College stations sold or leased to NPR, religious etc

johnbasalla said:

Any university that has a major for broadcasting should be preparing students for work directly in the field AND other broadcast/media related careers.

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Well, it depends on the focus of the particular institution. University of Pennsylvania, for example, has a first rate communications department, endowed by Walter Annenberg. But their focus is more towards research and churning out Ph. Ds than anchors for the evening news. That's a whole different area, and one that most people don't think about.

By the same token, Penn owns WXPN, which is an incredible heritage radio station that programs a great variety of music and information (plus U of P basketball).

WRAS Atlanta was fairly successful. They play "college" music but had specialty shows that were expertly presented, many of their alumni went on to non DJ positions in media & the entertainment industry, and the station managed to attract a decent alumni and adult following, the listeners were more than just friends of DJs. For a student station to be programmed professionally enough to attract a non-college adult audience, while still being very diverse musically, does take skill. I thought they struck a good balance.

TheBigA said:

Well, it depends on the focus of the particular institution. University of Pennsylvania, for example, has a first rate communications department, endowed by Walter Annenberg. But their focus is more towards research and churning out Ph. Ds than anchors for the evening news. That's a whole different area, and one that most people don't think about.

By the same token, Penn owns WXPN, which is an incredible heritage radio station that programs a great variety of music and information (plus U of P basketball).

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I'm glad you mentioned Penn. Makes my point. Your description of the Annenberg School for Communications is correct. The University of Pennsylvania also established the first journalism school in the country (among other firsts) and was the first to discontinue its journalism school on the grounds a vocational program had no place in an elite research university.

WXPN WAS s student radio station. The students playing radio back in the 70s almost cost the university its license. Penn only held onto the station by taking it away from the students and turning it into a public radio station. It has a AAA format. It feeds one program, "World Cafe," to NPR for national distribution and carries "Mountain Stage" from West Virginia Public Radio, also distributed by NPR, on weekends. Otherwise, it carries no NPR programming. It does carry basketball games (since no commercial station does) but no "information" programs (unless you count morning traffic reports). To avoid the FCC, Penn student radio now operates online and on campus via carrier current.

WXPN makes my point. Students "running" a radio station as they were gives "college radio" its bad image. They were likely running it with little or no professional supervision and the university didn't take notice until something stupid happened. Have students in control with professional supervision. Impress upon them that being on-air comes with responsibility and what they will get out of it for their future by providing a good service. Add to that, having the station have a format most of the day, with some specialty shows on weekends and at night, then you have a good chance of having good things happen. Taking stations away from students is not the only answer.

johnbasalla said:

Have students in control with professional supervision. Impress upon them that being on-air comes with responsibility and what they will get out of it for their future by providing a good service.

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The bad news is it costs money to provide that supervision and instruction. This is part of the reason behind the Georgia State decision.

johnbasalla said:

WXPN makes my point. Students "running" a radio station as they were gives "college radio" its bad image. They were likely running it with little or no professional supervision and the university didn't take notice until something stupid happened. Have students in control with professional supervision. Impress upon them that being on-air comes with responsibility and what they will get out of it for their future by providing a good service. Add to that, having the station have a format most of the day, with some specialty shows on weekends and at night, then you have a good chance of having good things happen. Taking stations away from students is not the only answer.

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Sounds like two concepts with inherent conflict. Students in control and professional supervision. If the students are in control then they are unsupervised. If a professional is supervising, he is in control. Sounds like you are making the case for student radio via carrier current or Internet only, which is what Penn does.

FredLeonard said:

Sounds like two concepts with inherent conflict. Students in control and professional supervision. If the students are in control then they are unsupervised. If a professional is supervising, he is in control. Sounds like you are making the case for student radio via carrier current or Internet only, which is what Penn does.

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This gets back to my point regarding a student-affairs versus an academic-department (or other) affiliation. In my opinion, student-affairs oversight for FCC-licensed stations (though very common and sometimes successful) is not always ideal — particularly as college radio evolves, for all the reasons already discussed here, away from being a “student club” (to foster relevance and for its ultimate survival).

I consider it very fortunate that my station is under an academic department … and here are two key points I make very clear to students:

• Although the campus radio station, student newspaper and student TV station all fall under a broad umbrella of “student media,” the comparison largely ends there. I use the term “campus radio station” (rather then “student radio station”) quite deliberately. Here’s why: Whereas, for example, the student newspaper is student-funded (by activity fees) and truly student managed (with an adviser — but students are not bound to follow the advice), the campus radio station is college/department-funded and department-managed (with valuable student-leadership opportunities offered). Because of this important distinction, some of what I say is not “advice”.… (And I don’t envy radio-station advisers who can only offer “advice.”) Plus, as the “campus radio station” — that truly belongs to ‘everyone’ (not only students) — I am striving for greater involvement from other campus members in the near future.

• “Anyone who thinks of the radio station as a ‘club’ … well, it’s the only ‘club’ on campus that requires a federal license for its very existence. So, you see, it’s really not a ‘club.’”

One other aside: Through the years, I have always been a little perplexed by the general lack of campus news/PR-division involvement in campus radio stations. Many campus radio stations are potential vast but wasted resources, one could argue.

