WXXI & The Little Theater Merger

[The Voice of Reason]

Since I pay federal taxes the answer to your question is yes I do give them a dime, and more, since public broadcasting is funded in part by tax dollars; a subject discussed numerous times on here but in the spirit of the holidays I won't get into a debate with you about that.

The point I was attempting to make is that even with tax payer dollars, most public stations can not afford to purchase, lease, occupy, or take over other radio stations or purchase translators without other sources of financial backing other than revenue from the federal government and it sure as hell isn't from the listeners or viewers of public broadcasting if you believe the old sales pitch that only one household out of ten bothers to contribute to public radio or TV.

So pray tell enlighten the rest of us as to where these stations are getting funding to increase their takeovers of other, smaller market stations, along with adding translators.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Wow. VoR discovers consolidation in Public Broadcasting. Have you looked at what's happened east of Rochester? WXXI's reach is tiny compared to WAMC's Northeast Public Radio.

You know, it's just possible that adding to the WXXI empire makes it more financially stable, not less. The downside is reduced service to those local areas who are losing local control of their signals.

As far as your "taxpayer support" of Public Broadcasting is concerned, it amounts to about $1.50 per capita. Most of that goes to TV. OK, Norm Silverstein owes you a cup of coffee - assuming that you never tune in WXXI or any of its affiliates.

Where does the money come from? Well, there certainly are listener contributions. More than that, there's support from underwriters and foundations. Rochester's blessed with some very deep pockets. Silverstein's job is to shake 'em down, and apparently he's doing a pretty good job of it. Enough that the board thinks he's worth what they're paying him. It's called "commission". That's how salesmen are paid, and that's exactly what Silverstein is.

Life isn't fair in that salesmen in almost every industry make more than the people who actually produce the product. Then again, without sales, there's no need to produce the product. Then again, without a product, there's nothing to sell. Vicious circle, ain't it? Throw managers who get paid for maximizing profits by reducing the costs of sales and production, and you've got radio - and almost every other industry.

 

[heydaybegone]

Then again, without a product, there's nothing to sell. Vicious circle, ain't it? Throw managers who get paid for maximizing profits by reducing the costs of sales and production, and you've got radio - and almost every other industry.

Dammit...Rox hits another home run? Who is this guy? ;D

HDBG

 

[SirRoxalot]

Thanks, HDBG. The answer is "just another dope on the radio".

 

[listener-in]

While I don't want to add to Bob Smith's workload, I have argued for years that public radio call-in talkshows can...and should...work as-well-or-better as shows done in front of a live audience, with questions from the audience as well.

Sounds good. But the station took a massive step in the opposite direction when it abandoned Bob Smith's free-for-all Friday back in the early '90s coinciding, I believe, more or less with the hiring of Jeanne Fisher. She didn't want to hear any complaints about it, either.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

But the station took a massive step in the opposite direction when it abandoned Bob Smith's free-for-all Friday back in the early '90s coinciding, I believe, more or less with the hiring of Jeanne Fisher. She didn't want to hear any complaints about it, either.

Jeanne Fisher has the title of VP for radio but it's Silverstein who calls the shots. Besides ending Bob Smith's Friday-free-for-all, Silverstein also put the muzzle on Simon Pontin's program by forbidding Simon to play music not considered 'classical.' You might remember some of those (quite hilarious) tunes Simon would toss in once in a while which made his morning show so unique.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Wow. VoR discovers consolidation in Public Broadcasting. Have you looked at what's happened east of Rochester? WXXI's reach is tiny compared to WAMC's Northeast Public Radio.

Scroll back a few pages and you will discover where I mentioned WAMC and what has happened there over the past decade.

All Silverstein is doing is playing "catch-up" to what Chartock has been doing for years. Plus compare the markets. The largest market Chartock has outside of Albany is Utica, which I call the Cleveland of New York State. Silverstein at least is smarter by going after college stations or stations where major colleges are located.

As far as your "taxpayer support" of Public Broadcasting is concerned, it amounts to about $1.50 per capita. Most of that goes to TV. OK, Norm Silverstein owes you a cup of coffee - assuming that you never tune in WXXI or any of its affiliates.

Now take that buck and a half and multiply that figure by the millions of people who pay federal taxes and public broadcasting ends up with hundreds of millions of dollars each year. But then again whats a few million among friends?

 

[TheBigA]

Now take that buck and a half and multiply that figure by the millions of people who pay federal taxes and public broadcasting ends up with hundreds of millions of dollars each year. But then again whats a few million among friends?

And for that relatively small amount of money, the government and the American people get a broadcasting partner that does things the private commercial broadcasters won't do. It's for that reason that for over 40 years, the Congress has felt its money well spent.

 

[Element9]

Hmmmm. Did you get worked up about the $2.7 billion the USA spends each week financing a war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Did you get worked up about subsidies for farmers who grow corn that gets turned into ethanol that ruins your car's engine and screws up your gas mileage? How about offshore companies that pay crank in taxes, while guys who own small town radio stations and auto repair shops get boned up the assets?

Heh.

And off we go to TIO.

 

[theradiokid]

I think that people should know exactly what facility they're listening to, and should be able to refer to the correct source if they wish to report problems with audio, noise, signal, etc.

Back in the days of tuning dials, it was difficult to know what station you were listening to. Today with digital tuners, you can see at a glance what station you're listening to. No need to use airspace to tell people what they already know.

Not if you are visually impaired, and can't see the RDS. It is actually helpful to have the TOH ID so that people like myself who are trying to identify a station can know what we are listen to.

