RE: WJUL being taken oven by Lowell Sun ??

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

Mark Watson:
I sense that the students will
> eventually be squeezed out as I can see WJUL going all news/talk/info a la
> WBUR, where the students have no say in the college station. Gary isn't
> exactly thrilled by this either, I'm sure he'll drop his .02 to the list,
> along with Mr.O'Neill.

Okay, I'll bite.  The university told me the "problem" was not really the radio
station.  It was the fact that the university has a image problem with the
community as a whole.  Not sure what, who, why.  So, they get this idea to move
the message to the masses with their licensed stations.  Step one, IMHO, would
be to roundtable the students and the very accessible and willing alumni, to
study the problem, seek solutions, create a structure at the station such that
lots of synergy happens.  Such as, the school's word gets out there.  The
university actually "teaches" the students how to do something, perhaps, better,
to wit, radio.  Unfortunately, the school, under the veil of summer, subs-out
the "problem" and "solution" to a highly visible political force in it's
community, that of the local newspaper.  The only extent to which WJUL students
were involved were in the discussion as to how the decided-upon "solution" would
be impacting the overall process.

The knee-jerk reaction of UMass Lowell was NOT, "Hey, we have this real life,
real world problem with university image.  We have STUDENTS in our charge that
are here to LEARN something about the real world.  Why not put it all together,
blah blah, blah.  Heck, if they did that, and the students told the school to
stick it, or simply could not bring it all together, then step aside and  shut
up, already.   Really, this is more angering to me as it pertains to the gray
flannel arrogance of the Commonwealth, the University and the sweetheart deal
being afforded to a flailing newspaper begging to be relevant.

So, forget the line about trying to make WJUL more professional sounding, more
linked to the community.  It's an opportunity for the Sun to spawn "Lowell
Community Broadcasters" under the shield of a 501C3, LMA a non-comm. and in 2006
take a run at the license, thereby installing itself in a market that, FCC rules
changes notwithstanding, would receive the Sun's editiorial position from two
sources instead of one.

This is less about radio than you think.

Bill O'Neill