Public Radio, of which KPCC is part, individual gifts and membership revenue decreased almost 8 percent by about $900,000 from fiscal year 2011, though foundational and governmental support nearly quadrupled to nearly $6 million, bringing SCPR's total take in 2012 above 2011's.
SCPR’s gifts from individuals actually rose by 20.3%, from $8.582 million in 2011 to $10.320 million in 2012, as is clearly stated on the Statement of Activities on page 2 of the Audited Financial Statements for the same time period. Your lack of familiarity with, and therefore your lack of understanding of, non-profit accounting incorrectly lead you to conclude that gifts from individuals released from restriction do not count toward listener support revenue in a given year. In fact, they do count. I strongly urge you to read the Schedule of Operating Funds on page 17 of the Audited Financial Statements, which explains why your conclusion is incorrect.
We respectfully request that this mistake be corrected in the story.
Thanks in advance
After re-checking the report and the numbers, TheWrap responded:
On Aug 21, 2013, at 6:07 PM, "Morrison, Sara" <sara.morrison@thewrap.com> wrote:
Hi Russ,
You're looking at both the money acquired this year through both individual gift/memberships MINUS money promised this year that is restricted PLUS money released this year from restriction that was given in previous years, correct?
Whereas I was reporting how much SCPR acquired through individual gift/memberships PLUS money promised this year that has been restricted MINUS money released this year that was given in previous years.
As my figure is a more accurate reflection of people's desire to give to SCPR in FY2012 and FY2011, we will not be correcting the story.
Stanton fired back:
On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 9:21 PM, Stanton, Russ <rstanton@scpr.org> wrote:
Ha! This actually made me laugh out loud, Sara. I have to say, I admire your pluck.
That said, on this issue, you (or your editor) have (has) now combined arrogance with ignorance. Those are two highly combustible traits for anyone to manage, particularly a person of your age and experience. Best of luck navigating those to a successful career in journalism.
One of the hallmarks of a credible news operation is its ability to admit its mistakes, and actually correct them. You guys are batting .500 on this story, in a game that requires an average of as close to 1.000 as humanly possible. So pass along my thanks to whoever is responsible for confirming my impressions of The Wrap's news report.
The best advice I can give you, Sara, and I mean this in all sincerity, is to take a cue from two very highly regarded editors (Ms. Fung and Mr. Thurber) and get the hell out of there if you still have something resembling a positive reputation. Because no credible news organization is going to hire someone with a portfolio of clips like the one on KPCC.
Also read: Madeleine Brand Quits KPCC Radio After Failed Shotgun Marriage With Sports Host
It should be noted that neither Stanton nor his CFO took exception with TheWrap's reporting on the governmental and foundational support given to SCPR in fiscal years 2011 and 2012, which was calculated the same way as the individual gifts and membership support Stanton is disputing.