College stations sold or leased to NPR, religious etc

http://online.wsj.com/articles/college-radio-changes-frequency-1406567173

>>The transition hasn't come without a fight. GSU students, alumni and supporters lit up Twitter to protest the deal. R.E.M., which has a huge social-media following, posted on Facebook and Twitter: "Big Money and power politics closes down a vital student radio station that helped launched [sic] R.E.M. and a host of others … #saveWRAS."

(Colleges selling or leasing their stations to NPR--to air news, classical, etc.--or religious organizations etc)

>>Often, public-radio stations that already host an all-news signal want a second signal to play classical or jazz music to appeal to their target audiences, as music and news generally don't coexist well on one signal.

raccoonradio said:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/college-radio-changes-frequency-1406567173

>>The transition hasn't come without a fight. GSU students, alumni and supporters lit up Twitter to protest the deal. R.E.M., which has a huge social-media following, posted on Facebook and Twitter: "Big Money and power politics closes down a vital student radio station that helped launched [sic] R.E.M. and a host of others … #saveWRAS."

(Colleges selling or leasing their stations to NPR--to air news, classical, etc.--or religious organizations etc)

>>Often, public-radio stations that already host an all-news signal want a second signal to play classical or jazz music to appeal to their target audiences, as music and news generally don't coexist well on one signal.

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NPR does not "lease" stations. Never has. First, stations must qualify as public radio stations. Then stations can become members of NPR and get to buy programming from NPR and vote for their board of directors.

Many educational institutions have decided to convert student radio stations to public radio stations. Usually, students end up with an LPFM instead.

Georgia Public Broadcasting and Georgia State are part of the Georgia state government. NPR is not involved.

Student radio stations are a toy for students to play with and a waste of institutional resources. They offer no educational benefit and do not serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.

FredLeonard said:

NPR does not "lease" stations. Never has.

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To clarify, NPR does not own stations. My understanding is that NPR is prohibited by law from owning stations.

Fred Now you pisssed me off.....Student run stations are the lifeblood of potential new talent.....how do you learn...by being live on the air which means an OTA signal.....all of you poo pooed me over calling an internet station "radio".....and yet you let the main reason why some pick that college because they have a radio or tv station to train on........

wendy Williams...and from 1982 to 1986, she attended Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where she graduated[3] with a B.A. in communications and was a DJ for the college radio station WRBB.

I propose the opposite we should demand NPR order its stations to give back its licenses or lower the power 50-75% for perpetrating a FRAUD on the American public by calling itself a public radio station..........the public is FORBIDDEN to volunteer or create programs at a public radio station unless they need you to man the phones at fundraising time....I think Public radio is a disgrace and a waste of airspace.....

They hogged up all the 50-100kw stations in the 60's and 70's leaving many schools colleges and the community with no where to turn.......Imagine spending $100,000 on a communications degree and your only broadcast experience is on carrier current..shameful....

I loath public radio stations and would rip their licenses off the wall if i was in charge...they are evil.........what do i propose hey what about the public having a radio station or 2 in each city the talent that is out there with no venue to expose it..........and all of you poo poo internet radio........well Local NPR stations steal the frequencies and run syndicated programming, no different then Clear Channel....

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Student radio stations are a toy for students to play with and a waste of institutional resources. They offer no educational benefit and do not serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.

Richard Stefan said:

the public is FORBIDDEN to volunteer or create programs at a public radio station unless they need you to man the phones at fundraising time....I think Public radio is a disgrace and a waste of airspace.....

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That's not true at all. One of the best examples of a member of the public showing up and getting a program is Garrison Keillor. He had no experience at all when he started with Minnesota Public Radio in 1969. Lots of other people just walk in the door. There are literally thousands of people who have heard public radio programming, and have been inspired to do radio. Just do it. It's not that hard. The public radio system is set up to encourage and train those people, and give them the platform to distribute their shows. One of those people was Ira Glass who ended up with an extremely popular show.

Richard: I don't oppose student radio stations, per se. I oppose using Class B or A FM allocations for them. LPFM is fine and that's what many schools use.

BigA is correct: Many volunteers from the "public" have gotten their feet in the door at public radio stations and gone on to significant careers in public radio. This includes students who gain some experience at LPFM student stations (and back in the day, carrier current student stations) and then move up to the university-owned public radio station.

What's your idea of a "community station?" What you describe sounds like Pacifica. Or maybe those public access cable channels. No, thanks. You hate public radio. OK, we get it. Check the ratings. Not everyone hates it.

Richard Stefan, AMEN! PREACH ON! I too despise "public" radio. Their lobbying the F.C.C. to stop licensing Class D stations in 1978 is disgraceful. Student radio is NOT a toy! It's an educational extension with actual real world experience! Taking transmitter readings, proper identification, learning FCC regulations, etc.. All of which we (WFCF being my alma mater) use in the real world of broadcasting.

As for Garrison Keillor, Wikipedia doesn't list it, but he was on U of M's campus stationWMMR from 1960-61 & then 5,000-watt 770/KUOM from 1963-68 [http://books.google.com/books?id=23...CA#v=onepage&q=Garrison Keillor KUOM&f=false].

N1WVQ said:

It's an educational extension with actual real world experience! Taking transmitter readings, proper identification, learning FCC regulations, etc.. All of which we (WFCF being my alma mater) use in the real world of broadcasting.

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Almost all radio stations today have automated systems that take transmitter readings. They're far more accurate than the human system. With the elimination of the 3rd class license, most operators aren't taught FCC regulations. THAT is the real world of broadcasting.

N1WVQ said:

Richard Stefan, AMEN! PREACH ON! I too despise "public" radio. Their lobbying the F.C.C. to stop licensing Class D stations in 1978 is disgraceful. Student radio is NOT a toy! It's an educational extension with actual real world experience! Taking transmitter readings, proper identification, learning FCC regulations, etc.. All of which we (WFCF being my alma mater) use in the real world of broadcasting.

