How to Get FIred from a Community Radio Station
I know it's forbidden to smoke in the studio. I know CDs that are borrowed have to be signed out and returned in a reasonable amount of time. I assume drugs (other than alcohol) and sex are not allowed while on the air. What else does a DJ need to do to get fired? Maybe you have to raise a certain amount of money during the fund drive, though I've never heard a particular amount stated. Maybe you have to have a certain audience base, or feature a widely-appreciated musical genre. Whatever the guidelines are, I'd like to see them POSTED. I'd like to know why people who have poured decades of their time, energy, MONEY for gas and music are "fired", told one thing while other DJs are told something else, and the listening public is not told anything at all by Management. It's true that most of us resist change, but it is also true that nobody likes being lied to. So PLEASE tell future volunteer DJs what they must or must not do so nobody else is left feeling ripped off. I'm afraid the damage is already done for some of us. I have heard some underwriters won't renew their support. I know some listeners are tuning out altogether. Maybe they aren't needed! Maybe that's progress. At any rate, I hope something can be learned from all this.
I was listening to one of my favorite programs this morning Sat., (7/26-2008) Notes from Jazz, and at the end of it, I got the news that this program will be dropped. It was like a sucker punch to the gut. MISTAKE. You want listeners. To get them, you are willing to lose what makes you unique, and that is programming that you cannot find on other stations. Where are you going to find a programmer like Bronx Barney, for instance? You won't! And to give the Wake Up show another half hour, and then start From the Roots early? I don't see it. There is more than enough Blue Grass, Gospel and Old Time music on the station right now. Do we have to give the station over wholly to this type of music? I listen it all, but to limit your format to essentially one type of music robs the station of its eclectic nature that makes it what the Lexington paper called special.
Well, the decisions are up to what passes for management at WMMT. I have been a loyal listener for some time. And, in my weekly op-ed column (From the Flip Side, Appalachian News-Express, Wednesdays) I have often exhorted my readers to listen to WMMT, and to donate when the station is conducting fund drives. But I feel as though the station management has not listened to me. I offered imput as you struggled with this momentous decision on how to change the format, and I ask you to consider especially First Notes in Jazz. And you chose to ignore my imput. Which makes me ask you this: If you do not listen to me, why should I listen to you? Why should I make an effort to get listeners for WMMT and dontate to help the station stay on the air? Obviously, my imput was dismissed. Get back with me. Convince me that this is "Listener's radio", and that you are not trying to go commercial on me.
One last thing. First Notes from Jazz has been on since 1986. You know you could help increase the number of listeners if you only gave it a promo now and again. But you seem only too willing to give up on this program without trying.
A very interesting thread concerning this is over there---> http://appalachianforums.com/dcdb.pl/read=168270
Now, many of you may be asking, what's the big deal? So First Notes in Jass is no longer on the air? Who does this hurt? A right good question, one I'm glad I asked. And the answer, not many people, just a few. These few happen to be some of the most important American artists ever. Just helped to develope the first, purely American style of music, is all. And thanks to the decision to drop First Notes from Jazz, the following list of people are now HOMELESS. Not that the list is all inclusive or exhaustive. Think about what you have dropped as you peruse the following list, then ask yourselves, are we better off without this music? I would hope you'd answer truthfully, and say "No!"
Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis, Harry Reser, Leo Reisman, Abe Lyman, Nat Shilkret, George Olsen, Ben Bernie, Bob Haring, Ben Selvin, Earl Burtnett, Gus Arnheim, Henry Halstead, Rudy Vallee, Jean Goldkette Don Redman and the Fletcher Henderson band, Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club orchestra, Walter 'Foots' Thomas, Cab Calloway, the Joe "King" Oliver outfit, Louis Armstrong, Henry "Red" Allen, J.C. Higginbottom, Charley Holmes, Earl Hines and his Grand Terrace Cafe band, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields, Glenn Miller, Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Gil Evans, Johnny Richards, Sun Ra, Gary MacFarland, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Carla Bley, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, Sam Rivers, Don Ellis, Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald,Terry Allen, Harry Babbitt, Sam Browne, Bob Carroll, Don Cornell, Doris Day, Johnny Desmond, Bob Eberly, Ralna English, Lucy Fabery, Al Hibbler, Guy Hovis, Eddy Howard, Marion Hutton, Paula Kelly, Snooky Lanson, Anita O'Day, Helen O'Connell, Lucy Ann Polk, Ray Pilgrim, Ginny Simms, Kay Starr, Bob Vincent, Fran Warren, Patty Page, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Joni James, Nat King Cole, the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Xavier Cugat, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Durante, Billy Ekstine, Eddie Fisher, Judy Garland, the Mills Brothers, the Ink Spots, Sophie Tucker, Danny Kaye, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker,Chick Corea, Miles "Dewey" Davis, Sweet and Sassy Sarah Vaughn, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, Theolonious Monk, Anita O'Day, Jaco Pastorius, Tito Puenta, Max Roach, Artie Shaw, Billy Strayhorn, Maxine Sullivan, Fats Waller, Ethal Waters, Ethyl Merman, Mary Lou Williams, John Zorn,Lester Young, Phil Woods,
In the past few days we have heard from many of you about changes at WMMT. We regret all the confusion and anxiety resulting from our written and oral communications about proposed radio schedule changes. This message aims to reassure everyone involved and clarify our plans.
