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WCSB Flips to Jazz
- Thread starter Delete My Account
- Start date
What I'm hearing from this is there are high school radio stations that could likely benefit by combining what they're doing with what the students at CSU were doing. Am I wrong? Keep the high school students on during the day, bring in the college students at night. Assuming there's a commitment from these local school boards to continue these stations with students.
The question is how can scarce resources be better utilized to benefit the community?
If the CSU students were the ones interesting in broadcasting and we're willing to stick to the 91.5 format , it would work...but the students (the few that were actually on CSB) would never agree to playing Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett...they want to do their grindcore shows et al
Interesting thought. How much controversy would there be over cutting back Sinatra for alternative rock?
A lot. WKHR is basically keeping the standards format alive and it is effectively providing a community service.
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You are correct. But as I understand it, the students do have some input. It's not like the school is saying "You'll do as we say and ask no questions about it."
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It's now at a point where Cleveland City Council even weighed in on the Ideastream-CSU-WCSB/XCSB deal.
'Radio helps people find their voice': City Council defends students in Cleveland State radio overhaul fight
'Radio helps people find their voice': City Council defends students in Cleveland State radio overhaul fight
Once again, everyone is basing their opinions on one side of this issue. There are a lot of facts being left out. I fault the university for not giving all the facts, including the costs to the university of running the station. By saying money wasn't the issue, and that it was revenue neutral, they opened the door for all this. The fact is that money and security were big issues. It's time for the university to come clean.
The university says it respects the students' right to protest, they are not giving the station back to them. In other words, the Ideastream and CSU deal remains in place.
Cleveland State president responds to student radio station controversy amid protests and City Council resolution
Cleveland State president responds to student radio station controversy amid protests and City Council resolution
For the first time, she brought up that the students don't own FM radios. That is something most of the colleges say when they either sell or change their radio station. But she has still avoided the financial aspect, while the students still say the station belongs to them. It sounds like she's saying the council's resolution won't change anything.
"the students still say the station belongs to them". No, the station belongs to CSU. However, that does not excuse. the gestapo tactics and lack of respect toward the staff when they threw them out with no notice and no alternative plan to at least keep the station online.
As I've said before, the university correctly anticipated how the students would respond to the news. Had they been given notice, they would have locked the doors and commandeered the station. The university has tried to be diplomatic about this. But apparently that's not enough for the students.
The university has said many times that the students are free to start an internet station using the money they raised from WCSB. So there was an alternative plan. The students don't want an alternative. They want their station returned to them.
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No way they'll do that. The university president's shenanigans would be exposed and she probably can't afford to lose her job. Although maybe Ideastream could hire her.
Your idea of "diplomatic" and mine must be much different. The university could have done what I stated in prior posts but chose the heavy handed route. If they had done it the way I suggested, I doubt very much there'd be all this screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth going on. Maybe a few outliers grumbling about it but probably way less than what's currently going on. This comes across to me as "Screw you, we're getting some money, a seat on the Iduhscream board and won't have to deal with you whiny, tuition paying bastards ever again!"
Your idea of heavy handed and mine are different. At some point the lawyers will get involved, and the students will be dealt with in the courts.
Students have no legal position here. They're squatters occupying university property.
How many times do we have to repeat "you don't give access to a station or its microphone once the notice of a change in format has been announced. "
That's a pretty hard core authoritarian world view, and not one to which I subscribe.
What's a university without students? Not much of a university.
"You're just a bunch of squatters occupying our property" may - MAY - be correct in cold hard legal terms, but it's a recipe for a pretty lousy university community. It's certainly not an attitude that would have kept me at my alma mater, and it's not one that would keep me paying tuition for my kids, one of whom is finishing college right now and one who's choosing where to go next year.
And even if you don't allow live programming back on the airwaves once a change is announced, there's still a huge middle ground between that and not allowing for approved recorded final shows.
I know there are some here who seem to enjoy this kind of authoritarian worldview and seem to be enjoying the idea that the students and community members who breathed life into WCSB for decades are now getting some sort of comeuppance.
It's completely alien to me, but that's largely because of a different set of experiences and life choices, including some time for me in the 80s at a very experimental, very small college in which students controlled the curriculum, hired staff and were inculcated in a much more inclusive idea of community and leadership. (All while also operating a cattle ranch.)
All I can say, again, is that if I had had any role in this deal as a broker or consultant, I would have urged both CSU and Ideastream to think much harder about what sort of public reaction it would generate and about ways to create a happier consensus that could avoid the worst of the backlash.
College or other student run stations.....wouldn't let them say adios either cause more then adios would or may come out. But they can get their displeasure out a lot easier nowadays than, say, 40 or more years ago. Can just remember a year or two ago someone let go from a commercial station and went on Facebook and slagged them big time.. Let go by email so I could understand why he was mad. I'd rather have them tell me to my face. It just makes me think the PD/GM/owners are cowards if done by email. But he probably shot himself in the foot [or the mouth] if he was going to try and get a job in radio around the area now.....or anywhere for that matter.
Any reasonable plan would have been rejected by the students, because the only solution they will accept is a return of their FM station.
They don't want a stream, they don't want an HD-2, they don't want internships or jobs at Ideastream. That's the problem here.
Online steaming: Depends on who you ask (I think it would be cool, but I also understand the community aspect terrestrial gave them.
HD2: As mentioned my maybe Nathan? Ideastream currently does not even have one they could gave one, and quite frankly, I'm not sure Ideastream would want WCSB on an HD2. As I mentioned before, WCSB took full advantage of safe harbor late at night, it was part of their charm.. for example: Former Host of the show "669" ran a "Save out smut" campaign back in the 90's to protest the closure of adult video stores and the like on Brookpark road, and used WCSB's late night leniency to promote it. (it's all on youtube if you don't believe me) And before you say "Aha, this is why CSU is getting rid of the station" They would of right then if it was that big of an issue for them.
internships: I can see why they wouldn't be interested since it's mainly button pushing and the likes, stuff that would be boring the people that invested their time and energy into WCSB. Don't forget we're headed to an era where even the playlists are AI Generated, that's probably already here.
Let's dig a little deeper...
Cost of running the station: you are estimating it's around 5-figures per year right? Now on average, how much is a 4-year tuition for one potential student. is it safe to assume 6 figures? I realize there's some overhead to have these students take classes on campus, housing, etc but I'm only breaking down the costs of one potential student. It's no secret the bad taste that it's left in peoples mouths has gone beyond CSU students and staff, so that's going to make potential students think twice about applying to CSU.