WUMB GM Pat Monteith "Retires"

[Eli Polonsky]

You're forgetting WFCR, aka "New England Public Radio". They are also licensed to The University of Massachusetts.

Yes, but WFCR is in Amherst, where they also have student-run WMUA based at the same school.

And, while WMUA's 450 watt signal is nowhere near as powerful as WFCR's full-power signal, WMUA still provides an outlet with coverage of much of the Pioneer Valley for U. Mass. Amherst students.

 

[aaronread]

What is important is the mission of the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Its mission includes serving an urban community. That urban community is under-served by both broadcast and print media. For the University of Massachusetts at Boston to program a licensed educational radio station for the gratification of an audience beyond that urban community is irresponsible and an abrogation of the university's core function.

Have you actually read the UMass Boston Mission Statement and Vision Statement?

Their core function is education. Specifically education to all, with a focus of remembering that "to all" includes an oft-underserved urban populace. But still, EDUCATION. Not some vague notion of uber-serving the urban population of Boston in all aspects. What? Should UMass Boston be running all the soup kitchens and filling in the potholes, too?

They don't have a single course devoted to broadcasting, never mind to radio specifically. Clearly, radio is not part of their mission of education.

 

[aaronread]

The point is WUMB is operated under license granted to UMass, an educational institution, but is not run in the interest of the UMass students and the area "urban community." Explain the lack of student involvement. Are there any UMass Boston student-produced news, public affairs and news programming? No. Are there any UMass Boston student-produced music programs? No. Does WUMB programming reflect the culture and diversity and interests of UMass Boston students? No.

Why should there be?

It's not licensed to the campus of UMass Boston, it's licensed to the city of Boston...as in THE WHOLE CITY. (or, in the case of their repeaters, to those cities) AFAIK, WUMB doesn't receive any formal subsidies from tuition or student fees, either. Exactly what reason should WUMB have for explicitly putting sub-standard programming on the air simply because it's produced by UMB students? And yes, it would be inherently be sub-standard because there's zero classroom curriculum at UMB to teach them...and since WUMB isn't getting any subsidies, why should they absorb the burden of teaching students?

BTW, if you said that since UMB's mission is education, and since there is no radio or broadcasting curriculum at UMB, then UMB should not be in the business of owning a radio station...that's a very valid argument. I wouldn't necessarily agree with it, but it's entirely valid.

 

[raccoonradio]

WESX 1230 is now licensed to Nahant. Having grown up there I can tell you there really aren't too many people speaking Spanish there (the current language/format). Hoompa! (Nahanter slang;
possibly started with Beatles I am the Walrus, Hoompa, Hoompa, stick it up your joompa.)

But their relocation of the COL was to help them get a stick in Lynn (I think) and serve cities like that and Boston which do have many people who speak Spanish and would be inclined to listen.

 

[thirdendorsed]

It's not licensed to the campus of UMass Boston, it's licensed to the city of Boston...as in THE WHOLE CITY. (or, in the case of their repeaters, to those cities) AFAIK, WUMB doesn't receive any formal subsidies from tuition or student fees, either. Exactly what reason should WUMB have for explicitly putting sub-standard programming on the air simply because it's produced by UMB students? And yes, it would be inherently be sub-standard because there's zero classroom curriculum at UMB to teach them...and since WUMB isn't getting any subsidies, why should they absorb the burden of teaching students?

BTW, if you said that since UMB's mission is education, and since there is no radio or broadcasting curriculum at UMB, then UMB should not be in the business of owning a radio station...that's a very valid argument. I wouldn't necessarily agree with it, but it's entirely valid.

I will deal with the silliest of your comments first, that without a radio or broadcasting curriculum, programming is presumed to be "substandard."

The biggest problem with broadcasting and journalism in this country is communications and journalism majors. The single worst thing you can do to prepare for a career in communications is to major in communications. You need something to say. Once you're on the job, I can teach you mike technique and formatics. I can't teach you the range of knowledge and innate curiosity it takes to be a good communicator.

UMass Boston draws primarily from an urban community. Yeah, yeah, yeah there are kids from the suburbs. But it exists to serve a community not served by the private schools in Boston or by the public universities elsewhere in the state. Adopting a community focus would fit in precisely with that service commitment and provide a range of educational opportunities to the students. Urban issues cover a lot of disciplines and radio would engage both community and students -- and that's the long-range goal of UMB as an institution.

There's more to broadcasting than hitting the post, son.

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

As someone who has been associated with both WMUA, and WFCR -- both are licensed to the UMass (Amherst) trustees. WMUA (at least when I was there...)
is totally student-run, with 1000 watts from the top of Orchard Hill dorms. The signal barrels north and south through the Pioneer Valley (Connecticut River),
but is quite limited east-west, due to the surrounding hills/geography. WFCR is also licensed to the UMass trustees, and is physically located on campus,
transmitter in Shutesbury, but has a professional staff, and serves as an NPR station. WUMB shares with WLYN their public affairs program Commonwealth
Journal (heard Sundays 8-10am, on WLYN and WAZN) as well as their engineer - the incomparable Grady Moates.

