• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Salem State University has surrendered the license of 91.7 WMWM Salem MA

It appears WMWM has finally pulled the plug (🚽RIP🙏): They were still on late morning-early (late?) afternoon yesterday, then when I checked early this morning (3am-ish), they were gone (just WUMB's xltr, with its half-second delay).
 
very sad... WMWM was the first college station I listened to, starting in 1977. It was introduction to a lot of great music, starting with my high school classmate Paul Greenberg's show. I knew a number of other DJs on there in the late 70s/early 80s--Scot Cooper, Depraved Dave Dodge, Chris Corkum and Carl D'Agostino, to name just a few... and Bob Nelson, of course (R.I.P.) Big loss to the local community.

(and, yes, I realize I haven't been here in a long time but I was trying to find out about WM. I should probably check in a bit more, eh?)
 
I wonder if the most ambitious (imperialistic, in the eyes of some) station of one of Massachusetts' state schools, UMass Boston' WUMB, will be cutting back or even leaving the air in the near future.
WUMB, though also at a state school, is a very different model from WMWM.
Though WUMB is at a college, I don’t call it a “college station”. No UMass students are on it. It’s a professional Public Radio station with a small fully paid staff, not volunteers. It’s no more a “college station” to UMass than WBUR is to BU.
It does on-air pledge drives at least a few times per year, and has some other local funding sources. How well it survives without CPB funding remains to be seen, but I doubt it will be going away in the foreseeable future.
I wouldn’t be surprised if WUMB applies to better fill in WMWM’s former broadcasting area with its own programming by either letting out the directional pattern of their Newburyport repeater WNEF to the south, or proposing another low-power repeater or translator on 91.7 in Salem.
 
I wouldn’t be surprised if WUMB applies to better fill in WMWM’s former broadcasting area with its own programming by either letting out the directional pattern of their Newburyport repeater WNEF to the south, or proposing another low-power repeater or translator on 91.7 in Salem.

Letting out the WNEF DA pattern is an option. Putting a new signal on 91.7 is not. There hasn't been a filing window for new full-power or translators on the NCE band in years.
 
WUMB, though also at a state school, is a very different model from WMWM.
Though WUMB is at a college, I don’t call it a “college station”. No UMass students are on it. It’s a professional Public Radio station with a small fully paid staff, not volunteers. It’s no more a “college station” to UMass than WBUR is to BU.
It does on-air pledge drives at least a few times per year, and has some other local funding sources. How well it survives without CPB funding remains to be seen, but I doubt it will be going away in the foreseeable future.
I wouldn’t be surprised if WUMB applies to better fill in WMWM’s former broadcasting area with its own programming by either letting out the directional pattern of their Newburyport repeater WNEF to the south, or proposing another low-power repeater or translator on 91.7 in Salem.
Before they moved the transmitter to Boston W279BQ was putting out a fairly good signal with 27 watts with transmitter at Highland Ave. Salem.
 
Before they moved the transmitter to Boston W279BQ was putting out a fairly good signal with 27 watts with transmitter at Highland Ave. Salem.
Looks like 103.7 was only there from about 7/26/10 to 8/11/11 before they moved to a driving range pole on route 1 in Saugus from 2011 until moving to the Hancock in 2016.
 
That was far from "full steam"....
lol, yes, that's pretty close to "no steam". i'm just referring to the fact that they're scheduling office hours and e-board meetings business as usual, and that there is a "be a DJ for Fall '25!" flyer next to the studio door.

these aren't things from 6 mos or a year ago, they were doing all this just last week even.
 
did the university actually "turn it in" or is it more like the FCC yanked it from their end and it caught everyone here off guard?

(stack of "final warning" notices piled up on someone's desk notwithstanding)
 
did the university actually "turn it in" or is it more like the FCC yanked it from their end and it caught everyone here off guard?

(stack of "final warning" notices piled up on someone's desk notwithstanding)

I'm not aware of the FCC taking any action. Unless someone reported the station to the FCC, they likely have no idea what's going on. All I know is what was reported in the OP:

Salem State University has surrendered the license of 91.7 WMWM Salem MA. The station has been silent since February due to a malfunctioning transmitter.

I can imagine the university made the decision at a board meeting, and had their lawyer carry it out. The students were on summer break, and were out of the loop. Now they're coming back and are becoming aware of the change. I suspect the first meeting they have scheduled for 9/17 should be interesting.

I'm not aware that the station did any streaming. I don't see a link on the station site. So if they want to become an online station, someone has to build the infrastructure from scratch.
 
I'm not aware of the FCC taking any action. Unless someone reported the station to the FCC, they likely have no idea what's going on. All I know is what was reported in the OP:



I can imagine the university made the decision at a board meeting, and had their lawyer carry it out. The students were on summer break, and were out of the loop. Now they're coming back and are becoming aware of the change. I suspect the first meeting they have scheduled for 9/17 should be interesting.

oic. i misunderstood the OP somewhat. i thought "FCC report" was like "FCC dictate" and that they (FCC) were now interpreting the extended silence as a surrender.

I'm not aware that the station did any streaming. I don't see a link on the station site. So if they want to become an online station, someone has to build the infrastructure from scratch.
wmwmonline has been around several years now.

well, maybe not this spring, but in general.
 
wmwmonline has been around several years now.

well, maybe not this spring, but in general.

That domain links to RacoonRollRadio and NorthofBostonRadio.com. It doesn't appear to be directly related to the station or the university.

I doubt the students have access to it. If they want to do online radio, it seems they will need to start from scratch.
 
it used to be. there was also

currently showing "station has stopped broadcasting".

So until the station resumes broadcasting, there will be no audio. Since the university has surrendered the license, there will be no more broadcasting on that frequency. Once again, if the students or the university want to initiate an online station, they will need to start from scratch.
 
still not sure what u mean "from scratch" or "build infrastructure".

they had terrestrial which they simulcast online for several years.

once they lost terrestrial, they didn't bother making stream-only shows. but they could have.

seems to me if they wish to resume, all they need to do is show up and push "turn on stream".
 
seems to me if they wish to resume, all they need to do is show up and push "turn on stream".

There is no such button.

Everything you posted appears to have been set up by the late Bob Nelson. Not the students or the university.

There are people who post here who knew Bob and likely know what will happen next.
 
There hasn't been a filing window for new full-power or translators on the NCE band in years.
Off subject, but do you think it is time to eliminate filing windows and go back to "file when you want if you want"?

I've always wondered what the real reasons for the creation of the windows was: I always associate this with the overall effects of Docket 80-90 and consolidation, but have never followed it closely.

This might be a subject of its own "Filing Windows: Cause, Effects and Needs" or somesuch.
 
i'm sure he meant well, but if bob hijacked the station's websites during their recent troubles, surely the station/school can reclaim them somehow?

he did tremendous things for that station; i'm sure he wouldn't want his legacy to be having locked them out of their own stream!
 
i'm sure he meant well, but if bob hijacked the station's websites during their recent troubles, surely the station/school can reclaim them somehow?
Mr. Nelson has been deceased for almost a year, so he could not have done much of anything recently. Their actual website was wmwmsalem.org, although I suspect they set that up after the school forced out the non-student volunteers.
 


Back
Top Bottom