Nine State of New Jersey-owned non-commercial FMs are going on the auction block

[TimeIsTight]

The nine NJN non-commercial radio station licenses around the state are going up for auction and apparently will be sold to the highest bidders without regard for future format.

These are the stations and frequencies: WNJT, Trenton (88.1). WNJP, Sussex (88.5). WNJY, Netcong (89.3). WNJO, Toms River (90.3). WNJS, Berlin (88.1). WNJM, Manahawkin (89.9). WNJB, Bridgeton (89.3). WNJN, Atlantic City (89.7). And WNJZ, Cape May Court House (90.3).

Reportedly, there are already two well financed potential bidders, with some speculation being that they are non-commercial religious broadcasters.

That may mean that the current news and talk format's will disappear, and the original mandate of using the frequencies to provide listeners with New Jersey news may no longer mean anything.

Other potential non-commercial broadcasters mentioned include New York's WNYC, and Philly's WHYY, which could both extend their programming into areas where their city signals are hard to get. Example: WHYY may be interested in the Atlantic City frequency.

Other NJ based non-commercial broadcasters that might offer unique programming like Mercer County based classical network WWFM, or Hunterdon-based WDVR-FM have, unfortunately, not been mentioned.

The state plans to hold the NJN TV licenses and allow an outside non-profit organization to program them.

 

[TheBigA]

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That may mean that the current news and talk format's will disappear, and the original mandate of using the frequencies to provide listeners with New Jersey news may no longer mean anything.

What do you think? The state is in no position to make demands of new owners. The signals are dogs. It was a mistake for NJPB to start them in the first place. They should have focused on TV.

There are lots of minorities and community folks who'd love to have actual radio licenses, but they don't have the money. I've seen people complain about the lack of LPFM frequencies in NJ. Here's a chance to do better. But in Manahawkin? Who wants to broadcast there?

Good idea to hold on to the TV licenses, because anyone else would not follow the NJ mandate either.

 

[nd2023]

The Manahawkin station could be great for Jersey Shore Shuffle.

I wish they could mandate that the current NJN frequencies must go to local owners who live in the county they are located. Yes, even a local church could own a station and program a religious format. It would be best for a community group to own a station and provide as much local and state news as possible: live broadcasts of town meetings, appearances at local events, high school sports, etc.

 

[icybluelake]

My first reaction was to say, well, here's a Republican governor who generally believes that state government should do less, not be in certain businesses like public radio, and probably has it in for NPR anyway. Some of that may be true, I can't say I have any idea -- but I wasn't thinking about how viable/strong these signals might be. That's a valid point.

Yeah, times are tight, and it might not be a terrible time to put these signals on the market if indeed they don't really add much to public radio (e.g., NPR) coverage in the Garden State anyway. And then again, they may not end up in the hands of non-commercial religious broadcasters anyway, although that seems pretty predictable.

 

[TheBigA]

I wish they could mandate that the current NJN frequencies must go to local owners who live in the county they are located.

I agree, but I think it's a choice between getting the money for the frequencies, or enforcing the mandate.

The outside religious folks will pay more than local community groups.

 

[[email protected]]

Soo all that crap about "Jersey-Centric" programming was all just BS!!Such shame to sell of a grand old lady like NJN Radio. They would be better off to just give to Stockton College's affiliated services.

I cannot blame the State for not wanting any New Jersey State employees to operate any of it.

All this coming to The Richard Stockton College was my idea. I have the original email. Dr. Saatkamp thought it was a wonderful idea. After that Dr. Saatkamp went into action. He is a icon on how "make it better" and correct what is wrong. Creating a better way.

So the radio will be sold for a song. Such a shame. Non of that cash will be put in a escrow account for the owner's of the TV. Like Stockton College requested.

Think of fit Atlantic, Millennium, Costal...all can be bought in part or whole for $100 of the $1,000.

I wonder what will happen to the TV end of it all.

As I told a close dear friend who works now for NJN TV. When the Governor makes up his mind, he never changes his mind. "If it's hemergering cash he is going to rid of it."

I often wonder if were all sitting here in NJ going without while Gov. Christie positions him self to run for president? Even in the radio business.

 

[pab]

And, of course, the ones they're looking to sell are almost all South Jersey stations. Further proof of how we down here get the shaft from Trenton.

 

[fybush]

And, of course, the ones they're looking to sell are almost all South Jersey stations. Further proof of how we down here get the shaft from Trenton.

The stations they're looking to sell are the entire radio network. One might suggest that Trenton was focusing more on South Jersey than north when it built the network. (Or, more plausibly, that frequencies were much more available south than north by the time Trenton got around to building the radio network in the 90s...)

 

[TheBigA]

Or, more plausibly, that frequencies were much more available south than north by the time Trenton got around to building the radio network in the 90s...)

That's exactly correct. I did numerous frequency searches in North Jersey in the 80s, and there was nothing worth getting then.

 

[MattParker]

I suppose the state could impose a condition of sale that all the NJN stations remain public radio stations (qualified for CPB funding). I'd hate to see any more spectrum wasted on preachers and community soap box stations.