In brief, these are the facts:
1. Nothing is set in stone. No final decisions have been made. Proposed changes will be presented at three meetings. The plans are subject to revision as a result of those meetings.
2. No one has been fired. Even if the proposed changes happen, it is the sincere intent of station management to offer other programming opportunities to the Pine Mountain Morning volunteers.
3. The proposed changes are not directed at any particular programmer. The proposed decisions are driven by data from Arbitron, donations, and various audience surveys. We are a community radio station, meaning we belong to the community – WMMT’s listeners.
4. The public meetings will produce new data that will be added to what we already know before the final proposed changes are completed. As Director of Appalshop, I personally insure the integrity and openness of this process.
Changes are being considered so that we can respond to the desires of our listeners and enhance financial support for WMMT while remaining true to ourselves. At this time only initial proposed changes exist; we have not even reached the final proposal yet. Everything is in play and subject to change. The Board of Directors of Appalshop, which serves as the Board of Directors of WMMT, will review the final plan and hear the concerns of those who may oppose the final proposal. Before that stage, WMMT will conduct three very meaningful public hearings. These will take place from 6:00 until 8:00 PM on Tuesday, May 20, Wednesday, May 28, and Monday, June 16 in the Appalshop Theater at 91 Madison Avenue in Whitesburg. Reactions at those meetings will directly shape the final proposal for schedule change.
Although everything remains on the table, objective data makes powerful arguments for change. Both listeners and donations drop off during the Pine Mountain Morning segments Monday through Friday. These five shows provide some of the very best radio WMMT offers, some of the finest on community radio anywhere, but do not seem to have the listening or contributing audience we would like. We have other fine shows that also do not have a strong audience. Other offerings do well on donations, but have small numbers of listeners and vice versa.
The data do suggest that WMMT’s community does like music, news, and commentary mixes during the afternoon. Ideally, we would like to create afternoon programming mixing music, public affairs, and commentary using, we hope, some of the PMM programmers. The Arbitron information on who is listening and the donations also demonstrate the strong support for old-time, bluegrass, and gospel music on WMMT.
Another factor we need to consider is that our program offerings are not consistent one day to the next. Our listeners cannot rest assured that they will hear compatible programming at the same time of day. Just look at the Noon hour. On Sunday, WMMT presents public affairs programming. Monday brings traditional music, while Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday feature bluegrass. Friday turns to classic rock, followed by Saturdays split between big band and old time. Our shows are of widely varying lengths (from thirty minutes to four hours) and start times.
All these factors have to be examined, along with the direct comments of our listeners through the public meetings and station surveys. What those changes ultimately will be will be determined by a fair, open, and fact-driven process.
Sincerely,
Art Menius
Director
Appalshop, Inc.
Gee, I wish I knew what was happening at WMMT. The changes, already decided on, seem to have been a fait accompli. Yes, there were the "meetings", but in order to find out that anything was even going on at the station, I had to stumble onto it. I called one Saturday recently, when this year's Seedtime on the Cumberlands was being broadcast, to find out why First Notes from Jazz wasn't on, and the on-air personality let slip that changes were in the works, and that I could make comments by getting on-line. It was here I found this forum topic, and it was then that I first warned against changes that would cost the station its character. Looks like to no avail.
I feel like Appalshop has lost its soul while searching for the bucks. Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've found that I've been mistaken about things. But I lived rather nicely before I first started to listen to WMMT, and I could, if push came to shove, live rather nicely if I stopped tuning in. But I don't like to treat an old friend like that. I have learned a good deal about this area, even though I was born here. I am more in tune with its musical heritage, for instance, than I ever was before. But it isn't just my knowledge of the musical heritage of this area that has grown, because on the old-time shows, From the Roots, Possum Opry, and Deep in Tradition, for instance, I have heard music from all over the country, the South, in particular, Cajun for one, and I feel richer for the experience.
But in tuning in to First Notes from Jazz, I have had my musical horizons expanded here, as well. Jazz is the only truly original American music, and it has won over listeners here and abroad, as well. To take off a show that has roots as deep as First Notes from Jazz (since 1986) is simply unconscionable. It also does a deep disservice to the listeners, as well.
I won't let anyone who is responsible for forcing these changes at the station keep me from tuning in. But if I begin to feel that I am being taken for granted, my attention may eventually wane. I started to listen to WMMT because the station has an eclectic, eccentric nature, even, and if it gets to the point, a point it seems it seems some are intent on reaching, where it will broadcast only what the majority want to hear, that will be when I'm outta here.