88.9 changes

[raccoonradio]

Rockers and 88.9 at Night gone.
tweet
POPS ‏@BostonPOPS 5h
@DotNews Rockers & 88.9 @ night cancelled based on a directive from Emerson to make the station "a more sustainable source of revenue"...

Adam Gaffin ‏@universalhub 4h
RT @AdamMyerson That is absolutely insane. So many of us would not be who we are without those shows // WERS canceling non-Playground shows

John Karalis ‏@RedsArmy_John 9h
I can't handle the news of WERS canceling 88.9 @ Night. I just can't. My boy spent, like, all of college hosting a show...I produced some...

 

[freqlost]

They have been killing off this station for a few years.
Farewell WERS.

 

[CTListener]

For those of us who are only occasional listeners to WERS or only listen when most people listen -- daytime, non-weekends -- a brief description of these two shows would be helpful. When were they running? How did their content/presentation differ from the usual? What are they being replaced with?

 

[raccoonradio]

I know Rockers was on for, oh, decades? Reggae. I think the other show had hip hop and maybe some controversial songs/ swears (after 10 pm, safe harbor?). Wikipedia: "On weeknights WERS has an urban format including the Reggae show "Rockers" from 7 to 10 pm, and the Hip-Hop show "88.9@Night" from 10 pm to 2 am."

http://www.boston.com/culturedesk/2...ic-programs/2clT0JqTiUaAy0zjyqOgIJ/story.html

>>Social media is buzzing about the apparent cancellation of two hip-hop and reggae programs of Emerson College’s radio station, 88.9 WERS. One of those programs, Rockers, was started at Emerson in 1978 by Doug Herzog, who is now the president of MTV Networks and widely credited with bringing the Colbert Report, South Park and The Daily Show to Comedy Central.

"Rocker’s (sic) is the country’s longest-running college-radio show"

Might dispute that...Hillbilly at Harvard...?

tweet from @Bostonradio
So, hearing the new night programming on 88.9 will have Old Skool classic soul/R&B. Could've been worse. Like another sports station.

 

[CTListener]

So straitlaced donors were complaining about "that awful music" by "those people" on WERS and threatening to take their money elsewhere? Nice. :

 

[DavidZ]

tweet from @Bostonradio
So, hearing the new night programming on 88.9 will have Old Skool classic soul/R&B. Could've been worse. Like another sports station.

LauroJRM will be happy with this change.

 

[vmorrison]

I like the ERS AAA format but also enjoy a change of pace. 88.9 at night and Rockers were well executed unique programming. The Sweet Spot is also a favorite of mine. As reported, the format change is to attract more underwriters. As an Emerson alum who is still an active member of the Emerson community, I have to ask how much money does the College need? Tuition is about 50K a year and the endowment is very healthy. Are they going to make so much more in underwriting dollars from 7p-Midnight that they have to sacrifice some heritage programming?

When I was a student back in the 80's, radio played a major role on the although TV was still dominate. Now, especially with the opening on the LA campus, it seems like radio has become an afterthought and WERS is looked at as a revenue stream rather than a training ground for students

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Within a year, there will probably be no student announcers at WERS-88.9, but instead, a paid professional airstaff and that it will be a AAA-formatted public radio station which will try to get all it's operating budget from listener donations, business underwriting, other grants from foundations, and possibly the Corporation For Public Broadcasting.

 

[SonicOverload]

I miss the good old days of WERS, when there were shows like "Niteklub" and "Metrowave" in the 80s. But that was a long time ago. Have they even had any rock programming in recent years? A few friends of mine who went there in the past 10-12 years did late-night punk shows but it's been awhile.

 

[JustinT]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the current "Secret Spot" programming, but from the program descriptions I've read, is it safe to assume that evenings/overnights will basically be the Quiet Storm?

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the current "Secret Spot" programming, but from the program descriptions I've read, is it safe to assume that evenings/overnights will basically be the Quiet Storm?

From the article, it looks like "Secret Spot" will be just 10 PM to 2 AM, then I assume it will be automated AAA overnights, as it has been, until George Knight's morning show.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Within a year, there will probably be no student announcers at WERS-88.9, but instead, a paid professional airstaff and that it will be a AAA-formatted public radio station which will try to get all it's operating budget from listener donations, business underwriting, other grants from foundations, and possibly the Corporation For Public Broadcasting.