WWFM and WBGO would be likely and logical prospects to pick up NJN sticks to enhance existing coverage. So would WHYY-FM, WRTI and WXPN. The fact that NJN radio transmitters are mostly in South Jersey makes WNYC or WFUV less likely prospects.

And there's always the possibility that some college, university or independent foundation could take over the entire NJN radio group and continue to operate as New Jersey Public Radio. It's not unprecedented. A foundation was set-up to take over WNYC and WNYC-FM when the city government wanted to sell them.

 

[TheBigA]

I suppose the state could impose a condition of sale that all the NJN stations remain public radio stations (qualified for CPB funding).

They could, but they'd have to donate them, because neither of the stations in NJ have any money for such a purchase. The state is doing this to make money, so the main condition of sale needs to be money.

 

[kenglish]

They could make money selling the FM frequencies....then, move the programming to audio sub-channels on the Digital TV stations they own. Might even be possible to use the money to program additional formats.

Of course, this eliminates the "in-car" FM reception...unless they made it part of the Mobile. Pedestrian, Handheld format, and people listened on their iPhones.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

You folks in NJ are "on the ground" and have a better idea of what's going on with state finances. (Then again, maybe not. By the time all the political shouting you have endure locally is over, you may be highly confused. :-\ )

Here is the story we who are outside the "noise zone" are receiving: NJ, like several other states, is in horrible financial condition. (Can you say California?) The governor along with other leadership people he must work with and negotiate with are looking at having to lay off a lot of people. They are looking at having to reduce or take away food and health-care for children in the areas of poverty. He has schools to try to keep open. The big news that floats out our way is just unbelievable: stopping construction of the tunnel under the river! The future of the economy of the state may be significantly different if the tunnel were completed, but the cash isn't there!

And you guys really think he is going to sit up late at night worrying about what kind of programming will be transmitted by the tower of some NCE radio station that was built in the wrong place to begin with because better frequencies were not available. With kids about to go hungry he is going to schedule conferences to make sure that southern New Jersey is not short-sheeted as new operators are given access to these frequencies.

I like radio. No, I am FASCINATED by radio, but there are times when the smart choice might be to just shut them off, turn out the lights, lock the doors and come back five years from now and take the time to sell the real estate.

 

[MattParker]

You folks in NJ are "on the ground" and have a better idea of what's going on with state finances. (Then again, maybe not. By the time all the political shouting you have endure locally is over, you may be highly confused. :-\ )

Here is the story we who are outside the "noise zone" are receiving: NJ, like several other states, is in horrible financial condition. (Can you say California?) The governor along with other leadership people he must work with and negotiate with are looking at having to lay off a lot of people. They are looking at having to reduce or take away food and health-care for children in the areas of poverty. He has schools to try to keep open. The big news that floats out our way is just unbelievable: stopping construction of the tunnel under the river! The future of the economy of the state may be significantly different if the tunnel were completed, but the cash isn't there!

And you guys really think he is going to sit up late at night worrying about what kind of programming will be transmitted by the tower of some NCE radio station that was built in the wrong place to begin with because better frequencies were not available. With kids about to go hungry he is going to schedule conferences to make sure that southern New Jersey is not short-sheeted as new operators are given access to these frequencies.

I like radio. No, I am FASCINATED by radio, but there are times when the smart choice might be to just shut them off, turn out the lights, lock the doors and come back five years from now and take the time to sell the real estate.

The governor of NJ is a tea bagger and a political hack. Not that the latter is unusual in New Jersey, a state with a history of political stupidity and corruption. This guy hasn't shown much concern for saving taxpayer dollars when it involves his own expense account.

Part of Christie's "constituency" is the religious right - the same preachers, who'd love to get their hands on some additional radio frequencies. And you "community radio" activists have an ax to grind here, too.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

The governor of NJ is a tea bagger and a political hack. Not that the latter is unusual in New Jersey, a state with a history of political stupidity and corruption. This guy hasn't shown much concern for saving taxpayer dollars when it involves his own expense account.

O.K. Let's deviate from radio for just a minute: Are you saying there is money available to build the tunnel and there is money available to pay the pensions promised to state workers and there is adequate money to keep the schools operating and he doesn't need to make any of the draconian cuts he is talking about.

The governor of NJ is a tea bagger and a political hack.

And that makes him different from what many of us are enduring across the nation... how?

In defense of the "logic for priority" I spewed out earlier: let's assume NJ does have funds that are more adequate than the governor says are available, is the fight for all the other things I mentioned only equal to or secondary to the importance of keeping public radio owned by the state functioning? I still think schools and feeding hungry babies and paying pensions promised and building tunnels or whatever will help the long term economy of the state may be more worthy of causing people to "foam at the mouth" than the destiny of a few non-commercial radio stations.

 

[TimeIsTight]

Yes, New Jersey government is in a financial bind, a lot of it because governors for years have made promises that couldn't be kept long term and they kept kicking the can down the road to the next guy, and this guy came into office during a recession and has to deal with it.

