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farewell WCEB

J

JakeLongwell

Sadly, we can delete one more station from the ever shrinking list of class D educational FM broadcasters.

According to Scott Fybush, the FCC deleted the license of WCEB (91.9), the 15-watt radio voice of Corning Community College. While I am no expert on FCC policy, I assume once a license is deleted, all hope of ever getting back on the air is lost.

Needless to say, I am deeply saddened by this development. While I am sure few people in Corning ever knew this little station existed during it's nearly 40 years on the air, I still cannot help but wonder what this station could have become. What it could have done for the community. If only the right people had taken the right steps to keep it going.

I spoke with someone in the media department at the college a little over a year ago. I was interested in working with WCEB to bring about some community radio programming in the crystal city. That is when I learned that the station was off the air, and that the license had expired. I was told that they did not know the proper procedure for renewing the license, and that it was doubtful the station would ever come back to the airwaves. I guess they were right.

Of course, with the impending sign on of WRFI in Watkins Glen on the same frequency, it's likely WCEB would have had to go dark anyway. Though I can't help but wonder if something else could have been worked out to find a new home for the station in the commercial portion of the dial.

While I was never involved with the station, I remember hearing it on several occasions in the 80s and 90s when it was very active. The students took the operation of this little class D station very seriously. This apparently was not the case in recent years.

The southern tier still has one class D FM signal on the air. WECW (107.7) at Elmire College. I heard this station recently, playing automated metal music no less. Let us hope that EC has their act together enough to keep the license active, and to renew it properly when the time comes.

As for WCEB, I guess the best we could hope for is that the college could apply for a new LPFM license when/if there is ever a new filing window.
 
The number of college kids interested in radio these days is infinitesimal. Considering the costs of running an OTA station, and the media habits of college-aged consumers, most colleges would be better off streaming on-line or offering podcasts.

An educational station does offer the institution an opportunity to extend their reach to the community, but once again their website has a wider audience available than a pea-shooter signal, and at far less cost. The only people who aren't likely to have access to it - people who don't have high-speed Internet access - are the people who are most likely to need it, and the people least likely to seek that content out.
 
You bring up some good points, Rox.

But I have to ask, is it really that costly to operate a class D signal. One which, I might add, did not stream online.

Had I known there was si little interest in the station, I would have formed a new non profit group to purchase the license from the college. Perhaps the station could have been turned into an independent radio voice for the area.

Too late now...
 
This is sad.....I would have been willing to help them get their license renewed gratis had I known. I did a number of College renewals on the last cycle. To keep a Class D on the air costs so little its mind boggling. Maybe $200 a month assuming a few students would volunteer to help. A college station is not required to operate during breaks also; they could have stayed off during the summer and fall and spring and xmas breaks. The new Watkins Glen FM may not have bumped this. Now that the license is deleted its likely gone for good. Maybe a 10 w LPFM when a window opens?

KF
 
Not good; however, probably the sign of things to come. With the budget issues hitting the educational institutions hard (and I mean real hard! :mad:); I highly doubt that radio is one of the priorities of any educational institution. Even if the "cuts" proposed by the gov. actually "come back"; my guess is the funding will go elsewhere. Plus, with internet; satellite, "You-tube", etc. kids can obtain music and info elsewhere. Even though its cheap; $200 is $200 and it adds up. There are other programs and unfunded mandates that demand funding. I wish it were different; and this is the reality of the situation. Its a damn shame; not only do college/univ. stations provide a local "voice"; they are also good "teethcutting" places for jocks (trust me; my teeth are almost non-existent! :eek:)

At the risk of highjacking this thread; I wanted to provide kudos to the Mansfield Univ. station. They do a pretty good job there. I like to listen to them when I am there. As radio should be; the college jocks appear to have true freedom. They mix local/college events with a variety of music. A real eclectic selection of music-heck I heard Deep Purple "Stormbringer" for the first time in about 20 years! ;).

Sorry to hijack the thread; and I hope that there is a future for college radio. I hope some way that funding can be allocated to maintain these very important local links. As cheesy as it would sound; I'd even support a car wash or some other bizarre fund raiser! Why not? The athletic teams do this all the time.
 
