• 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

WOSU-FM Programming Change

N

Neil E.

WOSU-FM has announced that beginning Monday, Jan. 14, they will replace much of their classical programming on their main analog channel with a simulcast of NPR and other syndicated programs which are currently available on WOSU-AM.

Through emails with the station's "listener advocate" I have learned that they will continue their usual classical programming on their HD2 channel.

I objected, as a financial supporter, to this because I do not have nor do I intend to get the three or four HD radios needed to listen as my wife and I are accustomed.

The fact that they are losing long time listeners such as I and my wife doesn't seem to matter to them. I also was told that this is in a effort to increase their listener numbers since there has been a decline in listeners during the past years to the point that the corporate sponsors are less willing to provide support. It appears to me that they are putting the $$$ from corporate and business supporters above the wishes of the loyal listeners who have been contributing for years. If they are continuing their usual programming on HD2 then they are not saving production costs so the move appears to be driven by keeping the business sponsors happy at the expense of contributing listeners.

It also appears to me that they are, by simulcasting, wasting a radio "channel" in the Columbus market.

Just my thoughts on the subject and other thoughts are welcome.

Neil
 
Well said, Neil!

This whole digital mentality is absolutely excluding those of us that don't care to or can not spend the money for upgraded equipment. While radio and television are certainly not a "right", they certainly should be available to the public over public airwaves. Adding insult to injury is the fact that this is a publice radio station licensed to a state funded land grant institution. You can't get much more into the public domain that that!
 
I agree with that. I have no intention of getting HD TV, or HD Radio. I rarely have time to watch TV as it is. As for radio, I'm wanting to get Internet Radio for my car.
 
WOUB here in Athens dropped classical for news/talk about three years ago. Apparently their Federal/CPB/whatever funding is tied to the ratings they get. Classical does not produce ratings, news/talk does. Or so the folks with the mortgage, two kids in college & six years to retirement at these stations think.

This moves makes less sense with 90.5 also carrying some of the same NPR programs
 
Thanks for the supportive comments. What bothers me a lot about this is that the public airwaves are used by a station originally established and subsequently maintained by public funds and listener donations was offering a really great service to a small number of listeners who saw fit to send in a yearly contribution to keep it going. Now, money is talking and they have sold out to commercial interests.

If you listen to this station you will hear very little difference between the "acknowledgement" of business support and the advertisements on commercial stations. I am very disappointed that they appear to be more commercial interest based than providing to the paying niche market listeners. We now appear to have a taxpayer supported special interest station which I predict (and frankly hope) will be a shadow of what it once was. I wish this so they will return to what they were, but it most likely will not happen.

Things change and not always for the better.....but better is in the eye of the beholder isn't it?

Neil
 
What are they doing on the repeater signals? I know in Portsmouth you can hear the same NPR shows on WOUL from Ironton (WOUB repeater) and even from Huntington WV.
 
Neil E. said:
Things change and not always for the better.....but better is in the eye of the beholder isn't it?
Click to expand...

The saying shouldn't be "The more things change, the more they stay the same"; it should be "The more things change, the more screwed up it all gets". Unless of course I'm the one who's instigating the change, but what are the odds of anyone in the biz ever letting THAT happen?

WCBE and WOSU-F and WOSU-A: Radio Xerox, Part II. Hey Mushalko, dump all that duplicative programming of yours and give me a call! Man, I think back to what happened between me and 'CBE ... now that's a REAL sad story. And what happened between me and 'OSU, uh ... well, I really can't remember. Actually, I don't want to remember. Letters were written to Mr. Eby way back when, and let's just say that it was made very clear that I was barking up the wrong tree! Completely. Nu, can you imagine what would happen if I contacted Salem about WRFD?!!! I went to that company's website; they own ninety-seven stations all across the country, and they offer a grand total of (drum roll, please) ... THREE formats for them all to choose from: Christian Teaching & Talk, Contemporary Christian Music -- The Fish, and News/Talk. Tell me which one you think I come the closest to, because that's the angle I'm going to work. I think I'm going with The Fish; I'm going to demonstrate how closely related Revolutionary Radio and "Yesterday's Top Secrets" both are to The Fish. Hmm, maybe if I call it "Revelationary Radio" instead ...
 
This breaks my heart to see 89.7 WOSU-FM (and their many satellite stations in Ohio) drop most of the classical in place of NPR. WOSU-AM and WCBE already fill the void with NPR in this market and WOSU-FM as others said will just be doing what already has been done. While I understand classical listenership is going down, there is only so many folks that listen to NPR and having 3 stations in the market air pretty much the same programming only gives you so much $$$ support.
 
This is bad news. WOSU is late with initiating this change, though. WETA in Washington, DC started this type of change about five years ago, and several big city classical stations followed, dropping classical for all-NPR. That lasted a few years, but the classics returned when the ratings for all-NPR were far lower, pledges dropped, and listeners communicated their anger. At pledge time, they will give you the story NPR is in bigger demand than classical music - and news gathering costs more than playing the music, so call in and pledge. Worst thing, you will get lots of repeats, again due to the higher costs of paying people to collect news. How many times can you listen to the same interviews? I hope yours will change as some other cities who undertook this folly did, and went back to classic.

What is interesting is I have heard classical is one of the few formats showing (albeit small) an uptick in interest. Part of the solution is friendlier DJ's and playing excerpts of music pieces at times instead of whole works. The classical station web sites are described as potential money makers because if you hear a song you like, you can order it through their web site, which lists in great detail all the songs played every day, and there are fewer places to get classical music.

Are the DJ's such as Boyce Lancaster being retained? What classical music options are left in Columbus aside from HD2?
 
