Fwd: [CBI] Up for sale, WRVG fell short of its big dreams

[Aaron Read]

Jeez....WJHU/WYPR, WJUL/WUML, WYCM and now WRVG.  Has anyone been keeping 
tabs on what colleges/high schools have "sold out" part or all of their 
stations' programming/license to outside influences?

Excerpts from the article are below.

- Aaron


>Sender:       "College Broadcasters, Inc" <CBI@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
>From:         Barry Rueger <rueger@COMMUNITY-MEDIA.COM>
>Organization: community-media.com
>Subject:      [CBI] Up for sale, WRVG fell short of its big dreams
>X-To:         pUBRADIO@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU, nfcb@nfcb.org
>To:           CBI@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>
> From The Collegiate Broadcasters Incorporated Listserv>>
>
>Hmmm - this didn't seem to go through the first time:
>http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/7219169.htm
>
>Posted on Sun, Nov. 09, 2003
>Up for sale, WRVG fell short of its big dreams
>By Heather Svokos
>HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
>
>(snip)
>Georgetown College, which has owned and run WRVG since it started as
>a 140-watt station in 1963, announced last month it planned to sell
>the station to help relieve the college's money woes.
>
>Although the identity of the potential buyer of WRVG-89.9 FM has not
>been publicly disclosed, there has been a unified buzz among public
>radio observers that the buyer in the wings is a religious
>broadcaster.
>
>(snip)
>Players on the state's public radio scene are sad to see WRVG leave
>the public radio family. But some cite a competitive spirit, rather
>than a cooperative one, among Central Kentucky's three public radio
>stations, as being partly responsible for the station's demise.
>
>(snip)
>When people talk about a public radio consortium, Georgetown's
>Dawahare is emphatic about one thing: "WRVG being sold has nothing to
>do with us not putting together a consortium," he said. "It has to do
>with Georgetown College needing to reposition that money. It was a
>big asset for the college, and it was $1.7 million that we could move
>toward our core mission of education."
>
>(Snip)
>"I think there was a fundamental misunderstanding,"-Martin said. "I
>think what happened was the idea that, with the administration, it
>was: 'Oh my God, we've got a 50,000-watt radio station -- we can
>raise money with this -- it's going to save the college.'
>
>"And we (the radio staffers) were coming at it with: 'Well, this is
>public radio, you can generate revenue that will pay for it, but
>you're not ever going to generate revenue that will support an
>institution, even marginally.'
>
>"There seemed to have been a disconnect between the reality of it and
>the dream."
>
>(snip)
>On Wednesday, Georgetown got a construction permit to build a low-
>powered FM that will reach only Georgetown. It will be at 93.7 on the
>FM dial and will be student-run.


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