http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20121117/NEWS01/311170057/wgmc-greece-district-radio-station?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
Radio station has an over $100k deficit.
Radio station has an over $100k deficit.
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WGMC NEEDS $ HELP
- Thread starter Mark Giardina
- Start date
Mark_Giardina said:
They're in the hole historically, although it looks like the district is being their banker and they're paying it off. FY11/12 ran a slight deficit which they appear to have made some midyear cuts to manage, FY10/11 - a sizeable surplus. Linton seems to be making some prudent decisions financially.
District documents show fundraising — largely dependent on on-air drives, and events such as pancake breakfasts and the annual gala Evening of Wine and Jazz — has been uneven. The station’s budget in 2011-12 was $215,643. Actual spending was $201,326, with revenue of $188,514. In 2010-11, the station spent $162,432, but brought in $200,000.
A corrective action plan... how bureaucratic 
The most interesting data point for me, since I've never been in the business and I don't understand what kind of money it takes to actually keep the lights on, was:
The most interesting data point for me, since I've never been in the business and I don't understand what kind of money it takes to actually keep the lights on, was:
WGMC (Jazz 90.1) is a great radio station, and I commend the staff, and the dedicated volunteers who keep it going. I hope the district, and the station's listeners can do what needs to be done to ensure the station's future.
So many times in this day and age, schools and universities much larger than the Greece Central School District have decided to put their radio stations up for sale, usually to the highest bidder. This could be the local NPR station, or an out of market pay-for-pray outfit. It would be very easy for the administration to simply put the license on the block. I'm sure WXXI could find some use for the frequency, and there are still a lot of out-of-market religious broadcasters who I"m sure are eager to get into Rochester. I sincerely hope neither of these scenarios comes to pass. WGMC is the closest thing Rochester has to a community radio station. The loss of such a station would be detrimental to the region.
So many times in this day and age, schools and universities much larger than the Greece Central School District have decided to put their radio stations up for sale, usually to the highest bidder. This could be the local NPR station, or an out of market pay-for-pray outfit. It would be very easy for the administration to simply put the license on the block. I'm sure WXXI could find some use for the frequency, and there are still a lot of out-of-market religious broadcasters who I"m sure are eager to get into Rochester. I sincerely hope neither of these scenarios comes to pass. WGMC is the closest thing Rochester has to a community radio station. The loss of such a station would be detrimental to the region.
Reliable sources told me that years ago WXXI's management had their eyes on trying to acquire WGMC (this is before they got their hands on the U of R station) but it never went anywhere in large part because WGMC's management and staff fought like hell to keep it independent.JakeLongwell said:
Savage said:
The staff is not all-volunteer.
Savage said:
Most of the on-air folks are volunteers, but there are two full-timers and also part-time in the mix. In the article, Rob Linton noted that about half the budget went to salaries, which would be around $100K. They also have a consulting engineer, allocated costs from the school district for services, maintenance and supplies, and of course paying off the debt.
Not mentioned in the article is lax supervision by a previous school district administrator during the early/mid 2000s who was part of the sketchy former GCSD superintendent's regime.
WGMC receives no CPB or state money and raises all of its support through memberships, underwriting, a small amount of brokered time, and fundraising events.
Ed Trefzger said:
Yet this station manages somehow to survive thanks in large part to listener donations.
God forbid what would happen to WGMC had WXXI managed to take over the station. The on-air staff would have been fired and a position would have been created for the husband of the current WXXI GM, or what ever title Susan Rogers now has. (And people talk about Maggie Brooks' husband and nepotism). :
G
Groove1670
Guest
Sorry. No help needed.
Quotes from Democrat & Chronicle.com article
Enough said. Volunteers?
This station probably has more revenue compared some commercial station(s) of the same size and market.
What am I missing here?
Quotes from Democrat & Chronicle.com article
Enough said. Volunteers?
This station probably has more revenue compared some commercial station(s) of the same size and market.
What am I missing here?
musiconradio.com said:
$500/day = $182,500 a year. Ratings of around a .7 share probably means that its income is right around what the Rochester market should earn it.
audio4tv said:
I'd suggest that the cume rather than the share is more significant in this question. Depending on the book, and since the numbers are volatile and suspect, it's something like $10/listener, +/-, oh, say 33%?
WGMC is participating in tomorrow's ROC the Day area-wide not-for-profit fundraising event. Those who would like to contribute can visit here:
http://www.roctheday.org/GreeceCommunityBroadcastingInc(Jazz901WGMCFM)
http://www.roctheday.org/GreeceCommunityBroadcastingInc(Jazz901WGMCFM)
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