WUEV for sale?

[Ryan Priest]

According to the following link, the University of Evansville is seeking input on the potential sale of its radio station, WUEV.

http://damaris.livejournal.com/65805.html

The notice appeared in a recent edition of "Ace Notes," a faculty newsletter.

______________
"The road to the truth is long -- and lined the entire way with annoying bastards."

[Joshua Messex]

> According to the following link, the University of
> Evansville is seeking input on the potential sale of its
> radio station, WUEV.
>
> http://damaris.livejournal.com/65805.html
>
> The notice appeared in a recent edition of "Ace Notes," a
> faculty newsletter.
>


This would be terrible. WUEV has the only Hip Hop Music on FM time slot with Party Lights and I am afraid Party Lights would vanish, thus Evansville would have no "real" Hip Hop exposure on FM(and please do not bring WSTO and WDKS into this, that is akin to saying WGBF is real Alternative because they play Staind).

Mabye there's a slight chance USI could purchase 91.5? I know they probably want a FM frequency and mabye they just might keep Party Lights

Otherwise, I say, Get ready for K-Love, CCM 24/7. Just great, just great.

______________
Happy 20th Birthday Power 106

JOSH, Moderating the whole Radio-Info radio state of California and Indiana too!

www.myspace.com/radiogeek500

[PTBoardOp94]

I toured the WUEV studio in November and...um.  

Nothing impressive.  Except for the fact that WUEV is not limited to students majoring in broadcasting.  Just because I think I can make more money as an English major doesn't mean I can't hop behind a mic and jabber for a few hours.

I don't know who Len Clark is, but I guess he was a long time station manager there.  And his departure should have nothing to do with this decision.

I've looked at colleges which have NPR/talk stations and those with no station at all.  And I would much rather go somewhere where music can be played.

One reason cited is space in Olmstead Hall...yes, the building is old and hemmed in.  But the station takes up maybe 300 sq ft.  That's room for what, 4 cubicles?  Maybe 5?  And as far as expenses...sigh.

I say keep WUEV.  People do indeed listen to college radio off-campus.  So a campus only replacement just wouldn't be the same.

[nchs83]

Forget formats....

What's a 6,100 watt FM non-com go for these days in the Evansville market?

If it brings a hefty price, will other college administrators in the area see this as an opportunity to cash in?  I'm thinking specifically of WVUB in Vincennes and WVJC in Mt. Carmel, IL. Both are 50,000 watts with blow torch signals.  The VU broadcasting program is fairly solid, but the program at Wabash Valley College is suspect at best from all reports.  I'd say that one would be most likely to be dumped by their junior college district.

[Ryan Priest]

You can send letters of support to addresses listed at:

http://www.savewuev.com

The University says comments should be made by Wednesday, February 8.  The short comment period leads many supporters to believe this is a done deal.

I've heard a couple of organizations named as suitors -- but I'll hold off on making comment until I find out something more substantive.

______________
"The road to the truth is long -- and lined the entire way with annoying bastards."

[Neil Griffin]

> Forget formats....
>
> What's a 6,100 watt FM non-com go for these days in the
> Evansville market?
>
> If it brings a hefty price, will other college
> administrators in the area see this as an opportunity to
> cash in?  I'm thinking specifically of WVUB in Vincennes and
> WVJC in Mt. Carmel, IL. Both are 50,000 watts with blow
> torch signals.  The VU broadcasting program is fairly solid,
> but the program at Wabash Valley College is suspect at best
> from all reports.  I'd say that one would be most likely to
> be dumped by their junior college district.

If Vincennes sold any of it stations, I'd say WFML 96.7 would be the first to go.  It's already being operated by Media Five (former owner of WUZR 105.7) as "Hot 96."  I'm glad I went through the broadcasting program while the station was still live and local.  Much more fun that the easy listening that was on WVUB at the time.

[radiomike]

> I don't know who Len Clark is, but I guess he was a long
> time station manager there.  And his departure should have
> nothing to do with this decision.

I beg to differ. Len was a student advocate and lived and
breathed WUEV. He ran into constant problems with administation
issues, trying to limit student involvement and grow the station.
This included issues involving space, FCC rules, and budget, which
the school continually was cutting. Even when donations were
given, they were not enhancements, but budget relief, and the
school would cut the station's already meager budget. The station
did have a tie with academics, in the fact, Len did teach at the
school. I am not sure of his replacement, and the curriculum has
changed in terms of majors and support.  One of the issues that
Len tried to fight for, but ran into a buzzsaw, was the students'
ability to broadcast sporting events. The station was almost almost
exclusively prevented from broadcasting over the air Men's games,
but could do internet only, which the school also wanted stopped.
Yet the school paid a commercial station to air their games, with
a local sports anchor and the asst. AD or communications head as talent.

The station has a rich history. Under Len's leadership, it won
many honors, for its news and Jazz. I beleive it was Jazz station
of the Year by Gavin, and was a finalist for an NAB award a few times.
It's newscasts won statewide honors more than once, and now there is
no effort. The writing was on the wall when Len was forced out, and
things have not been the same since.

The school will make the tragic mistake, to get rid of the station, including the "eyesore" of the tower on top of the administration building. However,
they will realize their mistake too late, and it will impact the
school forever. The school gets a quick fix, but the long term damage
to the school and the community is not considered. This will be
a great loss, especially if is goes God Squad.

Len was an integral part of WUEV, and his impact was felt by the staff and
the station, as soon as he was absent. The writing was on the wall for the
station. While his successor has done a decent job, things have changed, with students losing out to automation and less access.
Sadly, the ones making the decisions really don't understand the
value of what they have, nor the history at the institution to understand
what it means, and what WUEV means to the community.

[jeffwalker]

I couldn't agree more. Len was a very good guy with a lot of friends in the community who ran into a lot of problems with that administration. I would have gone to UE because of Len's leadership were it not for the fiscal burden that would have been. UE immediately dipped in quality following Len's departure, which actually allowed me to win an award for Broadcast News while at USI. The award was one that UE had taken for something like 8 straight years, and the station clearly suffered in all facets following his departure, with news being just one of those examples.

I don't know the current station manager at UEV, and I have no doubt that he's a likeable guy. I will say, though, that the station is not as enjoyable as a whole since Len left. Let's hope that whatever happens, the 91.5 frequency finds it's way.

[PTBoardOp94]

> Sadly, the ones making the decisions really don't understand
> the
> value of what they have, nor the history at the institution
> to understand
> what it means, and what WUEV means to the community.
>
That is quite sad...and this whole series of events considerably lowers my opinion of U of E.  If the station is indeed sold, they've lost all chances of getting $80k from me.  

But regardless, the name of the station manager and his personality should have nothing to do with whether the station lives on or becomes K-Love.