As for Garrison Keillor, Wikipedia doesn't list it, but he was on U of M's campus stationWMMR from 1960-61 & then 5,000-watt 770/KUOM from 1963-68.

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Taking transmitter readings is hardly a college-level academic activity.

WMMR was a carrier current station. LPFM is just fine for any "learning opportunities" student radio may offer. So if AM for that matter, since most of the audience has stopped listening. There is no need to waste Class B and A FM licenses on stations hardly anybody listens to (including other students). There just isn't enough room in the non-commercial band for student hobby stations.

Broadcasting is a vocational major and out of place in a true liberal arts or science undergraduate program. Even as a vocational program, what's the value in young people running up huge debt to prepare themselves for careers in an industry about to become obsolete?

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:

What is the typical job assignment for a broadcaster's first year in the business today?

Does anyone do a live Talk Radio gig their first or even second year in the business?

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As I said in another thread, there are a lot more jobs OFF the air than ON the air. One of those jobs is as a talk show producer. There sometimes is a call screener. Some shows are big enough to have guest bookers. Then there's the always reliable job of board operator. Those are just a few of the jobs one might expect early in a radio career. Of course you also have entry level sales jobs, where a candidate spends all day cold-calling potential advertising clients. Not a lot of glamor there, but it's a way to get started. Most of those jobs are not likely to be taught at a typical liberal arts college, or obtainable by working at a college radio station. But it's not unusual for an NPR station that does some local programming to need at least one or two of those positions.

OK but due to GOVERNMENT RADIO hogging all the 50KW frequencies even that is not an option in most cities in America anymore.....the blame must be put on the FCC for allowing Government approved radio on those frequencies. Heck some states have double and triple coverage 2 or 3 networks you can pick up on your radio..Theft from the public to use the public airwaves.

And public stations Hates the public.. no one can provide any content...unless its government approved

So, Yes I do approve of community radio at least 1 in every city and not just lpfm....You can use full time 1 kw+ AM stations too..(NO dropping down to 27 watts at nighttime) ..as long as we GET THE PUBLIC INVOLVED......there is talent out there to fill 12 hours a day in most even rural towns.....

And dont forget STUDENTS pay for their college radio station in their activity fees...and lots choose that college for that reason.

Richard: I don't oppose student radio stations, per se. I oppose using Class B or A FM allocations for them. LPFM is fine and that's what many schools use.

So "government radio" is a big pain in your keister, but the organizations that get a tax exemption and run the same religious national format on multiple signals (far more of them than NPR affiliates) don't count in your assessment here?

I'd also like to know what "government approval" is being given to the classical on WCRB, the adult alternative on WXPN and KCRW, the locally hosted specialty shows on many NPR affiliates like KAXE, etc. You're posting utter nonsense.

Don't forget, Richard, most student radio stations are operated by government educational institutions - public schools and state-supported colleges and universities.

And public stations Hates the public.. no one can provide any content...unless its government approved .

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Bull!

Yes I do approve of community radio at least 1 in every city and not just lpfm.

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Right! That worked so well for cable access and for Pacifica. Let's let everybody play radio, not just students. Radio is so easy. Anybody can come in off the street and do a radio show.

Keep in mind, radio is done for the listener, not for anybody who thinks he wants to go on the radio.

Richard Stefan said:

And public stations Hates the public.. no one can provide any content...unless its government approved

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What are you talking about? The government doesn't approve anything that's aired on public radio. Quit making up crap.

Public radio stations are not "government radio." A lot of them are owned by community non-profits or private colleges.

Richard Stefan said:

And dont forget STUDENTS pay for their college radio station in their activity fees...and lots choose that college for that reason.

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Actually that's a major reason why so many colleges and universities are getting rid of their radio stations. The entire student body pays for an activity that only a handful of students participate in. That's not an efficient use of activity money. They're better off spending that money on something more students will use.

TheBigA said:

Actually that's a major reason why so many colleges and universities are getting rid of their radio stations. The entire student body pays for an activity that only a handful of students participate in. That's not an efficient use of activity money. They're better off spending that money on something more students will use.

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I quoted this because maybe some people need to read it twice.

PS: Not so sure about most public radio stations owned by non-profits or private colleges. A good many are owned by state-supported colleges and universities or public community colleges and some by independent government agencies. If those stations don't account for most of the stations, they do account for most of public radio's audience.

I wasn't aware "government agencies" owned broadcast licenses. I know there were some exceptions for emergency communications, some LPFMs and TIS signals, but full power NCEs can only be owned by non profits and educational groups.

Off the top of my head, Georgia Public Broadcasting is owned by a state agency. NJ Public Broadcasting was until recently. Until the financial crisis, the City of New York operated WNYC and WNYC-FM.

There are several state networks not part of universities.

I'm sure people can offer other examples.

FredLeonard said:

PS: Not so sure about most public radio stations owned by non-profits or private colleges.

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I changed the word "most" to "a lot." WAMU Washington and WBUR Boston are owned by private colleges. WETA Washington and WGBH Boston are owned by non-profit community groups. Same with WNYC. A community group just bought WBFO from University of Buffalo. There are a lot of them. At the same time, there's a movement by mostly Republican governors to end state-supported public broadcasting agencies. That's what happened in New Jersey. I hear that's going on in South Carolina.

For schools that have a Broadcast and related Majors programs, the FM station is not a toy or simply an extra-curricular activity. It is an integral part of the experiential learning process. When done well, the public benefits by having an alternative station that stands on its own. What we don't need is a non-commercial band made up of mostly the same NPR network programs that are already well represented nationwide.