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Another Student Station Goes NPR

J

Joseph_Gallant

According to this article on Current.org (http://www.current.org/2013/08/tri-states-public-radio-to-operate-student-run-wvkc/ ), WVKC-90.7 in Galesburg, Illionois, operated until now as a student-programmed station 21 hours a day, will become a full-time NPR affiliate in mid-September.

WVKC's current programming will be available on an HD-2 subchannel, and on the station's website.

This is a development which quite frankly, I think the student programmers at Emerson College's WERS-88.9 in Boston should carefully watch, and yes, fear. Recently, the station put a professional announcer (longtime Boston radio personality George Knight) in morning drive, and in the case of WERS, it may only be a matter of time before student-produced programming is replaced by a 24/7 public radio station. Since Boston has two NPR news/information stations, WERS would likely be a professionally-programmed public radio station playing an Adult Album Alternative format, or "AAA"; most of WERS' current broadcast schedule consists of an AAA format broadcast by Emerson students.

By doing this, I suspect that WVKC will be eligible for funds from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting; I suspect that up here in Boston, WERS will "go public radio AAA" with a full professional staff to also qualify for CPB grants.
 
WVUD at the University of Delaware in Newark should be watching, too. The university already is part owner-operator of a public radio station in Dover, DE and it seems likely they'd move to expand that operation into the Wilmington market. Currently, the station is somewhat over-staffed for a town the size of Dover.
 
IN Boston, as long as WUMB is an NPR member AAA--and they got there first--WERS can't take that crown (and the audience is not big enough for two similar stations to begin with--and WERS beats WUMB in the PPMs, anyway).
 
uncamark said:
IN Boston, as long as WUMB is an NPR member AAA--and they got there first--WERS can't take that crown (and the audience is not big enough for two similar stations to begin with--and WERS beats WUMB in the PPMs, anyway).
Click to expand...

WUMB is not a student-operated station, programmed for students. It's a public radio station owned and operated by a university - like WBUR (and many others around the country).

Another alternative public radio station, WXPN in Philly, is owned and operated by the University of Pennsylvania. It was once a student station, until student antics almost cost the university the license. The university took the station away from students and it became a public station operated by gown-ups. The students now have an LPFM to play with.

Both LPFM and HD sub-channels are far better than letting students - high school or college - play radio with class A or B FM stations.
 
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