NPR at RUR
Is WXXI the Great Satan? Of course not. Today, especially,
WXXI provides a badly needed breath of liberal air for all of us drowning in
the sea of Rush and cohorts. While these ideas should be heard, however, it is
sad to see another unique local radio voice semi-silenced.
In years
past, I enjoyed the early morning jazz programming of community members like
Fred Costello on WRUR, as well as the wonderful blues and R&B programming
on Friday evenings. Now there are fewer of these singular voices and programs
on the air.
It is a
shame that WRUR’s student or university management couldn’t have reached out to
the community to find those who have something to say or play that provides a
valuable alternative, instead of a re-broadcast of what is available on
WXXI-AM.
My belief
is that WXXI will gradually creep further into the lifeblood and programming of
WRUR until it becomes an NPR station with only some local, U of R-created
content.
Chuck Ingersoll, Fairport (Ingersoll is
former program director of WCMF and WSAY. He currently hosts a weekly jazz
program on WGMC.)
College sounds
Thank you, City, for your article regarding our station and
WXXI (“Mixed Signals,” June 25). To our listeners, I would like to add that our
programming rarely resumes its previous schedule, so don’t hold your collective
breath.
WRUR’s
student board gives little if any regards to their listenership. They need to
realize the community members are the mainstay of the station, while they are
here today, gone tomorrow. And they refuse to give us time to let our listeners
know there is going to be a change.
Since I
first arrived at WRUR in 1995, there has been a battle between the students and
community members. I am constantly told by the students (and at least one
outsider) that since the station is located in a college, it should
“belong” to them. They want to keep a college attitude at the
station. The faculty apparently agrees with this.
Why do
students need 3,000 watts to do this (or 950, in the case of RIT)? Ten watts
should be enough to cover a single campus broadcasting. No one outside a campus
cares about what a bunch of college kids are doing.
Rochester
desperately needs a viable community radio station. WRUR was the last resemblance
of real radio in this town. Why can’t more stations realize that block
programming, allowing a knowledgeable DJ to control the music, and developing
listenerships of various degrees is better than presuming to know what the
public wants and likes?
Although
the existing shows still keep their basic formats, there now has to be some
compromising in the way of NPR programming (the news now pops up automatically
and cuts off whatever show is on, virtually every hour, as opposed to the DJs
controlling the AP news between shows).
I also
worry whether there will be other spots added to cut us off, be they from WXXI
or WRUR. As it is, our two live experimental shows are now interrupted.
To my
friend, Forrest Cummings: I’m very sorry to see you go after almost two
decades.
And finally
to WXXI’s Norm Silverstein: How insulting to imply that we are short on
diversity. Apparently you’ve never listened to WRUR in the past. I guarantee
you would not find a more diverse station in town. Considering that most students
play the same music (emo pop, punk/metal, hip-hop, techno), I’d say we’ll be
more concentrated.
Peter Badore, Rumson Road, Greece (Badore is former jazz coordinator and host of “Other Aspects” on
WRUR.)
Cleaning up
A summer street party and a celebratory parade — how
wonderful! But who is going to clean up the shocking amount of trash and broken
glass on East Avenue from Prince Street to Gibbs, on the sidewalks and grass
borders? I noted that the public trash can on East and Scio was overflowing all
over the sidewalk on Saturday evening after the events. Obviously, it would
help if there were a lot of trash receptacles along the way. The street
cleaners were out afterwards, but I never saw the sidewalks and grass borders
being cleaned.
C. Gordon, East Avenue, Rochester
Summer sounds
Gorgeous evening, beautiful George Eastman House grounds,
and the well-anticipated joy of a performance by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason:
perfection!
Well, not
really: Nearby people seated in prime spots talked nonstop throughout the
concert (“they haven’t known each other that long” etc.). Changing
locations simply found another set of voices.
Hey, folks,
whether you choose a concert, movie, play, or even church services, please save
the chatter for before and after, or at least sit on the far fringes. Why
diminish the pleasure others have in the event?
This goes
for the guy with the cell phone, too.
Jan Hickman, Fountain Street, Rochester
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2003.
