Looking for a word

[notlob]

I am writing an article about area radio stations. What word(s) would you use to describe a station that has the following attributes?

• Receives funding from the federal (NPR affiliate, CPB grants) and state governments (cultural council and other grants), as well as corporate underwriting and the general public.
• Is licensed to a state university, but beyond interns and volunteers, there is no student involvement (no student-produced or hosted programs, no programs about university events).
  • Is run by a paid professional staff, including general manager, operations manager, program director and music director.
  • The music content is tightly controlled by the music director and general manager. Program hosts do not have freedom to produce their own program.
    • AAA format. Approximately 50% of the artists played are in repeated rotation; just 1-2 songs per CD release are selected for airplay. Program hosts read scripts containing “factoids” about the artists and songs.

 

[DToTheJ]

I would say the big local stations that fit most, if not all of the above criteria, would be WGBH and WBUR.

Okay, my turn: Which local radio station airs liberal talk programming, brokered gospel shows, and Spanish soccer play-by-play? ;D

But with all due respect, good luck with the article, I'm looking forward to it. Can I ask what the thesis is?

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

How about, professional staff with a public mandate?

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I would say the big local stations that fit most, if not all of the above criteria, would be WGBH and WBUR.

Neither one. WGBH is not University licensed. Neither one has a AAA music format.

That leaves one other University-based NPR affiliate Boston public radio station that you didn't mention that fits the above criteria perfectly.

 

[4CX1000A]

There is no public radio station in the Boston market with an AAA format. If you want one of those, go to Philadelphia and listen to WXPN.

As for university-owned stations run by professionals, there have been a lot of those in the history of radio. Cornell University owned and operated WHCU for many years as a regular commercial station (conversely, the student-operated station at Cornell, WVBR, is *not* owned by Cornell).

Closer to home, there are WFCR in Amherst, which is owned by the University of Masachusetts, and it is about to get a sister station, WNNZ.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

There is no public radio station in the Boston market with an AAA format. If you want one of those, go to Philadelphia and listen to WXPN.

Yes, there now is. A couple of years ago, WUMB changed from their longtime "Folk Radio" format to a somewhat folk/roots leaning AAA format called "WUMB Music Mix", and I had heard that they initially utilized the same NYC-based consultants as public radio AAA's WXPN in Philly and WFUV in NYC, when they similarly dropped their "City Folk" format for simply "WFUV Music".

If you look through the WUMB website, there is currently a job posting for an assistant PD, and clicking into the job description, it says it requires knowledge of AAA, Folk, and Americana music. WUMB is also recognized as a AAA station by the trade website http://www.triplearadio.com and has sent representatives to AAA radio conventions. They have also recently added personnel who had been on commercial AAA stations for their knowledge and experience with that format.

Browse the recent playlist archives on their site. It's mostly the "rootsier" end of what's currently being played on AAA stations, with some of the music from their former "Folk Radio" format mixed in.

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

Look beyond Boston, Eli.

Each of the state land grant universities in NE have non-com radio stations. Most have a professional manager, the tricky part is that most states also have a state run NPR network that is independent of a university.

I'm pretty sure there is something like what you seek out there.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Look beyond Boston, Eli. Each of the state land grant universities in NE have non-com radio stations. Most have a professional manager, the tricky part is that most states also have a state run NPR network that is independent of a university. I'm pretty sure there is something like what you seek out there.

I'm not seeking, I was responding to the original inquiry by notlob that started this thread.

This is the Boston board, not the New England board, so I assumed he was inquiring about public radio stations in greater Boston and eastern/central MA (the greater Boston market), not the larger New England area.

He was asking about a MA State university licensed Public Radio NPR and CPB affiliated station in the area (served by the Boston discussion board) that has no student hosted or produced programming, and has a (mostly) pre-programmed AAA music format. WUMB is the only station that fulfills all criteria in his original post. All other MA State university licensed stations in eastern and central MA (WUML, WUMD, WMWM, WDJM, WBIM, etc...) are not NPR affiliated, have no overriding daily format, and are hosted by (mostly) student DJ's who have full freedom to program their own music.