Mike, not all schools are the same. My undergraduate alma mater has a student operated LPFM but is funded by an activity fee (head tax at registration). The campus newspaper also is funded by an activity fee plus advertising and is now so independent that they moved off campus.

Although student radio is supposed to be a learning experience, as is the newspaper, the radio station is not allowed to have advertising so there is no real world business-side experience available (as there is at the newspaper). Now, the station operates as an LPFM in the non-commercial band, but the ban on advertising began when the station was still carrier current at the insistence of the radio stations in town.

WSJ: College radio transforming on university deals

Several college radio stations have transitioned away from playing local and lesser-known artists after their university owners decided to sell or lease their licenses and air time. Georgia State University's WRAS, for example, has been taken over for 14 hours a day by Georgia Public Broadcasting, which

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http://rbr.com/wsj-college-radio-transforming-on-university-deals/

Radio Spider said:

http://rbr.com/wsj-college-radio-transforming-on-university-deals/

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Yep, we're already discussing this on the College Radio board:

http://www.radiodiscussions.com/sho...-stations-sold-or-leased-to-NPR-religious-etc

FredLeonard said:

Mike, not all schools are the same.

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Indeed, they’re not. In fact, though I don’t have hard numbers in front of me, I suspect there are more student-affairs-affiliated stations than academic-department-allied ones (and a smattering of other types of affiliations). I’m suggesting that might be better reversed.…

As for offering business-related experience, it can come from underwriting sales (at those stations with strong practices in place). It might not be quite the same … but it’s something. But if offering true advertising-sales experience is a priority, that’s an argument for abandoning the license entirely and going online-only (that’s not a goal of ours, by the way).

Incidentally, speaking of “student newspapers” versus “campus radio stations” — and so as not to have my earlier remarks potentially misconstrued — I strongly believe the independent student press serves a highly unique and valuable watchdog role on college campuses … and, thus, must always remain student-managed and independent. But it’s a much different role and structure than that of a federally licensed, campus-owned radio station.

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:

Who ever said that the campus radio station cannot be like the campus bowling alley where people go to blow off some steam and have a good time?

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To this, the obvious answer, I think, is another question: Why? Aren’t there other (better) ways to allow students to “blow of some steam and have a good time”?

I’m a little puzzled, Cowboy … because aren’t you the same person who, in an earlier post, highlighted my reference concerning the importance of stations “fulfilling public-interest obligations”?

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:

We have seen a number of posts where we each express/explain what a campus station should be/what it shoud do/etc.

To use a rather American-centric expression: "Is there some place in the Bible that spells out the duties and requirements of a campus related broadcast facility?"

Who ever said that the campus radio station cannot be like the campus bowling alley where people go to blow off some steam and have a good time?

The university always has a vested interest in seeing to it that a station that is or claims to be campus related does not become an embarrassment to the school, so they do something that creates at least the illusion that the station is subject to regulation. Give them a studio space. Assign a professor to be their liaison. Maybe provide some operational and equipment funding.... or maybe not. Then there are universities that apply for a license, buy the equipment and make sure everyone understands who is looking down from the top of the pyramid and calling the shots. There a lot of landing places between the two extremes.

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I am not saying how a student-run station SHOULD be. I am just pointing out, as many have, if a station is non-commercial (as almost all are) and is a learning experience (as some here say it is or can be) then those stations are ignoring teaching the business side of broadcasting. The business side is where most managers come from, so these stations and the broadcasting departments behind them are not preparing students for management positions. It would also explain why so many on the programming side go into the biz still thinking of radio as means for their own creative self-expression - just like campus radio.

Back to my basic point: I have nothing against campus radio as a recreational activity or club. Back in the day, when FM was radio's Siberia, there was lots of space in the FM band for students to play or learn (or both). Now, it's a scarce resource and student radio is not the best use of the spectrum. It's certainly not comparable to public radio as means to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. Besides, we know "millennials" have moved onto new media, so student radio is not much of a service to the student community. Campus radio, more than ever, is a hobby, for the amusement of the hobbyists.

By all means, have the FM radio station be under an appropriate academic department, with the first right of refusal. Couple that with a strong major's program and I know it can be successful. I see it every day. The students are in control, understand their responsibility and understand that the department head can just say 'no'. I can see how that sounds like two concepts with inherent conflicts, but it doesn't have to be. A part of the equation is having a good relationship between the students and the department head, along with alumni who have or had careers in the industry or related fields. These are stations that deserve their FM frequencies and I strongly support them.

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:

I'm here to learn.

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OK — I can accept, and appreciate, that perspective. (Again, I was just a little puzzled — but your explanation brings greater clarity.)

Concerning attempts to define “the public interest” … a discussion could make for an entire separate thread, but you’ve intentionally, or not, hit the crux of the matter.… Specifically, in typical fashion, the government has left it largely ill-defined for 80-plus years.

It can also be said that as commercial operators strive to carve out their niche in the "money demo's", the public interest for those young people outside of the money demo's can be served by stations employing youthful talent across the board and building a niche there.

College age people are in the money demos (no apostrophe needed).

Too bad they aren't listening to radio.