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Cuts at WNYC today

A

atthestars

Reported that 21 people were let go per this post on BlueSky from a WNYC employee.

bsky.app

Micah Loewinger (@micahloewinger.bsky.social)

21 of my colleagues at New York Public Radio were laid off today. NYPR is also ending our iconic music program "New Sounds" unless the org can find financial support for the show or a buyer. A message from New Sounds host John Schaefer: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGgflm5xz1B/?img_index=2
bsky.app bsky.app
 
Following a similar number of cuts last fall, following a similar number of cuts last spring.

Why? Because the way people use radio is changing very quickly. It used to be pretty stable. Not anymore.

This is why that story about the four area non-com music stations joining together was so important. Non-com media needs to strategize about how to maintain relevance in the current media landscape. Just being non-commercial and having broader playlists isn't enough.
 
radiodx10 said:
Very sad news. Especially in this climate - the last thing we need is a weakened public media-sphere.
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Don't we have that online? This is an "old media" discussion in an era when a significant and growing number of people under 40 use vastly less radio and TV... or none at all.

There is no weakened "public media-sphere".
 
DavidEduardo said:
Don't we have that online? This is an "old media" discussion in an era when a significant and growing number of people under 40 use vastly less radio and TV... or none at all.

There is no weakened "public media-sphere".
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If you think WNYC is just "radio," you're really not paying any attention at all to what they do there these days.
 
fybush said:
If you think WNYC is just "radio," you're really not paying any attention at all to what they do there these days.
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But if you find the streaming and podcast numbers vs. the OTA numbers, I think you will see that over the air is still the dominant medium for them.
 
Wait, a music show is going away without financial support? You mean a music license and a host?

What alternate reality does non-commercial radio operate in? Sounds like this market correction was years, if not decades, overdue.
 
Music - classical, jazz, AAA - no longer has a place in public radio. The real NPR stations dropped music 20-30 years ago. One of the biggest reasons: Music listeners don't pledge.
 
According to the RadioInsight article, the weekly program New Standards , hosted by Paul Cavalconte, will be axed.
I believe this was the only radio show in this area still playing adult standards music.
 
Barry said:
According to the RadioInsight article, the weekly program New Standards , hosted by Paul Cavalconte, will be axed.
I believe this was the only radio show in this area still playing adult standards music.
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The RI article mentions the companion stream, but doesn't mention either way if that is going away too. Didn't they recently swap New Sounds out on the HD2 for New Standards?
 
Barry said:
According to the RadioInsight article, the weekly program New Standards , hosted by Paul Cavalconte, will be axed.
I believe this was the only radio show in this area still playing adult standards music.
Click to expand...
HighStandards said:
The RI article mentions the companion stream, but doesn't mention either way if that is going away too. Didn't they recently swap New Sounds out on the HD2 for New Standards?
Click to expand...

Regarding New Standards, Radio Insight reports that the show has been acquired by WBGO 88.3:

radioinsight.com

WBGO Acquires New Standards From WNYC

After announcing last month it would cancel its Saturday night Adult Standards program “New Standards” hosted by Paul Cavalconte, which
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com

The show probably fits better at BGO.
 
Another bit of news regarding WNYC is that they will be shutting down the online stream of WNYC AM tomorrow, 3/22. As WNYC AM has been a simulcast of WNYC FM since earlier this year (with the possible exception of a program or two on Sundays), there is no need to stream the AM. The HD3 carrying WNYC AM was recently shut down for the same reason.
It may make sense to sell or lease WNYC AM, if it can fetch a decent price.

No More WNYC AM Stream
 
Barry said:
Another bit of news regarding WNYC is that they will be shutting down the online stream of WNYC AM tomorrow, 3/22. As WNYC AM has been a simulcast of WNYC FM since earlier this year (with the possible exception of a program or two on Sundays), there is no need to stream the AM.
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It looks like the AM and FM are now grouped together in the ratings. In the January 2025 ratings, WNYC-AM changed to "N/A" and WNYC-FM got a larger than normal increase.

WNYC-AM's last rating was 0.8, higher than WBGO and WBBR!
 
Barry said:
It may make sense to sell or lease WNYC AM, if it can fetch a decent price.
Click to expand...

I think you're right. It seems pointless for WNYC to keep this signal going considering the recent trend of AM radio deprecation. It's now just a 100% simulcast and the signal isn't even that great. Anyone can pick up the FM signal with ease in 820's coverage area and the best fallback is not the AM, it's the stream. And hey, if WNYC can save some money on operating costs, maybe they can stop laying people off.

Here are a couple of great looks at WNYC 820's transmitter site, diplexed with WMCA, along with some more interesting historical facts:

Fybush:

Doc Searls on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/p/VwNsJD
 


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