This is a great discussion. Glad to see there is some real interest in the unfortunate demise of this little station.

For what it may be worth... I wonder if there might be any way the license could be reinstated, if it could be shown that there is still some interest in the station among the college community, and if it could be explained that the reason the license wasn't renewed on time was because the school didn't have anyone on staff who was qualified in that department. I have heard of licenses being deleted, then reinstated again. Though I am sure the circumstances were far, far different.

Something worth pondering anyway.
 
Congress passed this rule about 10 years ago that if any licensed station was off-air for more than 1 year the license was lost. The only allowance is act of god (as in Hurricane Katrina) for example. They really inforce this rule. Unless an act of god, the chances are slim and none, sadly.
 
That's what I was afraid of. And that is unfortunate, as I spoke with the director of student life (the department that oversaw the radio station). He told me they are very serious about doing whatever is needed to get the license reinstated. It seems they just hired someone that knows something about radio, and they are going to try to submit a request to the FCC and see what comes of it. While it sounds to me like a lost cause, I'm still holding out some hope for them.
 
Hopefully, not quite yet. (was Re: farewell WCEB)

JakeLongwell said:
That's what I was afraid of. And that is unfortunate, as I spoke with the director of student life (the department that oversaw the radio station). He told me they are very serious about doing whatever is needed to get the license reinstated. It seems they just hired someone that knows something about radio, and they are going to try to submit a request to the FCC and see what comes of it. While it sounds to me like a lost cause, I'm still holding out some hope for them.
Click to expand...

I believe that something can be done to help them regain their license. Obviously, this was an honest accident on behalf of the person in charge. I have left a voice-mail with the head of Student Life to contact someone I know who knows what to do to help them regain their license. It's happened before with WMHB in Maine several years ago. Same issue, someone forgot to finish their application for renewal properly. Hopefully, something can be done. Don't count out WCEB quite yet. If they want, I can send them in the right direction.


Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts

[email protected]
 
For radio geeks and veterans like me, it's unconscionable that the license for WCEB was allowed to expire and fade away into that good night. Is this not an indictment of the college's directors? Ingnorance of the rules is hardly an acceptable defense, especially given the information available on the FCC's website.

An FM station is a great asset and promotional tool for a college. An FM license allows a college to promote the institution's curriculum, faculty, sports programs as well as serve the college and community.

My fervor in this matter may result from having gone to a college which at the time (the paleolithic era) had only a carrier current AM staffed by students who would have cut off their pinkies to have even a low power FM license. As it happened that FM came years later when most of those carrier current crazies were working in commercial radio by that time.

Kudos to Kevin Fitzgerald (partner of my former PD, the legendary George Hawras) for his contributions assisting in renewing college FMs.
 
Don't count them out quite yet. WCEB already has applied to renew their license and update the ownership report, and has done so within the time window of the deletion notice. It's quite possible they'll face a NAL, but they should keep their license. I've talked to the guy in the administration who runs the station a couple of times in the past, and I rang him up again today to let him know that if there's anything I can do to help, all he has to do is ask. Us little college stations gotta stick together! :) Well, okay, WEOS is not a little college station, but WHWS is. ;D

I'm actually going down to Corning in a few weeks on an unrelated trip, but I'm hoping to wheedle a studio tour out of it. I'll bring the camera for ya Scott! :D
 
Glad to see so many supporting such a cause. I don't collect a paycheck from the biz anymore, but I'd love to find a place like that to volunteer my time if they'd have me. I've still got the itch!
 
I understand where you're coming from, Pickle. I only worked in commercial radio for a short time, and when my "career" came to an abrupt end, it was nice to find a station in my area that would let me on their air to share the music I love with anyone who would listen, and at no charge. I've been a volunteer broadcaster for nearly seven years now, and proud of it.

As I said before, I tried to persuade the people at CCC who ran WCEB to open their doors to community members during "off hours". But I was given a very resounding "NO" both times, even when I suggested that the community programming could originate from a different studio off campus.

