NJN Final Broadcast

[TheBigA]

WMGM can only do what it can afford to do because it is commercial. If the support isn't there to support it then the public cannot be that interested.

Or the ownership has decided it would rather keep the money for itself. I don't recall a clause in the FCC R&Rs that exempt stations from serving the public if it doesn't get good ratings.

 

[hubcity]

Which brings me to the the question why you aren't leading the charge against the FCC and WH taking OTA TV's bandwidth? I guess because it is a liberal cause and that makes it okay.

And that's how I know this is not an argument worth getting into. Dealing with the facts is one thing; extrapolating a political lean from someone else's position on broadcasting (that, by the way, you've only assumed) both undercuts your argument and exposes the fact that the one with an agenda is you.

I think the general position on this message board is that "good broadcasting is good". And I'll define that as being worth the money you're paying, and you *are* paying, one way or another. You pay for commercial radio via each company's advertising budget's hit on the revenues from every product you buy; think you'll get much traction arguing for that spending to go down?

NJN Radio probably didn't qualify as "good broadcasting" - it sure didn't get me to tune in, so I certainly wasn't getting direct value for money spent. But I also have enough pride in my state to feel that it's in our best interest to have good broadcasting coming from within our borders, and that it's the state's job to promote that interest.

(Strangely enough, that means the best value I ever got out of NJN was when they aired The Uncle Floyd Show...there's no way anyone could call that show "not New Jersey enough". Unless you're from South Jersey...)

 

[TheBigA]

They also would broadcast Rutgers Football.

 

[pab]

I think we can all agree that NJN radio was not good broadcasting, and that the only real benefit that ever came from the state grabbing those frequencies is that it kept Harold Camping, Christofascist Broadcasting Network, and other Pray-Per-View outfits from taking them.

WMGM does good news in two counties, middling-to-poor news in two others, and no news at all in the other four "Southern" counties. WNJS should have covered those three since its old analog signal was a real powerhouse throughout them but programmed from Trenton -- where I'd bet seven out of 10 people (the legislature included) don't even know that there IS such a place as Salem County and only know Camden County from the Norcross Machine, the Riversharks, and the murder rate -- it never had a chance. Now programmed from Manhattan -- where no one knows of Gloucester, Cumberland, Camden, Burlington, Atlantic, or Cape May Counties (and probably don't even know more than one or two of the other 15 either) -- it's going to get even worse.

I'd wanted to try and get some other broadcasting cast-offs together for nearly a decade to try and get the FCC to bring back the deleted non-com allotment from Atlantic City on either Channel 2 in Vineland or Channel 51 from Wildwood, but now I'm wondering if it might not be a better idea to get people together to oppose relicensing WNJS to the State of New Jersey.

 

[TheBigA]

I think we can all agree that NJN radio was not good broadcasting, and that the only real benefit that ever came from the state grabbing those frequencies is that it kept Harold Camping, Christofascist Broadcasting Network, and other Pray-Per-View outfits from taking them.

My view is that it was a huge mistake for NJN to get into radio. It took money and attention away from TV. The only radio station that had any potential was Trenton. New Jersey has numerous non-commercial college radio stations that have much better signals. But NJN wanted to reinvent the wheel, and it costs way to much to do that.

 

[MickeyD]

WMGM can only do what it can afford to do because it is commercial. If the support isn't there to support it then the public cannot be that interested.

Or the ownership has decided it would rather keep the money for itself. I don't recall a clause in the FCC R&Rs that exempt stations from serving the public if it doesn't get good ratings.

Since deregulation, I haven't seen anything in the R&Rs that actually force a station to serve the public interest. Stations are allowed to drop their news programming and many do. When it becomes unprofitable it will go away.

 

[TheBigA]

Since deregulation, I haven't seen anything in the R&Rs that actually force a station to serve the public interest. Stations are allowed to drop their news programming and many do. When it becomes unprofitable it will go away.

Which is why public broadcasting is necessary. No profit motive.

 

[Jefferson]

As an epilogue to the inherent (non)legacy of the former NJN radio transmitters, I listened to WHYY's Morning Edition this morning and they aired a 10+ minute segment on the Marcellus Shale impact on 911 Dispatch Reporting in Tioga and Bradford Counties in northern PA (right next to the New York state border). To be honest, I really can't see why this would be of any interest to a listener in the southern NJ areas let alone even the state of Delaware. Yes, there is sort of a regional concern in the mid-atlantic area, but give me a break.

Economic and environmental impacts on businesses and services in a remote and rural PA region doesn't seem to be all that relevant for people nearly 200-300 miles away, right?

 

[TimeIsTight]

To be honest, I really can't see why this would be of any interest to a listener in the southern NJ areas let alone even the state of Delaware. Yes, there is sort of a regional concern in the mid-atlantic area, but give me a break.

I didn't hear the report, but I really can't think of a topic that should be more of interest to anybody who lives near the Delaware River and gets their drinking water from it, as many do.

The fracking process for getting the shale gas is extremely water polluting, and that upstate Pennsylvania, and New York State fracking pollution would run right into the Delaware. Drink up and get sick?

The gas itself is not only an economic engine for the drilling area, but will make cooking and heating gas and electricity cheaper for all the rest of us in the region. But because of the pollution and wasted water problem the whole idea is controversial.

This is a major story for the entire area, that everybody here should be aware of. It belonged on WHYY for sure, and you are going to be hearing more about it as time, and the controversy, goes on.

 

[robaustin]

ANyone know which station is handling WNJT Trenton's live material now? Wes (I did not catch his last name) - who was doing the news yesterday afternoon on WNJT in between NPR segments was not good - and I'm being kind. He repeatedly flubbed words, has horrible pronunciation (February was pronounced "Feb-err-aruh") and he even messed up the time. THE TIME.

Just horrible....

--*Rob

 

[Zackster]

You heard Wes Hall, long time NJN host. He was there for many years, sounds like an old timer
and I have heard him say he's "from the south" possibly an African-American (as I am)
From what I can tell, the Trenton station is still the old NJN, although WHYY has taken over
the Southern stations. 88.1 in Berlin overlaps with 88.1 in Trenton from about Medford
to Bordentown on Route 206. In fact, the Berlin station comes in clearly in the tunnel
in Trenton by the ballpark and the Trenton station doesn't. When they simulcast, you
never knew, now it's a mess.

 

[TheBigA]

WNJT is now owned by New York Public Radio (although still awaiting FCC approval.) They say they are keeping it (and the other 3 northern stations they bought) "as is" until the fall, when they'll make changes.

 

[deepstblu]

ANyone know which station is handling WNJT Trenton's live material now? Wes (I did not catch his last name) - who was doing the news yesterday afternoon on WNJT in between NPR segments was not good - and I'm being kind. He repeatedly flubbed words, has horrible pronunciation (February was pronounced "Feb-err-aruh") and he even messed up the time. THE TIME.

That would be Wes Hall--he's a holdover from NJN. I don't know if they're still using the old NJN Trenton studios or what.