WLUW, What's Next? I Don't Know.

Something is happening here in Chicago with WLUW that's I've been processing over the past few days. (If you don't want to read all of this, please skip down to the bottom where I ask for a little help.)

The Background:
As you may know, WLUW is an independent, listener-supported radio station. Loyola University owns and maintains the transmitter, and WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) provides management assistance and guidance. Loyola decided about 5 years ago to shut down the station in order to deal with a budget shortfall, and WBEZ stepped in with a proposal to keep it going. Key to that proposal was that WLUW would be self-supporting, by means of fund-raising events and pledge drives. For the past 5 years, the staff of the station (which is mostly volunteer) has been building up toward this goal, and last month we finally hit it. It was very exciting and validating; an interesting thing about raising money from listeners is that it is exactly a referendum on whether or not people are happy with you — if listeners are supporting you, it means the radio is good.

The News:
Last Friday, Robert Feder of the Sun-Times broke a story, leaked to him by persons unknown (denials have come from both Loyola and BEZ), that Loyola was terminating the agreement with WBEZ and taking back control of the station. This came as a complete shock, a punch in the gut. This past weekend was also the Pitchfork Festival and the Clark Street Fest, two events (one of them quite major) where WLUW has a presence. We were there to raise money and awareness of the station; suddenly we are uncertain about the future, and we have to talk to not only listeners and potential listeners, but also the press.

Mr. Feder, a pox on your first-born for ruining our weekend.

In any event, we had no details until last night's meeting with representatives from WBEZ. Torey Malatia, the General Manager, came with his Program Director, Ron Jones, and someone named Daniel whose exact title I can't remember. They had no definitive answers for us, but told us what they could.

(Torey Malatia has been a controversial figure in Chicago, in part for his decision to end most music programming on WBEZ, and also for his decision to help WLUW. Many mistrusted WBEZ's intentions towards WLUW, and WBEZ has been portrayed akin to the Borg. After Monday's meeting I have nothing but respect for the man. He clearly is passionate about radio that serves the public, and was definitely broken up about the loss of WLUW. I don't agree with all of his decisions at WBEZ, but I respect him. And I can also validate that WBEZ's influence on WLUW has been nothing but good.)

Loyola has been secretive about their motivations for a while. Rumors have been around since the agreement began that Loyola wanted the station back, but they would never admit to even thinking about it. They have not met with Shawn and Craig, our Program Director and Station Manager, for about a year and a half; this leads me to believe that they had grievances there but did not want to work them out. In any event, it's all speculation.

What seems clear is that Loyola wants the station to be the centerpiece of its new School of Communication, and they want more student involvement. (In fact, WLUW has higher student involvement than most college stations; Northwestern's WNUR has more mainly because all Journalism students are required, as part of their studies, to do reports for the radio. No students were ever turned away from WLUW, and getting involved was much easier and more welcoming than at WHPK when I was a student at the U of C 15 years ago.)

What is also clear is that Shawn and Craig are leaving almost immediately. (This appears to come from Loyola; no one at WLUW or WBEZ wants to see them go.) While there's a very good chance that Loyola will continue the community programming, it's also likely that they intend to make changes (otherwise, why fire the folks who have made it a success?). And whether or not they plan to keep the format the same, and even the staff the same, the dream we've been building to for five years is scuttled.

So the upshot is this: I do not know if there will be a place for me at the station next year. I will continue to treat the station professionally, and Shawn and Craig taught us; I will not mention the situation on air, and I will continue to work to build the reputation of the station and play good music. And I will prepare for a few different possibilities: I may stay with the station, I may leave radio altogether, or I may help to build a new community radio station in Chicago.

The Plea:
So here's where I need your help. If a new station is to form in Chicago, it will need better access to the airwaves. Currently, the low end of the dial is crowded, and the commercial end is closed to low-power FM in urban areas. New legislation is trying to open up the commercial end of the dial to low-power stations. These stations would be not-for-profit, and would not interfere at all with the more powerful commercial stations next to them. Multiple community stations could open around the country, serving their various local areas.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to support low-power FM. It might be the only future of community radio in Chicago.

Thanks for reading. More info here at Chicagoist

Labels: personal, wluw

posted by Tony at 6:51 PM