RE: WJUL being taken oven by Lowell Sun ??

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

Aaron writes:

> You mean just UMass Lowell...or all the UMass outlets?

Good question.  On it's face, just UMass Lowell.  In the larger scheme, however,
this could be the genesis of what Marty Meehan, D-Mass., touted as a good
example of a public-private partnership, etc.  That spells UMass network linked
to a head-end run by a subcontracting news business.  And "good jobs at good
wages" with full state benefits back-doored by a private corporation.  In this
model, it's a state worker who's "slot" is back-door funded by industry.  Hence,
state government gets to say it's not getting bigger while businesses can "fund"
state slots and garner leverage.

> In theory yes...although to play devil's advocate, this approach has been
> tried by many colleges in many situations and frequently what ends up
> happening is a lot of unreasonable protest from the student end and
> embarassing PR for the college.

But since 1953 it was never "tried" at Lowell Textile School/Lowell
Technological Institute/Lowell Normal Schoo/Lowell Teacher's College/Lowell
State College/University of Lowell/UMass Lowell. Not attempted.  A technical
college paired with a liberal arts college and no student solutions even
queried.

> Without tooting my own horn here, I think a better idea would be to hire a
> professional consultant who knows non-commercial COLLEGE radio (not a
> commercial radio pro) and have that person run the above ideas for synergy
> (God I hate that word...)

I hate the word, too, and gagged as I typed. I actually agree that that would
be, as the late Jerry Williams would say, "the evil of two lessers."

Unless the Sun
> ends up paying mucho dinero to UMass Lowell...don't expect to see
> *official* control being ceded anytime soon.  Real-world control might -
> MIGHT - be another story.

I agree.  Likely a license challenge before an LMA is considered, but above all
options sits that real world control point.  Five years worth of opportunity, at
the very least, through 2008.

Bill O'Neill