I could see them adding more professional hosts on other dayparts, however, if so, students will probably still appear as "sidekicks" and news headline, feature, and liner card readers, as they still are on the morning show.

 

[WNTIRadio]

This is a bid to get CPB funding in the next couple of years. Stations don't qualify for CPB if there are primarily students on the air.

It's a shame, WERS trained MANY successful broadcasters. What should have been done after 8pm is a version of WFUV's Alternate Side, or XPN's Xponential music to attract the college crowd.

The college is too busy renovating theaters to worry about radio anymore. Next comes the professional PM drive host, then middays, then evenings and the students are relegated to overnights and a few of the weekend shows.

Sad. It was something great for the students there, I know many Emerson grads/WERS alums that have great jobs because of WERS. Now, for almost $50k a year with room and board, they will be relegated to the back burner.

 

[raccoonradio]

btw ERS is also on a couple repeaters...101.5 in Rockport and I think 96.5 in New Bedford

 

[mgpt6]

true about 96.5 in New Bedford.
Tjhe least they could do is up HD signal and put student station on the HD2 or 3.

 

[maradiogeek]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the current "Secret Spot" programming, but from the program descriptions I've read, is it safe to assume that evenings/overnights will basically be the Quiet Storm?

From the article, it looks like "Secret Spot" will be just 10 PM to 2 AM, then I assume it will be automated AAA overnights, as it has been, until George Knight's morning show.

Does management really think they're going to get money by changing their format nights from 10p-2a?

 

[maradiogeek]

This is a bid to get CPB funding in the next couple of years. Stations don't qualify for CPB if there are primarily students on the air.

It's a shame, WERS trained MANY successful broadcasters. What should have been done after 8pm is a version of WFUV's Alternate Side, or XPN's Xponential music to attract the college crowd.

The college is too busy renovating theaters to worry about radio anymore. Next comes the professional PM drive host, then middays, then evenings and the students are relegated to overnights and a few of the weekend shows.

Sad. It was something great for the students there, I know many Emerson grads/WERS alums that have great jobs because of WERS. Now, for almost $50k a year with room and board, they will be relegated to the back burner.

Completely agree with all the above statements except, tuition plus room & board is now more than $50k!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the current "Secret Spot" programming, but from the program descriptions I've read, is it safe to assume that evenings/overnights will basically be the Quiet Storm?

From the article, it looks like "Secret Spot" will be just 10 PM to 2 AM, then I assume it will be automated AAA overnights, as it has been, until George Knight's morning show.

Does management really think they're going to get money by changing their format nights from 10p-2a?

No, they think they're going to get money from having changed their evening format 7p-10p from reggae to a continuation of the daytime AAA.

 

[CTListener]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the current "Secret Spot" programming, but from the program descriptions I've read, is it safe to assume that evenings/overnights will basically be the Quiet Storm?

From the article, it looks like "Secret Spot" will be just 10 PM to 2 AM, then I assume it will be automated AAA overnights, as it has been, until George Knight's morning show.

Does management really think they're going to get money by changing their format nights from 10p-2a?

No, they think they're going to get money from having changed their evening format 7p-10p from reggae to a continuation of the daytime AAA.

That's pretty much what WUMB did a while back. They used to have shows like "World Cafe" or even local talk after 6 p.m., now they continue with their brand of AAA, which is much rootsier/folkier than WERS's and resembled little the music that was aired in the evenings. I can understand how fans of specialty shows would be upset. But as one who listens to WUMB a lot when I'm in the area (or even occasionally at work -- evenings -- via streaming) and goes way back to the WCAS days with folk/Americana, the extended hours are appreciated.

 

[WNTIRadio]

No, they think they're going to get money from having changed their evening format 7p-10p from reggae to a continuation of the daytime AAA.

The did not make any money from the reggae programming, that was a fact. I really think continuing the AAA format makes a lot of sense, it was quite jarring at 7pm, when there are still a lot of commuters in their cars to go from AAA to hard-core reggae.

My problem is the elimination of the students, if it continues down that road, not the elimination of programming that had little to do with the parent format. I was taught by many along the way that a specialty program should have some connection to the main format. This wasn't Bob Marley/Peter Tosh reggae, it was the modern stuff coming out of Jamaica.