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RE: ratings
Ah, you fell into the WERS trap Bill! No money from WBUR flows into
Boston University. Well, nothing beyond what any station would have to pay
for anyway (access to BU's internet connection, custodial staff, utilities,
etc. I dunno if they pay rent or not - my guess is that they do, but not
market rate) but it's not like WBUR is a fat cash cow for BU. Most people
assume it is, and in a sense it is...that sense being they trumpet all the
awards WBUR has won to their prospective communications students and
wealthy donors. Yes, since they are officially a BU department their
budget is *handled* by BU...employees get checks from BU and BU benefits,
etc. But money from WBUR doesn't go to fund other BU departments and
ventures. I'm not sure it can, legally, as a non-profit
institution. Even if it is legal then I still stand by my statement
because there are lots of little departments at BU struggling on their
budgets that the University *wants* to fund (for example, the agonizingly
slow rollout of Ethernet access in the dorms) but can't, whereas I know
departments that have trouble getting rid of their budget every year
(things that tend to have a high variance in monetary need each year, like
Physical Plant's snow removal budget). If they "shared the wealth" then
I imagine all that wouldn't be an issue.
The WERS reference is about the "Conventional Wisdom" that Emerson College
has, for many years, felt that WBUR was a cash cow for BU and therefore,
WERS could be made into a cash cow for Emerson if they follow a similar
model of kicking out the students. They haven't quite gone that
far....yet. But they've made a mockery of how students used to be involved
in the management of the station. I don;t know if the CW of Emerson/WERS
is true or not, but it sure wouldn't surprise me. Perhaps Donna can tell us...
- Aaron
At 02:40 PM 1/21/2002 -0500, Bill O'Neill wrote:
>Cooper writes:
> > Not trying to sound like a jerk but why do ratings
> > really matter for non-comms? Bragging rights? Just a
> > thought
>
>There's big revenue flow at WBUR. It's all pumped back into the
>operation/University, but the better the numbers, the more they can
>garner from "underwriting."
>
>Bill O'Neill
______________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read aread@speakeasy.net
Fried Bagels Consulting www.friedbagels.com
12 Walnut St. / Waltham, MA / 02453