Re: college radio gone dark for summer?

[Sid Whitaker <sid.javanet@rcn.com>]

Dan Billings wrote:
> 
> The University of Southern Maine station WMPG has been effectively high
> jacked by non-students.  They even call the station Greater Portland
> Community Radio.  

> Being a community station is probably a better use of the signal but the
> largest source of funding for the station still comes from USM's student
> activity fee, though it is hard for students to get on the air. 

Dan's onto something with the funding issue here, IMHO. In a recent
profile
of the station that appeared in Casco Bay Weekly, the station's
management
admitted that balancing student and community involvement is a big
challenge. 
(especially when you have 200+ volunteers, many of whom would probably
like
to be on the air.) Students do help fund the station's budget (through
the 
activity fee, I believe) but the station also does a fair amount of
off-campus
"underwriting." 

Perhaps some of the WMPG crowd could have gone after an LPFM license a
few
years ago when they had the chance, to handle some of the overflow. 

(BTW, I'm still bummed that their translator occupies 104.1....I used to
enjoy
catching WBCN in the West End and in the towns south of Portland)...

Sid Whitaker