WCSB Flips to Jazz

[TheBigA]

On Tuesday, Ideastream is hosting a live discussion between Ideastream/JazzNeo Reps, CSU reps and "WCSB administrators" whatever that entails. CSB Program Directors? General Manager? (Whom is very, very passionate about WCSB) Who knows. They will be taking questions from viewers and such as well Could be interesting... maybe

It's a good idea. This whole story has been driven by one side: The students. People haven't heard from the university. They're the ones who made this decision. Ideastream doesn't want to piss off donors. They seem to be willing to work with the students. I think it'll be a good show and will lead to the next step.

We know that the university isn't going back to what was there. They want out of radio. The question is: Will the students compromise? We'll find out.

 

[Rusty Muck]

It's a good idea. This whole story has been driven by one side: The students. People haven't heard from the university. They're the ones who made this decision. Ideastream doesn't want to piss off donors. They seem to be willing to work with the students. I think it'll be a good show and will lead to the next step.

We know that the university isn't going back to what was there. They want out of radio. The question is: Will the students compromise? We'll find out.

The roundtable has been posted on Ideastream's website and will be rebroadcast on WKSU tonight at 9pm ET. Former WCSB GM Alison Bomgardner was in-studio alongside Ideastream CEO Kevin Martin and CSU president Laura Bloomberg about 15 minutes in.

CSU, Ideastream leaders address controversy over switch from student-run WCSB to JazzNEO

The two organizations entered into an operating agreement on Oct. 3 to switch the format of 89.3 WCSB to the new terrestrial home of Ideastream's 24/7 jazz service. The decision and communication to students has been criticized by fans of WCSB.

www.ideastream.org

 

[MediaLover]

Kevin Martin is speaking on the City Club of Cleveland right now as of this posting on WKSU and WCPN. Interesting to see how the WCSB/XCSB fan base will respond.

 

[geoffpeters]

However you feel about the WCSB situation-(I like JazzNEO, but wish they had not ended up with OTA signal in this fashion)...the question that doesn't seem to be asked is-how many of the hosts were actual students and how many were community volunteers? By all accounts-the station was heavy on volunteers and very light on students... If CSU thought that not enough students were benefiting from the station, and it was more a place for people to just have a radio show, not matter how good...you could understand why they bailed. If the only way the station was remaining on-air was by relying on community volunteers, one could wonder why student activity fees were being used to pay for this outlet...

..again, if I am wrong about this breakdown I will happily stand corrected

 

[TheBigA]

By all accounts-the station was heavy on volunteers and very light on students...

That's what I understand. In the roundtable, the student GM said there were 40 students total, including trainees. But about 300 people on staff. The station received funds from the student activity fee. So every student paid for an activity that only 40 students used.

 

[MediaLover]

The latest on the Ideastream-CSU-WCSB/XCSB saga:
https://www.ideastream.org/communit...ng-at-city-club-as-wcsb-protest-roils-outside
Ideastream CEO addresses public media defunding at City Club as WCSB protest roils outside

I don't see any of the anger dying down anytime soon.

 

[b-turner]

Let's identify the elephant in the room: those who do, do. Those what don't complain about those who do.

All this time and energy could be had getting an online station bolstered (or on air as some say they stream and others say they don't) and possibly leasing an AM station instead of spending their time trying to tear something down. It's this sort of action that makes me worry about where this country might be in a decade or two. We need more folks who see beyond the present, decide to build instead of complain and people who don't expect things they did not earn.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The latest on the Ideastream-CSU-WCSB/XCSB saga:
Ideastream CEO addresses public media defunding at City Club as WCSB protest roils outside
Ideastream CEO addresses public media defunding at City Club as WCSB protest roils outside

I don't see any of the anger dying down anytime soon.

How many of those protesters were actual students? That protest was basically astroturfed via "XCSB"'s Facebook page over the past few days with the express goal of undermining the City Club. The anger feels heavily manufactured.

I'm sorry but this validates @TheBigA 's belief that these are a bunch of spoiled children. I'll go one step further and say they are purposefully vindictive in addition to being incredibly petty. I can't say I have any sympathy for them.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Let's identify the elephant in the room: those who do, do. Those what don't complain about those who do.

All this time and energy could be had getting an online station bolstered (or on air as some say they stream and others say they don't) and possibly leasing an AM station instead of spending their time trying to tear something down. It's this sort of action that makes me worry about where this country might be in a decade or two. We need more folks who see beyond the present, decide to build instead of complain and people who don't expect things they did not earn.

That's the thing, they don't care. They don't even really want the radio station back because they know it's not coming back. They would rather burn down all bridges with napalm while Alison Bomgardner can go to radio industry conferences across the country and publicly assail the very university she is attending.

Cleveland State needs to lay down the law on all of them. Which as a state-run university and a former alum, I would insist they do this right away. Banish the organization that operated WCSB and expel participants in this if necessary.

 

[geoffpeters]

How many of those protesters were actual students? That protest was basically astroturfed via "XCSB"'s Facebook page over the past few days with the express goal of undermining the City Club. The anger feels heavily manufactured.

