Stations

Tennessee jazz station could go dark

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Granted, this post is about a jazz station, not a classical station. But when it comes to giving thoughtful music with modest commercial appeal a safe haven on the airwaves, we’re all in this together, right?

Middle State Tennessee University in Nashville could be looking to shut down and even unload WMOT-FM, an around-the-clock jazz station that claims a 40-year history. Local NBC affiliate WSMV reports that MTSU is trying to cut as much as $19 million from its budget. With that sort of burden, you might understand how a station ends up in this precarious situation.

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More Classical in CA, Republican Irony, and Sirius XM Filing Bankruptcy?

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Where shall I start?  There’s so much news!

Let’s start with the Republican hypocrisy irony,  since the Stimulus Bill is on everyone’s mind.  Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but the final bill apparently really does cut the hoped-for $50 million in NEA funding.

UPDATE 2-12-09: A press release just sent out by the RNCC claims:

Democrats said they would fight for fiscal responsibility in Washington, but went back on their promise by voting for $335 million in STD prevention, $75 million for smoking cessation and even $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts.

Does this mean the NEA funding is back in?  Stay tuned.

The author of that cut in the Senate was Tom Coburn (R – Oklahoma), whose daughter Sarah, ironically, is a top-notch opera singer.  The LA Times just ran this story about her.  He considers museums, theaters and arts centers “wasteful and non-stimulative projects.”

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Music director among casualties at WMFE

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A few miscellaneous notes this morning. First off, a blogger for OrlandoSentinel.com reports that Dave Glerum, a classical host at WMFE in Orlando, Fla., was among the employees laid off last week when the station cut a quarter of its staff.

“Glerum was the station’s music director — which makes me wonder how a classical-music radio station can go on without someone programming its classical music,” writes the blogger. Good question. Classical 24, perhaps?

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