Still, I would love to see this little station remain active. For while I wish there were more hybrid college/community radio stations out there, especially in areas like Corning and Elmira, I also understand why in most cases, it simply can't be done.

I'm glad there are stations like WEOS/WHWS that make some exceptions in order to air some diverse programming from ordinary members of their community of license.

(Ok. I'll end this post now before it starts to look like I'm trying to score extra points with the management or something).
 
JakeLongwell said:
I understand where you're coming from, Pickle. I only worked in commercial radio for a short time, and when my "career" came to an abrupt end, it was nice to find a station in my area that would let me on their air to share the music I love with anyone who would listen, and at no charge. I've been a volunteer broadcaster for nearly seven years now, and proud of it.

As I said before, I tried to persuade the people at CCC who ran WCEB to open their doors to community members during "off hours". But I was given a very resounding "NO" both times, even when I suggested that the community programming could originate from a different studio off campus.

Still, I would love to see this little station remain active. For while I wish there were more hybrid college/community radio stations out there, especially in areas like Corning and Elmira, I also understand why in most cases, it simply can't be done.

I'm glad there are stations like WEOS/WHWS that make some exceptions in order to air some diverse programming from ordinary members of their community of license.

(Ok. I'll end this post now before it starts to look like I'm trying to score extra points with the management or something).
Click to expand...

It's "good business" for a college non-com to establish a rapport with the community by having lay men and women participate on and off the air in a well-measured manner. WCVF at Fredonia State has established such a relationship and it yields many benefits for the station and the community. In the summer months when the campus is sparsely populated, volunteers from the local community help keep the station on the air and operating true to the station's mission.
 
Absolute shame. I developed a real radio ego trip during my brief time at WCEB (and other stations along the way). Still, some good points have been brought up about the need for CCC to be "on the air." I think the station ought to keep some kind of "broadcasting" club and run a streaming station. It's fairly inexpensive and the kids with some interest in it would have a blast.
 
DelusionOfGrandeur said:
Absolute shame. I developed a real radio ego trip during my brief time at WCEB (and other stations along the way). Still, some good points have been brought up about the need for CCC to be "on the air." I think the station ought to keep some kind of "broadcasting" club and run a streaming station. It's fairly inexpensive and the kids with some interest in it would have a blast.
Click to expand...

Why not pirate? Everyone in NYC and North Jersey is doing it and is still operating for over 3 years.
 
Why not pirate? Everyone in NYC and North Jersey is doing it and is still operating for over 3 years.
Click to expand...

A government-run college running a pirate radio station that might be busted by the government? Wouldn't that cause some kind of causality feedback loop that rips a hole in the space-time bureaucracy? ;D

Seriously, though...a lot of us at WTBU used to think we should just fire up a pirate transmitter and go for it, given that "what would the FCC do to a bunch of poor little college kids??" Our advisor wisely counseled us that it wasn't our ass on the line - it was Boston University's, who would in turn drop the hammer pretty hard on us (bye-bye diploma!) when...not if...when we got busted. Not long after, we heard about Babson College's pirate radio station getting busted, and Wentworth College's pirate radio station getting busted and the trouble those students got into, and we decided discretion was the better part of valor. ::)
 
Back in 1986 - 1987 I use to program/run WCEB. It was a great radio station to run. It's a shame what has happened to it, in the past few years. I have offered to help them out ingetting it back up and running and given them ideas on how to make it a good working station. I have posted the letter to the president of CCC that I sent him a few years ago at http://www.bilancio.org/archives/2009/03/rip-wceb.ht

Here's hoping that they get there license back.
 
The FCC has granted WCEB's Special Temporary Authority (BLSTA-20090316ABQ) to keep broadcasting while the FCC evaluates their license renewal application. My professional guesstimate is that the FCC probably will grant the renewal. The question is how big a fine they'll levy for the various "issues" WCEB reported in their renewal app.

I don't know if anyone noticed, WECW at Elmira College also went through a similar process, although the FCC granted their STA several months ago.
 
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