Without going into all the reasons, numbers and details (this is a radio board) whatever the state gets for these radio stations is absolutely chump change. The state's problems are tens of billions of dollars in size, and all these radio stations together are probably worth low millions total. This is a state where school superintendents and sewer commissioners make several hundred thousand dollars a year, and then retire with pensions that are almost that much. That is a big part of the financial problem.

These radio stations can't cost that much to operate, they really don't originate any programming, and have one central, likely low paid, board operator in Trenton. They mostly carry NPR and PRI programs, an overnight feed from the public jazz station in Newark, and the audio from the NJN public TV news and public affairs shows. The stations all carry the same thing at the same time, and do not have local studios. The transmitters are probably on state land that costs nothing to use. Some of the stations are in places where other NPR programs aren't available on the air. And the state only contributes part of the funding of NJN TV and Radio, they still have membership drives, and get corporate funding like any other PBS TV or NPR affiliate. The state owns the licenses.

If you are not familiar with NJ broadcasting in general, it is a wealthy populous state with almost no local TV news because the VHF TV stations were almost all assigned to New York and Philly. NJN-TV was set up to provide local TV news to the 8-million NJ residents who didn't get much of it. NJN Radio is the only full time NPR type service in the state, again there are big NPR affiliates in NYC and Philly but their signals don't cover all of NJ, and the NJN radio signals do cover some of the otherwise unserved areas.

The concern with the programming is that parts of New Jersey might no longer get NPR type programming, when the state sells the stations to the highest bidder. There are no other frequencies available, so those parts of the state will be permanently shut out if the stations are sold to other types of non-profit broadcasters. The original mandate of bringing otherwise unavailable news and information programming to state residents will not be kept.

Had a governor not made this sudden decision to sell the stations during a financial crisis and recession it would have been much more likely that a local non-profit could have been created to buy and take over both the NJN TV and radio operations.

In New York City, some years ago, Mayor Rudy Giuliani decided to sell WNYC AM & FM. A foundation was formed, money was raised, the stations were sold to the foundation by the city, and the stations have thrived since. In better times and with more time to plan, the same kind of success story would likely be possible in NJ, but instead this is more like a penny panic situation, as far as the NJN radio stations are concerned.

 

[TheBigA]

These radio stations can't cost that much to operate, they really don't originate any programming, and have one central, likely low paid, board operator in Trenton.

Part of the reason why these stations won't be missed when they go.

They key problem with NJPBA is all the state employees who contribute to the huge pension problem that Christie is stuck with. He's got to get rid of them. They're easier to fire than teachers and State Police. So they're gone. The state land the transmitters sit on require state employees to do maintenance. There are endless costs to the operation as long as its run by the state, and in typical NJ fashion, there's been a lot of feather-bedding over the years to where it's just one huge disaster.

The state screwed itself here. Yes it's a shame that this rich and populous state is in such a condition, but no one took the initiative to fix things when they could. Political opportunism, coupled with basic stupidity by the voters, who kept voting hacks into office year after year. So it means the state loses resources that could have been used to serve the citizens. Whose fault is that?

There is a NJPB Foundation that is like the WNYC Foundation, that should be given custody of the TV stations. But the radio stations are a waste and should never have been started to begin with.

 

[TimeIsTight]

But the radio stations are a waste and should never have been started to begin with.

They are only a "waste" if you live in a part of New Jersey where you don't have to rely on them to bring you NPR programs that are available in most other parts of the country.

For New Jersey residents in places like Cape May, Atlantic City and other towns along the South Jersey shore, NPR goes away if these stations don't broadcast it. The same can be said in Sussex, and to the west of Hackettstown in the North. NPR does offer unique national programming and New Jersey residents should be able to receive it just like their fellow citizens in other states.

These transmitters are already in place and have to be cheap to operate, let's hope the two biggest bidders are WHYY covering the South and WNYC covering the North and the kind of programming stays the same over the long term.

The Trenton station WNJT is overlapped by WHYY, and might be the only station that could be considered "a waste."

 

[TheBigA]

But the radio stations are a waste and should never have been started to begin with.

They are only a "waste" if you live in a part of New Jersey where you don't have to rely on them to bring you NPR programs that are available in most other parts of the country.

That's tough. Look that part of NJ got along just fine without NPR programming until 1999. And there are more pine trees than people in most of those towns. There were better frequencies available in 1980. If there had been interest and concern in the south as there was in Newark, someone would have obtained a better and more efficient license to cover the area. The people in Newark begain their project of creating New Jersey's first public radio station in 1977. And they did it without state help. Why did it take so long for the second one to come along? Lack of leadership. The same thing that's causing these stations to be thrown away.

 

[TheBigA]

let's hope the two biggest bidders are WHYY covering the South and WNYC covering the North and the kind of programming stays the same over the long term.

This is why NJ has become a dumping ground for NY and Philly. The people of the state can't get their own act together, and have to depend on the charity of the two big gorillas. And then wonder why they can't get coverage of local issues. That's why it's with such pride that NJ101.5 can proclaim: "Not New York, Not Philadelphia, our OWN radio station." Too bad a state this size can only support one.