 

[aaronread]

Urban issues cover a lot of disciplines and radio would engage both community and students

You provide no evidence of that, while proposing an operating structure virtually guaranteed to fail in your goal of engagement; if untrained staff from an urban audience of varying ages could magically engage an audience, than WZBC and WMBR would have more listeners than anyone else in town. It is completely unreasonable to expect that people of any age or demographic with no training would be competent radio broadcasters, regardless of their major. I have over 15 years of direct experience with college radio on this point. I've seen a few kids here and there that had remarkable innate talent, but nowhere near enough talent (or enough students) to reliably staff a station.

Plus, you do a disservice to working radio professionals by implying that untrained, unpaid, part-time volunteers can provide a broadcast service equal to or superior to experienced, full-time employees.

and that's the long-range goal of UMB as an institution.

No it isn't. Again, read the mission station: The University of Massachusetts Boston is a public research university with a dynamic culture of teaching and learning, and a special commitment to urban and global engagement

They are a public research university that's about teaching and learning. Their engagement with urban communities is only within that rubic of teaching and learning...e.g. education. As I said elsewhere, should UMB be out there running soup kitchens and fixing potholes? Those are engaging the urban community, too...but they've got nothing to do with education.

Clearly, educating people about broadcasting is not part of UMB's mission as far as UMB is concerned...otherwise, there would be a broadcasting curriculum - and there isn't.

 

[fybush]

Clearly, educating people about broadcasting is not part of UMB's mission as far as UMB is concerned...otherwise, there would be a broadcasting curriculum - and there isn't.

I noted this on the other WUMB thread, and I think it bears noting here, too: while we can argue all we want about what UMB's mission is, UMB is not the licensee of WUMB. I'm not sure how long this has been the case, but the name on the license for WUMB and its sister stations is simply "University of Massachusetts."

One can argue, I think, that the "University of Massachusetts" as a statewide system has a different, broader mission than does UMB as one of that system's campuses.

 

[aaronread]

Scott, the name on the license was "Colleges of the Seneca" for WEOS, too...but you damn well better believe that as GM I answered to my boss, the VP of Student Affairs. And he answered to his boss, the President of the college. The trustees of the college may have had ultimate say - like they do in virtually all aspects of the college - but realistically stuff about a radio station does not percolate up to their level except in very specific situations.

Same for UMB. It doesn't matter one whit that the license says "University of Massachusetts". What matters is that Pat Monteith reports to (or reported to) the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, Michael Todorsky, according to this org chart. Mr. Todorsky, in turn, reports to the Chancellor for the UMass Boston campus, Anne Riley.

In theory, just like it says on the FCC licenses, the trustees of the entire UMass system have final say over all the UMass radio properties. Just like in theory, all of UMass - even the trustees - ultimately answer to the state legislature. But the trustees don't get involved in the radio stations without very good reason to - they leave it to the individual campus's chancellors, who in turn delegate down the chain of command to the stations' individual managers.

Want proof? How involved did the UMass trustees get involved with the debacle that was the Lowell Sunrise experiment on WJUL/WUML? Not one bit. That was entirely handled by the UMass Lowell campus's chancellor and staff. (shrug)

 

[fybush]

All true, Aaron...but my point about the name on the license was in response to an earlier poster's suggestion that the WUMB license could somehow be formally challenged at the FCC based on some sort of lack of congruence with the mission of UMass Boston.

Even if you could somehow persuade the FCC to hear a challenge on those grounds (and you can't, because it's a format issue and the FCC hasn't wanted to address those since the early 1970s), it would still hinge on the idea that the licensee of WUMB is "UMass Boston" - and as far as the FCC is concerned (regardless of the administrative reality behind the scenes), that's not the case.

 

[thirdendorsed]

my point about the name on the license was in response to an earlier poster's suggestion that the WUMB license could somehow be formally challenged at the FCC based on some sort of lack of congruence with the mission of UMass Boston.

Really? Who suggested that the license be challenged due to lack of congruence with the mission of UMass Boston? It wasn't me. I did say that the station should be operated to serve the public interest, necessity and convenience. It should, especially as part of the non-commercial section of the band. That's a long way from suggesting a license challenge.

You self-anointed experts in communications law really need to get your heads out of your backsides. It doesn't matter if the station is licensed to UMass, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth or Kalamazoo State College. It is located on an urban campus of an urban institution and represents an opportunity to serve the urban mission of that separately-operating university. The preservation and encouragement of fiddle music is not the UMB mission. Is there any legal obligation to serve that urban community? Decidedly not. If there a moral and policy obligation? You betcha.

 

[thirdendorsed]

 Their engagement with urban communities is only within that rubic of teaching and learning...e.g. education.  As I said elsewhere, should UMB be out there running soup kitchens and fixing potholes?  Those are engaging the urban community, too...but they've got nothing to do with education.
Clearly, educating people about broadcasting is not part of UMB's mission as far as UMB is concerned...otherwise, there would be a broadcasting curriculum - and there isn't.