Jimme,

It is not clear to me exactly how the changes will impact their programming except for the time slots which are being devoted to NPR. Here's a part of the email reply I received:

email to me from WOSU-FM said:
Be sure to tune in to hear our exceptional local hosts, Boyce Lancaster, John Rittmeyer, and Christopher Purdy as they continue to produce outstanding classical music programming for WOSU. We believe you’ll also enjoy the stories produced by the WOSU Newsroom, who were recently named the Best News Operation by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists!
Click to expand...

It could be that these hosts are still going to be on the analog channel but this is not clear to me. Their website has an article about the change if you want to get more info. As an aside, I have for a long time thought that the local and state news on WOSU-AM is the best in the market.

Neil
 
Neil E. said:
WOSU-FM has announced that beginning Monday, Jan. 14, they will replace much of their classical programming on their main analog channel with a simulcast of NPR and other syndicated programs which are currently available on WOSU-AM.

Through emails with the station's "listener advocate" I have learned that they will continue their usual classical programming on their HD2 channel.

I objected, as a financial supporter, to this because I do not have nor do I intend to get the three or four HD radios needed to listen as my wife and I are accustomed.

The fact that they are losing long time listeners such as I and my wife doesn't seem to matter to them. I also was told that this is in a effort to increase their listener numbers since there has been a decline in listeners during the past years to the point that the corporate sponsors are less willing to provide support. It appears to me that they are putting the $$$ from corporate and business supporters above the wishes of the loyal listeners who have been contributing for years. If they are continuing their usual programming on HD2 then they are not saving production costs so the move appears to be driven by keeping the business sponsors happy at the expense of contributing listeners.

It also appears to me that they are, by simulcasting, wasting a radio "channel" in the Columbus market.

Just my thoughts on the subject and other thoughts are welcome.

Neil
Click to expand...

If you are a contributer then your voice can be heard when they do the next pledge drive by not pledging. If you and your fellows all do the same the classical will come back fairly soon. I worked at WOSU years ago and I am saddened to hear of this move. In my day we were proud of the music programming and the music library. I have noticed though that of late they have been taking a lot of satellite programs so likely they are not using local hosts like when I was there.

In my day though the AM side got most of the grant funding through NPR and CPB. They had a news local news operation that far surpassed the local commercial outlets because of what they could buy with the funding they received. Probably today like then the money goes to news and information and music programming is the unwanted stepchild.
 
The article in Business First (http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/01/14/story13.html?b=1200286800%5e1575078&surround=etf) mentioned that one of the reasons they are making the change is because AM Radio listening has dropped significantly over the last 20 years. I also know that the AM station's signal is horrible (interferrence issues) until they raise power -- this month that's around 8 AM.

The article also talks about WOSU's News Department being named the best in the state.... is that true?

I'm also curious how the coverage area is for HD Radio is compared to the analog signal? Does anyone with an HD Radio care to comment?
 
do-dah man said:
The article in Business First (http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/01/14/story13.html?b=1200286800%5e1575078&surround=etf) mentioned that one of the reasons they are making the change is because AM Radio listening has dropped significantly over the last 20 years.
Click to expand...

I don't care what they say for public consumption, AM, FM, it dosen't matter. If you deliver the product, the listerns will be there. WTVN proves that every book. They continually hang in there against WNCI, WSNY and all other comers. Are they the best they can be? No. Do they offer something that you can't get anywhere else? Yes. WOSU 820am has lived off the public dole and the generosity of donors without increasing the listeners' need for what it offers or changing what it offers to fill a recognized void. The price of inaction is diminshed importance in the lives of listeners which means dimished ratings which brings us to where we are.
 
My plan is to discontinue support but if they revert to their previous format (my wish) it will be too late. I am sure you radio pros know it is easier to keep a listener than to get them back later.

WOSU-AM used to have a lot of local programming. One of my favorites was Tom Weeble's program in the evenings. I would go out of my way to listen. When he "retired" the program was replaced by BBC news. I don't even listen at home any more and rarely listen while mobile.

Their nightime signal is a problem. During the daytime, I can receive them in my truck all the way to Dundee Michigan, but at night I have problems just west of Dublin on Rt. 142. I wonder if the FM HD2 signal will be any better than the AM night time signal.
 
WCBE seems to be concerned with WOSU-FM adding talk blocks to its Classical music format.

This 2008/01/14/ Business First article by Kevin Kemper has this to say this about WCBE:

Room for two?
WOSU's move is being watched by the city's competing FM-frequency NPR station.

"I would be an absolute fool not to worry about it," said WCBE-FM (90.5) General Manager Dan Mushalko. "I'm concerned, yes, but fearful, no."

WCBE, established by the Columbus Board of Education, operates on a tighter budget than WOSU, Mushalko said, because it doesn't receive public money from the school board.

Click here for the rest:

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/othercities/columbus/stories/2008/01/14/story13.html?b=1200286800^1575078&t=printable
 
Let me ask this...how is WOSU or any classical music station supposed to afford to offer that format if the support isn't there? Is the money supposed to appear out of thin air? Instead of witholding your support,
you should go out and rally the troops and raise enough money for the station so that it can continue to
provide the service. Witholding your support will only cause WOSU or any other station to move more of
its program service to News and Public Affairs - which attracts more listeners and greater support.
 
jp1520 said:
Let me ask this...how is WOSU or any classical music station supposed to afford to offer that format if the support isn't there? Is the money supposed to appear out of thin air? Instead of witholding your support,
you should go out and rally the troops and raise enough money for the station so that it can continue to
provide the service. Witholding your support will only cause WOSU or any other station to move more of
its program service to News and Public Affairs - which attracts more listeners and greater support.
Click to expand...

Given the fact that the symphony is cutting back to 30 people, maybe it's just that times have changed? Maybe people just aren't interested in classical music at this point in time? That's neither good nor bad, in my opinion. It just is.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom