RE: No Radio For The Lowell Spinners This Season?

["Bill O'Neill" <billo@shoreham.net>]

Sean writes:
I would envision a situation with a non-comm
> where the Spinners
> could sell "underwriting annoucements" to sponsors, pay a fee
> to WJUL to
> administer the broadcast and to air the games, and keep some
> for themselves.
> Presumably, any such scenario would also give WJUL some comp
> "spots" for
> underwriting pleas of their own.

Key point there is WJUL has, historically, avoided the need to garner
underwriters.  The school (student activity fee) has always been more than
sufficient for station ops.  When I was there in the early/mid-80s, it was
clear that the infrastructure, just to manage such a process, and the
overhead associated with that (not to mention staff training to keep it
legal) made it not at all worth it.  For its relatively large size of
operations, WJUL keeps costs way down.  Being at an engineering school,
coupled with a dedicated alumni, helps considerably. Some alumni have been
active there, behind the scenes, for 30 years.  And the alumni/student
relationship has been consistently synergistic.  So, back to Spinners, I am
not aware if there were even talks on the matter.  Would the station put
forth a fee?  Don't know.  I'd support the idea if only for the contingency
that students, while perhaps not on mic 1, would gain real world experience
at all other levels.  That would be the value-added for the station, not to
mention a clear FM coverage for the Spinners over a wider path than could be
offered by any of the local (or rimshotter) 1 kW AMs, and better to the
north after dark than WCAP.  And there would be no spot breaks.  The breaks
could put forth endless opportunities for capsule/analysis coverage or other
angles on the league, etc.

Bill O'Neill
Former WJUL PD/AVS Pres.