You have a pretty limited concept of the place of higher education in our society, and an even more limited concept of how broadcasting, when freed from the shackles of the profit motive, can serve a wider public interest than that served (or not served) by traditional broadcasters. One does not need a broadcasting curriculum to communicate. One can engage the community in an exchange of ideas and explore urban issues and solutions without a bunch of broadcasting majors running amok.

I know you are quite proud of your soup kitchen and pothole line. I find it trite and a reflection of ignorance about what universities can accomplish as part of their education mission.

 

[thirdendorsed]

Incidentally, the street address reflected on the WUMB-FM Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License is 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston. The FCC renewal grant was mailed to
WUMB-FM
Harbor Campus
Boston, MA 02125

So had you experts actually looked into the matter further you would have found:

1. The licensee is University of Massachusetts.
2. The licensee's address is Boston.


Hence, University of Massachusetts.
At Boston.

In the renewal application, the answer to "designated community to be served," Question 6a is Boston.

Question 6b, as to whether the renewal application includes one or more FM translator station(s) is an unqualified negative.

 

[WNTIRadio]

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101477736&formid=324&fac_num=69163

Actually, you're wrong. ALL of the U-Mass stations are "owned" by the board of trustees, which is all of the chancellors of the various campuses plus the other trustees. WUMB isn't separately owned by UMB, that is merely the mailing address for the station. They are under a common ownership, and whatever the owner decides to do with them is their business. WUMB and satellite stations aren't funded by the university... to do a shift to urban programming as you propose, that would require funding from the university as the bi-annual membership drive donations would plummet with an urban format. Simple economics, where if the audience is mostly poor, they won't be opening their wallets to donate to the radio station to keep it running. The main reason you don't see "member supported" urban formatted stations.

Meanwhile, with their limited 660 watt signal, WUMB does attract 60,000 listeners a week. Apparently, there IS a demand for the music they play based on an audience of that size coming from a signal that barely covers all of Boston with a 60dBu signal.

 

[carmen]

I count eight transmitter sites

i am hearing WUMD on 89.3, not on the (redacted) list. guess its time to consult Wikipedia..

 

[carmen]

if anyone from WUMB reads this, your website is unusable without Adobe Flash proprietary plugin, which results in a bunch of broken-boxes and a small snippet of some orphaned text-blurb at the bottom of the screen - no Apple iPhone / iPad devices have flash, nor do many Android devices..

 

[carmen]

That urban community is under-served by both broadcast and print media

the urban community is overserved by radio, with ~10 stations playing hiphop/rnb/dancehall/soca and another 15 playing konpa/rara/lounge stuff and a half dozen doing talk at anyone time in a variety of languages like english, spanish, kreyol, jamaican/trini/bajan patois just on FM alone before adding in smartphones & streaming, and for 'print' as in printed on a screen, between twitter, uhub, reddit, blogs & papers like bulletin/dotnews theres no shortage of ways to keep track of what is going on. if i asked 10 people on the street if they feel theyre "underserved by media" theyd stare crosseyed and run away slowly

if anyone is underserved, it is the hipster communities of allston. record-hospital is only a few hours a week in the middle of the night. some of us arent night-owls.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I count eight transmitter sites

i am hearing WUMD on 89.3, not on the (redacted) list. guess its time to consult Wikipedia..

I did not include WUMD 89.3 on my list of WUMB repeater stations because they do not rebroadcast WUMB. Here again are the eight transmitters that I could broadcasting WUMB:

91.9 FM WUMB Boston (tx Quincy)
91.9 FM WFPB-FM Falmouth
91.9 FM WBPR Worcester (tx Paxton)
91.7 FM WNEF Newburyport (tx Amesbury)
91.7 FM WUMT Marshfield
91.7 FM WUMG Stow (tx/time share WAVM Maynard HS)
1170 AM WFBP (AM) Orleans (daytime only)
1430 AM WPNI Amherst

 

[Eli Polonsky]

the urban community is overserved by radio, with ~10 stations playing hiphop/rnb/dancehall/soca and another 15 playing konpa/rara/lounge stuff and a half dozen doing talk at anyone time in a variety of languages like english, spanish, kreyol, jamaican/trini/bajan patois just on FM...

None of them are legally licensed.

 

[CTListener]

the urban community is overserved by radio, with ~10 stations playing hiphop/rnb/dancehall/soca and another 15 playing konpa/rara/lounge stuff and a half dozen doing talk at anyone time in a variety of languages like english, spanish, kreyol, jamaican/trini/bajan patois just on FM...

None of them are legally licensed.

An unlicensed 100-watt transmitter and a licensed one sound just the same. The pirates are there and people are listening. If the FCC wants to do something about them -- and it rarely shows it does -- then we can talk about an underserved population.