[BC] Another public station bites the dust

[gRAdy Moates]

Jeff Johnson commented: 
> Radio is no longer considered an asset to educational institutions.

    I hear you, Jeff, and this is a sad situation at many such 
stations.

    It's usually because the station staff has not devoted an 
appropriate amount of time telling their story to the campus' students, 
administration, faculty and staff.  There are some success stories 
around the country, such as WFUV (Fordham University, New York City) 
and WXPN (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia).  These schools 
have recently backed major studio and transmission plant upgrades, 
projects that just don't happen if the school sees no value in the 
license and the community services the license allows the school to  
provide.  It's interesting to note that both of these stations break 
the mold when it comes to programming, as they are not "news-and-
information", "classical" or "jazz", and are not "fed by the bird" 
90% of the time.  

    I work for WUMB-FM at The University of Massachusetts Boston, 
and can attest to the fact that "telling the story" to the "in-house" 
audience is among the most difficult tasks that a university-owned 
licensee must undertake.  There's a "Too Much Information" factor 
that precludes anything very aggressive, but the constant "service to 
the campus and local community" methods never fail.  Within the last 
year, WUMB-FM actually managed a twice-weekly student-targeted series 
of activities in the main campus cafeteria, mixing live performances 
by artists we play (who appeal to the younger demographics) with films 
and other fun activities just to get our "brand" noticed by, and 
associated with, students on a regular basis.  This has absolutely 
nothing to do with producing and transmitting radio programming, but 
the payback in good will and a sense of "belonging" was well worth the 
effort.  As a secondary benefit, we were able to include many students 
in the planning and exectution of these events, reducing the workload 
on station staff and giving the student body a feeling of inclusion.  

    Gotta go. . . one of our five transmitters is calling me, wanting 
a little TLC.  

Grady