Letters to the Editor - October 18 2006

Hope it doesn’t happen

??
College radio is such a unique experience for both students and listeners. WREK offers a lot of material to Atlantans that NPR and even Album 88 don’t offer. Let’s not see this great resource for truly alternative music and programming disappear.

??
-- Neighbor on the Airwaves

??
Where’s the Journalism?

??
I mean come on. Anyone worth holding a pen would have mentioned the fact that WREK holds a non-commercial license and can’t become a commercial station. The FCC would not allow that as they are in the designated non-commercial spectrum on the FM dial. Shoddy reporting!

??
-- Erik

??
WREK

??
NOOOOOOOOOOO! I also oppose the idea of WREK going commercial. In my opinion, college radio stations play the best music because the music that’s played isn’t played over and over again like on commercial radio stations. I host the metal show on GSU’s radio station, Album 88 and I would quit in a heartbeat if we went commercial. (Of course that will never happen.) College radio stations are a haven for people who don’t like hearing the same 10 songs in rotation every hour and obnoxious commercials. The thought of getting money may be nice but honestly, whoever proposed this idea should ask what the WREK listeners want. And I also think that the underwriting idea is a good idea. We’re able to broadcast all our sports games over our airwaves and when the games are over, we just go back to the regular schedule. It really shouldn’t be much of a problem. And one more thing: I don’t know what I would have done in high school if I didn’t have WREKage to listen to on Friday nights!

??
-- Amanda

??
Work out a happy medium

??
There’s no reason that WREK can’t broadcast all the GTech games, and still have students program eclectic music in the other hours. Even though it is a designated non-commercial frequency between 88.1 and 91.9 FM, they can still have underwriting for the sports events that can raise more money. Maybe not as much as an obnoxious commercial station that blasts 20 commercial spots every 10 minutes, but they could push the non-commercial envelope a bit and squeeze in a few extra underwriting spots.

??
-- College Radio Lover

??
College radio alum (not GT)

??
College radio is first and foremost a learning tool. It would be a shame to see that taken away by commercial greed. The last commenter was exactly right with the underwriting. I was the sports director at a small Division 3 college station, WRST (www.uwosh.edu/wrst) and we raised a good amount of money through underwriting, enough to send our radio staff to all of the basketball and football away games and to Vegas for a pre-season invitational with the basketball team. If we did that in a small town with no real pull for the sports teams then I’m sure they can do that in Atlanta at WREK. They just need some strong student staff to get the job done.

??
-- Josh

??
Don’t count the AD out yet...

??
Yes, we all know that WREK would need a new FCC license and to somehow find room further to the right on the FM dial to accomplish this. We also know that a station with WREK’s musical programming would not generate the advertising revenue needed to support operation (that’s a compliment, by the way). But....never underestimate the influence of a major university’s Athletic department, and its affluent alumni contributors. IF (very big if) WREK falls, then what’s to say that GA State can’t pull the rug out from WRAS as well. WCLK, well, I believe that they have a VERY good thing going and doubt CAU would be so stupid despite their own financial issues.

??
-- BP