 

[DanStrassberg]

I am writing an article about area radio stations. What word(s) would you use to describe a station that has the following attributes?

• Receives funding from the federal (NPR affiliate, CPB grants) and state governments (cultural council and other grants), as well as corporate underwriting and the general public.

The adjective that nearly all, if not all, stations in the 88.1 to 91.9-MHz region of the FM band apply to themselves is public. I think WUMB et al call themselves public radio stations. But I am incensed about your focusing on the government funding. For most of these stations, funding from the Federal government represents a minimal share of operating budgets and by mentioning it in an article, you perpetuate a common public misconception about public radio and in so doing, you show your political colors. The only reason I can think of for pointing out the public finding aspects of WUMB's operation is that WUMB receives state as well as federal funds and the state funding may not be minimal.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I am writing an article about area radio stations. What word(s) would you use to describe a station that has the following attributes?

• Receives funding from the federal (NPR affiliate, CPB grants) and state governments (cultural council and other grants), as well as corporate underwriting and the general public.

The adjective that nearly all, if not all, stations in the 88.1 to 91.9-MHz region of the FM band apply to themselves is public.

Not true, most independent student-run and/or hosted college stations such as WMBR, WZBC, WMFO, WBRS, etc... do not refer to themselves as "public" because, whether literally or not, the term "public" has come to infer an affiliation with NPR, the CPB, etc... and many student run and/or independent community non-comm stations take pride in being autonomous and not affiliated with those networks/agencies.

I think WUMB et al call themselves public radio stations. But I am incensed about your focusing on the government funding. For most of these stations, funding from the Federal government represents a minimal share of operating budgets and by mentioning it in an article, you perpetuate a common public misconception about public radio and in so doing, you show your political colors. The only reason I can think of for pointing out the public finding aspects of WUMB's operation is that WUMB receives state as well as federal funds and the state funding may not be minimal.

Independent student college and/or community stations, especially those that are not licensed to a State school (such as WMBR, WZBC, WMFO, WBRS, etc...) get NO government funding. They exist on listener donations, some underwriting, and perhaps a stipend from their host University. Perhaps the host University as a whole may get some government funding in some cases, but the station itself is not directly government funded.

Professional Public Radio stations do get some Federal government funding via Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR grants, which are directly Federally (taxpayer) funded.

 

[uncamark]

The adjective that nearly all, if not all, stations in the 88.1 to 91.9-MHz region of the FM band apply to themselves is public. I think WUMB et al call themselves public radio stations. But I am incensed about your focusing on the government funding. For most of these stations, funding from the Federal government represents a minimal share of operating budgets and by mentioning it in an article, you perpetuate a common public misconception about public radio and in so doing, you show your political colors. The only reason I can think of for pointing out the public finding aspects of WUMB's operation is that WUMB receives state as well as federal funds and the state funding may not be minimal.

NPR doesn't give stations money, unless they're producing programs for the net--they just take the membership dues and license fees from the stations.

The thing is that this is our folk music record company owner who's pissed that WUMB is not playing his releases automatically and wants to throw fits over it, including his crackpot blog. He's in constant denial that the audience for folk music is slowly dying off and that WUMB had to make the changes it made in order to stay in business--not to mention get the CPB break on music licensing.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

NPR doesn't give stations money, unless they're producing programs for the net--they just take the membership dues and license fees from the stations.

That's actually correct about NPR, but the CPB may give grants to affiliated Public Radio stations that fulfill certain criteria at certain times when they ask for them. I believe one condition is that they must earmark the money for certain "improvement" purposes, which may include partial funding for technical upgrades, or may include paying consultants to (hopefully) boost ratings and thereby (hopefully) increase donations and underwriting to (hopefully) make the station more self-sufficient. If that doesn't work for the station, I don't know how often, or for how long, the CBP will renew or continue to provide that kind of support.