Well......You could but your listenership will decline pretty fast.
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WCSB 89.3 Switches to JazzNEO
- Thread starter MediaLover
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Their target audience can't be very big, especially out in the boonies. Anyone out there who wants to listen can stream it on their phone.
I was out in Olmsted Township this evening, and 89.3 was coming in fine on my car radio. I did notice it was delayed on 90.3 HD 2 by about 30 seconds.
There has not been a lot said but given the fact their holding the license but turning over the day to day to Ideastream my suspect is the University given the state of economy and so forth was tired of footing the bill for CSB (they say they were donation supported but how much money were they raising vs the money coming out of the CSU budget to fund the costs of keeping a small college radio station on air)
I feel like the university looked at their budget and with all institutions facing cuts was like "we'd be better of letting ideastream handle the paying of the music licensing fees and the day to day to keep the station on air"
I am never a fan of a small student-community led format going away but at least they didn't sell to K-Love, VCY, or one of the few others that have the pockets right now to pick up signals. And for those blaming "ideastream" they are just doing with what they are given - it's their signal now to program as they see fit. (I would guess CSU knew there would be outrage with the change so it made more sense to just rip the band aid off and quietly change the STL without notice to anyone)
Mixed feelings about the change. On one hand, CSU should have arranged the station to continue online with enough notice so that the station could run promos alerting their audience to the change. I'll bet they wouldn't lose many listeners. WEOL in Lorain did this. They sold their broadcast stations and went totally online with the station just a few months ago. The University handled this poorly.
On the other hand, it is nice to have a fulltime jazz station on FM, especially one with a downtown transmitting antenna that gets right into the city neighborhoods. The station itself is a mix of local and network jazz presentations. The network hours are slicker but the local hours have kind of a charm that's nice.
On the other hand, it is nice to have a fulltime jazz station on FM, especially one with a downtown transmitting antenna that gets right into the city neighborhoods. The station itself is a mix of local and network jazz presentations. The network hours are slicker but the local hours have kind of a charm that's nice.
Problem I see here is doing an online station still costs - music licensing is a significant line item so if CSU was truly trying to cut the financials to operating a radio station handing things fully over to Ideasttream and not allowing WCSB to continue as a CSU funded operation makes the most sense.
If the volunteers/student DJs want to start their own online station and foot the bill for it and continue the legacy of what they were doing nothing will stop that.
Yes, that is very true about the differences in music licensing. WEOL is all talk. Maybe WCSB could have done a conversion fundraiser or something during the last days of FM? I don't know. Cleveland State didn't present some alternative. Maybe THEY pay for music licensing and it can be taxed as educational by the university? It is as if they discovered these people two weeks ago after the station was there for 50 years. "Alright you kids, your station is now shut down. Get your shit and get out of here. We brought the cops in case somebody gets cute, see?"
There is one non-commercial educational music royalty rate regardless of who owns the station. Royalties aren't taxed. They're an expense.
However, an online station costs a lot more, because digital pays artists and label in addition to writers.
note: I would not site FCC's website as your source of who has the licence. Right of the top of fcc.gov it says
"Due to a partial lapse in federal government funding, the FCC has suspended most operations effective 12:00 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025. As a result, information on this website may not be up to date. Transactions submitted via this website or other FCC-systems might not be processed altogether or processing time may be delayed until appropriations are enacted. The FCC may not be able to respond to inquiries or response time may be delayed until appropriations are enacted. For more information, refer to: Impact of Potential Lapse in Funding on Commission Operations"
"Due to a partial lapse in federal government funding, the FCC has suspended most operations effective 12:00 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025. As a result, information on this website may not be up to date. Transactions submitted via this website or other FCC-systems might not be processed altogether or processing time may be delayed until appropriations are enacted. The FCC may not be able to respond to inquiries or response time may be delayed until appropriations are enacted. For more information, refer to: Impact of Potential Lapse in Funding on Commission Operations"
No, I understand that. I am suggesting that the University could have agreed to pick up the cost of the internet royalties as a peace offering to the staff to help them get the original station online. I am sure that the royalty costs won't break CSU, plus again, I think they could find some tax loophole to write off the cost.
The "peace offering" is receiving paid internships at a professional media company. A reminder that the university is $139 million in debt. Here's what the president said about that:
The goal is to create a learning experience for students. That's what universities do.
The university is TAX EXEMPT. So they don't care about tax loopholes. They are one.
Here's what Bloomberg said about the money the station had raised:
So perhaps the students can use that money to start their own online station.
Cleveland State radio flips to jazz under deal with Ideastream Public Media, students express shock
The deal, announced Friday, gives Ideastream operational control over the nearly 50-year-old station.
www.wyso.org
VintageMac
Banned
But the president said it was not a cost cutting move. She's talking out of both sides of her mouth.The "peace offering" is receiving paid internships at a professional media company. A reminder that the university is $139 million in debt. Here's what the president said about that:
The goal is to create a learning experience for students. That's what universities do.
The university is TAX EXEMPT. So they don't care about tax loopholes. They are one.
Here's what Bloomberg said about the money the station had raised:
So perhaps the students can use that money to start their own online station.
Cleveland State radio flips to jazz under deal with Ideastream Public Media, students express shock
The deal, announced Friday, gives Ideastream operational control over the nearly 50-year-old station.
That's what presidents do. She says it's strategic.
In the non-profit world, you have things called "in-kind contributions." So by doing this, the university and Ideastream each get something of value. That's how it becomes what she calls "revenue neutral."
The main thing is the university is no longer responsible for what happens on the radio station, which is good for them.
VintageMac
Banned
A good leader would not have just dumped the station into someone else's hands and in the manner it happened. Poor leadership not strategic.
Once again, the university received something educational in return. You're not thinking of it like the university board of directors.
VintageMac
Banned
I have no further comment since you clearly do not understand the larger issues which have been brought up and keep defending the same individuals/groups who did not or do not care about WCSB in its past form.
You clearly don't understand the larger issues regarding universities and radio stations. Universities want to get out of the radio business. This is just one example from many happening around the country.
It would have been easier for the university to simply sell the station to a religious organization. That's what most universities are doing. But they would only have received cash, no internships. Nothing of educational value for the students. It would have resulted in yet another radio station with no local studios and no local staff.
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This was also negotiated over the course of several months. It's been stated in multiple reliable sources that CSU and Ideastream were bound by an NDA because it involved an FCC license. As soon as the CSU board voted to approve the deal, the changeover took place.
It is a logical fallacy for people to claim anyone "dumped" WCSB into "someone else's hands". Blame the rules, not the players.
The university still owns the license. They still answer to the FCC. But they have someone responsible operating it. That's what they were looking for.
Responsibility is a key issue for universities. The way some of them handle it is to pay a professional administrator, who is faculty level, and oversees the operation. One thing I notice is that there are non-students involved with the station. The station is university property, and so the university is liable if any non-students are injured or cause problems in the property. That won't be a concern anymore.
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