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WMPG scores big federal grant for signal upgrade

Hmmm. So our tax dollars go to a radio station that has an audience so small that it can't be measured? While at the same time there are dozens of small market "real" radio stations in Maine -- that people listen to -- who could collectively use that government money to buy generators or backup facilities to stay on the air to warn and protect the public during hurricanes, blizzards, floods, etc.?

Damn. Nothing against the people at WMPG, but this is just another example why we all hate paying taxes.

Come on, WMPG. Use your new power to become relevant.
 
Good for them!!!! Portland is very lucky to have an eclectic college station....They certainly deserve the upgrade way more than than all of the corporate voice tracked ipods masquerading as radio stations that are hooked up to 50 kw transmitters these days....
 
WMPG hasn't been a college radio station in 30 years; it's a fiefdom of community interests heavily subsidized by USM.
 
What will become of the 104.1 translator.They shouldn't need it with the upgrade of 90.9.Maybe Saga who uses translators in other markets (Concord,Manchester,Keene)could buy it.
 
If Saga was going to buy another FM in the market I'd suspect they would be much more interested in one of the Nassau stations about to be liquidated.
 
ray ting said:
Hmmm. So our tax dollars go to a radio station that has an audience so small that it can't be measured? While at the same time there are dozens of small market "real" radio stations in Maine -- that people listen to -- who could collectively use that government money to buy generators or backup facilities to stay on the air to warn and protect the public during hurricanes, blizzards, floods, etc.?

Damn. Nothing against the people at WMPG, but this is just another example why we all hate paying taxes.

Come on, WMPG. Use your new power to become relevant.
Click to expand...

It strikes me that a radio station that's as eclectic as this one will always have a low average listenership. That's not their goal. I don't know what their cume was with their current facilities or what they can expect when the signal-strength boost happens, but if a few thousand listen to each program, it could total quite a lot. In Boston, a full-time 50,000-watt AM outlet with all-right-wing-talk has a cume of fewer people than can fit into the stadium where the NFL Patriots play...and the ratings went down in the last book. If WMPG reaches about the same nu,mber of people total as WXKS-AM, would that mark success or failure?
 
newsbot said:
If Saga was going to buy another FM in the market I'd suspect they would be much more interested in one of the Nassau stations about to be liquidated.
Click to expand...
Aren't Saga PRG & Cumulus Media both maxed out on FM ownership in the Portland market?
 
This was once upon a time a campus-based radio station ran by students of said college for the purposes of educating such students entering the broadcast field. At that time this station served a meaningful use. It was actually a listenable station during that period. Since then, WMPG has become a prime example of a non-commercial station that should be should be shut down. There is no reason tax dollars should pay for this wasteland of a science project. It is what it is. If someone values it, then they can support it with their own money. Ultimately, the University of Southern Maine should give this facility back to it's students and quit leaching off the good folks of Maine. There is a hell of a lot better use of $125,000 the Commerce Department can do; such as promote industry to the Pine Tree State instead of a welfare handout to a radio station no one listens to or gives a rip about.

newsbot said:
The station licensed to the University of Southern Maine has an audience so small as to be unmeasurable by ratings services, so of course the Commerce Department gave them $125,000 so that an even larger potential audience can ignore them

http://www.thebollard.com/bollard/?p=9238
Click to expand...
 
The University gives very little money to WMPG. In fact, the staff salaries are paid for almost entirely by donation. Additionally, many, many folks have used their experience at 'MPG to launch successful careers *myself included*. Say what you will about the tax dollar issue, but to call WMPG a failed "science project" implies you have truly missed the point.

Community radio is like community access television. The number of listeners it attracts isn't the point.
 
Andy Taylor said:
newsbot said:
If Saga was going to buy another FM in the market I'd suspect they would be much more interested in one of the Nassau stations about to be liquidated.
Click to expand...
Aren't Saga PRG & Cumulus Media both maxed out on FM ownership in the Portland market?
Click to expand...

Yes and Yes.

Saga has 4 FMs and 4AMs
Cumulus has 4FMs

All 8 are pretty significant signals in the market. (The least most would be 94.3's signal).

I wouldn't mind to seeing Townsquare Media take over the Nassau group.
Rather than Educational Media Foundation or one of the big religious operators.
 
Question for radiothis!: Then what *is* the point? If it's just a training sandbox, couldn't that we done with an Internet station, instead of wasting FM bandwidth and taxpayer dollars?
 
The point is this: as Americans, we have freedom of speech. That freedom extends to the airwaves. WMPG is conduit of free speech. It is absolutely not a waste of bandwidth. I'm sure I won't convince you otherwise and I won't waste time trying. But before anyone says otherwise: I believe in corporate radio. I was never prouder than when I reported for WGAN and I believe that stations like Q97.9 and Frank FM do a fine job as stewards of the public's airwaves.

But stations like WMPG don't create programming for the masses - they allow the masses to create programming. As radio folks, we too often get caught in Arbitron, TSL and focus groups and forget the power we wield every time we open a mic, cut something up in ProTools, or flip the Marantz (661, if you're wondering) to record.

WMPG gives folks, average, non-media folks, the chance to feel and recognize that power. These days, I make my living as a media educator, and I'll tell you with confidence that 98% of the kids I teach don't grow up to become "media professionals." But they do leave the program understanding how easy it is to have an impact on their community, they do leave the program feeling empowered with a voice they didn't know they had, they do leave the program understanding how much media influences their lives. And that knowledge does have an impact on society.

I know this because I was once a scared, shy kid who stumbled into radio at WMPG - and found his voice. Other WMPG "classmates" of mine became lawyers, environmentalists, activists, politicians, psychologists, news producers - all consider their time at WMPG as monumental and life changing.

Why not relegate all this to the internet? Well, why not broadcast Frank FM only on the internet? Community radio is about giving a small slice of the public airwaves to the public. And frankly, I can't think of a better way to spend my tax dollars than in support of the First Amendment. Those who founded our country recognized that free speech - before even guns - was the greatest protection of our liberties. WMPG is an extension of that. Because no matter how unlistenable the programming, no matter how many Frank Zappa songs, no matter how few listeners, WMPG is there to let you say and play what you want. Now that's pretty damn American.
 
Radiothis!: Your point regarding the educational value to those on the air at WMPG is well taken. And I do agree with you that we probably can't change each other's minds as to whether or not the station is a waste of bandwidth. I'll also concede that perhaps my "waste" comment was a bit too harsh.

However... I will point out that freedom of speech is just that, and nothing else. There is no requirement that taxpayer dollars fund that freedom of speech. I think we all need to keep that in mind.
 
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