I'm sorry but this validates @TheBigA 's belief that these are a bunch of spoiled children. I'll go one step further and say they are purposefully vindictive in addition to being incredibly petty. I can't say I have any sympathy for them.

I will say, just by looking at the pics posted on XCSB's FB page...the protestors skewed heavily older

 

[Rusty Muck]

I will say, just by looking at the pics posted on XCSB's FB page...the protestors skewed heavily older

I would hazard a guess that next to no one in that group were actual students. If I were "XCSB" I'd be heavily embarrassed because they are unintentionally validating the belief that no one on the campus actually cared or listened, just old people and/or people with no ties to the campus.

 

[fybush]

I think you've made your stance on this very clear by now, Nathan.

 

[Yabadabado1]

As I said earlier, it would have been nice of the CSU president and company to tell them "You have 6 months to find alternative funding for the station and/or receive the license from us so it can be run ON ITS OWN without using university funds. If you haven't done so by then we'll sell/rent the signal out to somebody else" You probably wouldn't have so many angry students/volunteers if they had been given that option. If they failed they could have said "Well, at least we tried." and maybe let it go. I'd be mad too if someone showed up at my workplace with no notice and police in tow and tell me to get out without explaining why. So the university "F"d this up big time with their heavy handed tactics. How did they not think that this would blow up in their faces?

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

Wonder how much it would cost for the ex student operators of WCSB to buy the license. If they're serious about wanting the station back the only way would be to purchase that license from the school. It's been done before. Maybe CSU can "cut them a break", get rid of the thing and make a little extra cash along the way.

Probably work out a deal for tower rent on the existing site.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Wonder how much it would cost for the ex student operators of WCSB to buy the license. If they're serious about wanting the station back the only way would be to purchase that license from the school. It's been done before. Maybe CSU can "cut them a break", get rid of the thing and make a little extra cash along the way.

Probably work out a deal for tower rent on the existing site.

Even if they somehow did that, they'd still wind up like KDHX in St. Louis. Which was sold to a Godcaster because of money issues.

 

[Yabadabado1]

Even if they somehow did that, they'd still wind up like KDHX in St. Louis. Which was sold to a Godcaster because of money issues.

If that happened, so be it. There are plenty of other "left end" of the dial stations that have been pretty successful and haven't had to sell off to a "Godcaster". From what I heard in the past [10-15 years ago, I think] that the Sunday Oldies Jukebox had 3 times the listeners that WMJI had as an "Oldies" station. And that's at 680 watts to WMJI's 16,000 watts. No access to ratings so can't verify if true or not.
And WSTB's main format as "The Alternation" is pretty damn good also.

 

[TheBigA]

Wonder how much it would cost for the ex student operators of WCSB to buy the license. If they're serious about wanting the station back the only way would be to purchase that license from the school.

You realize the university has already made the deal it wanted to make. It made it for a reason. It wanted to provide the students with academic experience. which they weren't really getting at WCSB.

How much money did the students raise in their last fundraiser? They'd need millions to do this.

Here's one recent example I found:

WCSB 89.3FM Radiothon 2024

Help Cleveland State University raise $60,000 for the project: WCSB 89.3FM Radiothon 2024. Your gift will make a difference!

crowdfunding.csuohio.edu

 

[davideduardo]

If that happened, so be it. There are plenty of other "left end" of the dial stations that have been pretty successful and haven't had to sell off to a "Godcaster". From what I heard in the past [10-15 years ago, I think] that the Sunday Oldies Jukebox had 3 times the listeners that WMJI had as an "Oldies" station. And that's at 680 watts to WMJI's 16,000 watts. No access to ratings so can't verify if true or not.
And WSTB's main format as "The Alternation" is pretty damn good also.

I think what you are looking at is "share" for a Sunday low listening period compared to a full time station competing all week.

A 20 share on Sunday evening is about the same number of people as a 1 share in either weekday drive time.

 

[b-turner]

$27,435 seems to be the amount realized from their prior fundraiser. That is a very small amount. 630 watts would be cheap but 374 feet up on a tower, if owned, would have to be kept painted and lit and things change. I doubt you could pay utilities on that amount, forget everything else. WCSB, it appears, by dollars is not as popular and loved by the masses they claim.

 

[Rusty Muck]

If that happened, so be it. There are plenty of other "left end" of the dial stations that have been pretty successful and haven't had to sell off to a "Godcaster". From what I heard in the past [10-15 years ago, I think] that the Sunday Oldies Jukebox had 3 times the listeners that WMJI had as an "Oldies" station. And that's at 680 watts to WMJI's 16,000 watts. No access to ratings so can't verify if true or not.

The Sunday Oldies Jukebox exists so WSTB can be operational seven days a week and the song selection is never going to be controversial. It's not even block programming as the hosts work with each other and it's a cohesive presentation.

And WSTB's main format as "The Alternation" is pretty damn good also.

Unless I'm mistaken, it is operated by the Streetsboro City School District as direct curriculum for high school students. It's not a student organization like WCSB was.