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WHPK, University Of Chicago Radio Station, In Trouble After Funding Slashed

S

speer360

blockclubchicago.org

WHPK, University Of Chicago Radio Station With Deep Ties To The South Side, In Trouble After Funding Slashed

WHPK 88.5 FM is run by students and was one of the first stations in Chicago to play rap music. Drastic budget cuts could end its legacy, the station's manager said.
blockclubchicago.org blockclubchicago.org

"After proposing a budget of about $57,000 — in line with more than a decade of established funding — station managers received a letter from the university’s Program Coordinating Council saying the station would only receive $20,600 for the upcoming school year, documents provided to Block Club show.

That included no money for new equipment. It cut spending on live events — previously a quarter of the station’s budget — down to $2,100. It defunded the WHPK magazine “Signal” and also canceled the station’s Google Workspace, which hosts decades of resources and how-to guides used to bring new DJs up to speed, according to documents and station manager Christian Bird."
 
A major university with an endowment of > $10 billion. That being said, most budgets come with difficult decisions. Makes me wonder if there is (or will be) a wider trend of universities making cuts to their radio stations.
 
DrJerry said:
Makes me wonder if there is (or will be) a wider trend of universities making cuts to their radio stations.
Click to expand...

It's been more than that. What we've seen nationally is colleges and universities SELLING their student radio stations. Often to religious broadcasters. I imagine that would have happened in this case, but the station only has 100 watts. Not a lot of demand there. This is one of the holdovers from the 70s when colleges got low power FM radio licenses. So it costs money to run on-air radio stations. Colleges are trying to redirect that money to other things. They'll often invent justifications, saying students aren't interested in radio. When you ask the students, they say something different. It's parents telling their kids how to behave.

The solution here is for the students to take matters into their own hands and hold a fundraiser. Maybe raise money from other places. Go station alumni. Lots of things other college stations have done to get around budget cuts.
 
TheBigA said:
It's been more than that. What we've seen nationally is colleges and universities SELLING their student radio stations.
Click to expand...
Not just student-run stations. Purdue University sold its radio stations (WBAA AM & FM) to WFYI-FM/TV Indianapolis early last year, although they are still located on campus. The AM is over 100 years old!
 
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