Re: Fwd: Herald: Is WWZN dragging down SNR?

[Aaron Read <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 12:45 AM 6/13/2003, A. Joseph Ross wrote:
>On 12 Jun 2003 at 11:59, Aaron Read wrote:
>
> > Although then again, I have noticed a gradual but noticeable upswing in
> > colleges who are prepared to spend a LOT of money on a radio station (I
> > have heard numbers close to seven figures tossed around).   It seems to be
> > polarizing...there's an even greater number of colleges who are prepared
> > to spend NOTHING on their station, too.  The middle ground is shrinking.
>
>Probably depends on whether it's an outlet for the college to make money 
>on, as I'm sure is
>true of WBUR, or a student-operated station.  The latter are the ones that 
>often used to be
>10-watt Class D stations.  Now, most have increased power and become 
>another class of
>station.  And it's probably near-impossible to form a student-run station 
>at a school that
>doesn't now have one.

Well it's not *impossible* to start a station if you're going down the Part 
15 route, although for a regular Class A-or-above license, yes, it's very 
hard.  Although there were several stations that got started via LPFM.

Also, BU does not make any money off WBUR.  It's a common misconception, 
but the two have essentially separate budgets.  WBUR has to pay BU for a 
lot of the services it receives (internet, utilities, phones, janitorial 
stuff), although all employees there are BU employees (BU signs da checks) 
but WBUR doesn't get money from the school, and the school doesn't get 
"protection money" from the station.

I've been told that Emerson, for many years, has viewed WBUR as a cash cow 
for BU and therefore has thought that WERS *should be* the same for Emerson.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron "Bishop" Read             aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels Consulting          AOL-IM: readaaron
http://www.friedbagels.com      Boston, MA