 

[aaronread]

I would just like to know how the hell can stations like WXXI go on the air and cry poverty during their fundraising drives yet can afford to (use what ever term you like ) swallow up, purchase, take over, affiliate, with the numerous stations and translators they are now associated with?

A: Economies of scale can make seemingly-large acquisitions have a comparatively small impact on the bottom line.

B: I don't exactly listen to a LOT of stations' fundraising pitches, but I've listened pretty closely to about 8 to 10 stations' over the years and rarely do I hear them "plead poverty". Nobody says "We're poor, that's why we need your money!" Fundraising 101 teaches you that's a very good way to ensure nobody will donate; nobody wants to give money to a cash-strapped enterprise because a cash-strapped enterprise might go out of business and thus your donation goes to waste.

That's easy VOR...ask Mr. Obama...he's in charge of the FCC...(or at least in charge of the people in charge of the FCC)

Ummm...no. Federal law says of the five FCC commissioners, the makeup is always 3 from the President's party and 2 from the other. And more often than not, the Commissioners tend to act however they damn well want; both Republican and Democrat commissioners have defied the stated wishes of the White House before.

The White House, or more specifically, the Cabinet, is not supposed to directly control their agencies; they're supposed to provide oversight and - yes - control the agenda through hiring/firing of top people in the agency. That's more or less it. Remember when HHS Secretary Sebelius override the chief of the FDA on the morning after pill a few weeks ago in a rather naked political move? That was the first time an HHS Secretary had EVER overridden the FDA. It's usually not done.

Not if you are visually impaired, and can't see the RDS. It is actually helpful to have the TOH ID so that people like myself who are trying to identify a station can know what we are listen to.

You telling me you can't tell which station is which just by listening to the processing? You're too young for your ears to be that far gone, Jeremy!

 

[heydaybegone]

It is actually helpful to have the TOH ID so that people like myself who are trying to identify a station can know what we are listen to.

I hear you..BUT...that means you have to be there at the TOH!!! If you tune in at :01 or :02.....better listen for another 58 minutes to find out what your listening to. BTW- that helps TSL (if reported to Arbit^*&) BTW----don't MOVE the station between :55 and :05 or you'll never figure it out....... ;D

 

[TheBigA]

I hear you..BUT...that means you have to be there at the TOH!!!

OK...that brings up a challenge: Who remembers the year the FCC loosened the ID rule so it could be at the "natural break in programming," and not exactly at the TOH?

 

[theradiokid]

Hey Big A,

Normally, in concern to stations where I live, I can recognize the stations right away. But, for example, if I'm out of the area and in another market, or, if I get some good DX, that's another matter. Under a cenario where the IDs are solely on RDS, while most people will see the RDS, I won't see it.

And, yes, if I can, I usually stick around an unknown station for TOH IDs, or at least, listen to them as long as I can.

A perfect example of what I'm talking about occured last spring, when I was in Buffalo. I happened across a translator for "Reach FM." Yes, I caught a TOH ID, but it didn't mention the Buffalo translators, so I had no idea what, exactly, I was listening to. It's always been a problem for me in concern to out of area translators. Put the TOH IDs solely on RDS or digital display, and it will be even more of a problem for people like myself if we ever go to another radio market to know who is who.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

I'd say around '89 or '90... that's when stations I was with began putting the ID at the back end of the 50 stopset. Although IIRCC the Bear (WBYR Whethersfield-Buffalo... moment of silence) may have been loading the Legal between commercials in the 50 stopset as early as '87. For the record, I'm a traditional kinda guy. Really like that big impactor or Drake timp or CKLW-sig (Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bummmmmm... Ladies & Gentlemen...) at the top of the hour. Some habits die hard. Whatayagonnado?

 

[TheBigA]

Under a cenario where the IDs are solely on RDS, while most people will see the RDS, I won't see it.

My friends at NPR tell me they developed a system a few years ago that works with RDS for your specific need.

 

[theradiokid]

Oh, Awesome! I'll have to look into it.

 

[Red1]

I would just like to know how the hell can stations like WXXI go on the air and cry poverty during their fundraising drives yet can afford to (use what ever term you like ) swallow up, purchase, take over, affiliate, with the numerous stations and translators they are now associated with?

Surprised to find you still being a split personality Mark.

 

[heydaybegone]

I would just like to know how the hell can stations like WXXI go on the air and cry poverty during their fundraising drives yet can afford to (use what ever term you like ) swallow up, purchase, take over, affiliate, with the numerous stations and translators they are now associated with?

Surprised to find you still being a split personality Mark.

Mark? Oh do tell Red1 !! Many here on the boards hold their screen names sacred!! :-X

What say you?

 

[aaronread]

Earlier in the thread I talked a little about what WXXI might be doing with WVWA. Now we know:
https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101479993&formid=314&fac_num=175708

According to this application filed with the FCC, Hobart & William Smith Colleges sold the CP to WXXI for $1 (yes, one dollar) and WXXI plans to make WVWA a repeater of WXXI-FM. (Although as we all know, an FCC filing does not mean that format plans are etched in stone...but as was previously mentioned, having WVWA be a repeater for WXXI-FM is certainly not a bad idea.)

Interestingly, the CDBS says that they've filed digital notification for WVWA as of Dec.22, 2011. I don't think that means they've gotten on-air as of that date, although I imagine that it's possible they did manage it. If you got all the involved parties on the same page relatively quickly, it would not take long to get WVWA built out.

FWIW, there aren't too many WXX_ call signs left, but WXXR is available. Unfortunately, WXIX (for WX...NIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) is already taken. ;D