Recent KDHX Blog Post Muddies Financial Picture

KDHX recently added a new blog post to the beleaguered station’s website. The post itself has sparse text and is centered around three graphs that appear to be intended to communicate the station’s dire financial situation.

The first graphic is labeled “Liabilities Over Time”. This label could lead readers to assume that it tracks the station’s liabilities, but it doesn’t match the information in IRS 990 filings by Double Helix Corporation (KDHX’s parent company). This is explained by text noting that the line labeled liabilities is the station’s combined liabilities and regular operating expenses. The middle graph then shows only revenues. The final graph shows both, inviting readers to see them as something to be compared. They did not include the station’s assets in any of the blog post’s graphs, despite this information being part of the 990s.

This presentation is somewhat unusual, as revenues are usually compared to operating expenses, not to combined liabilities and ongoing operating expenses. In budgetary terms, due to many liabilities being long-term in nature, their nominal value is less important than the cost of regular debt service payments, when it relates to revenues. As such, the post doesn’t give readers a way to calculate how much of the station’s current financial crisis stems from long-term debt, and how much is due to ongoing operating costs exceeding revenue. It also makes it difficult to understand how much revenue would be needed to balance the station’s annual budget. A more common way to present the station’s financial data would be graphs comparing assets to liabilities and annual revenue to operating expenses, or at least including data for all four categories.

Asked for comment on the recent KDHX blog post, former KDHX DJs who have organized under the League Of Volunteer Enthusiasts (LOVE) of KDHX banner responded “The KDHX Liabilities vs Income graph provides a high-level view but fails to demonstrate financial stewardship due to the missing context. Financial stewardship isn’t just about raising income or paying down debt—it’s also about controlling costs and achieving a sustainable balance.”

Their statement continued “The recent bankruptcy and tax filings provide much better insight into KDHX’s stewardship. The most recent tax filing reports an explosion in short-term borrowing to fund operations, while long-term notes payable (likely money owed on the Grand Center building) have remained static at $1.3M since 2021, per the audited financials.”

Another abnormality is the station’s decision to label a large spike in revenues on the final graphic as “COVID-19 Relief Funds”. While that year’s 990 filing indicates a small portion of the revenue boost was from the forgiveness of a small Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, the filing notes that most of this revenue boost was actually from the forgiveness of $1.5 million in debt held by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. This debt is from the foundation financing the mortgage for the station’s Grand Center headquarters. It is unclear why it was labeled in a way that would lead readers to assume this spike in revenue was mostly driven by government grants or loans.

The sum of these issues is that the graphics don’t communicate much useful information to readers. It is unclear why station leadership decided to present their financial information in such a manner.

LOVE of KDHX concluded their statement “This information does nothing to give a prospective donor any indication of how well KDHX is managed. Community support will not return without trust that donations will sustain the station for future generations. We hope KDHX leadership can recommit to their pledge of transparency and earn back the community’s confidence, but this isn’t a serious step in that direction.”

Note: KDHX’s senior staff and board were asked for comments, but neither responded.