A joint radio/TV licensee with a dual news/classical format has announced job cuts. WMFE in Orlando, Fla., pared 15 jobs and ended local TV production to offset a drop in listener and corporate support, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
WMFE President Jose Fajardo told the paper, “The key to us was December pledge, locally and nationwide. Once we saw it falling short, and corporate support also following suit, we thought we had to be proactive to stabilize WMFE.”
WMFE airs classical music during middays (some of which is from Classical 24) and evenings. I’ve been keeping an eye on news of layoffs at stations — there have been quite a few — but this is the first I’ve seen at a classical station, either all-classical or dual format.
Note that WMFE is a joint licensee, with both radio and TV stations operated by the same entity. I’ve heard from people in public broadcasting that joint licensees are more vulnerable to the effects of the weak economy — more TV stations than radio have been hurting for some time. It’s not uncommon for more successful radio stations to subsidize their weaker TV counterparts, or so I’ve heard. The “December pledge” Fajardo refers to was probably TV fundraising. A TV station in Sacramento, Calif., recently laid off staffers after a weak December fund drive. (It’s among these layoffs I covered for Current.)
Thanks to the PRPD blog for the tip re WMFE. The full Orlando Sentinel article is here. How is your station holding up during these hard times?
Speaking of fundraising, last night I took to the air on WPFW, the community station in Washington, D.C., where I host a show, and asked for listener contributions. I haven’t done that in a while. It was from 3–5 a.m., and I didn’t get any pledges. Boo hoo. I did get one call, though, from a listener who said I wasn’t playing jazz. I was playing a cut from Leroy Jenkins’ Mixed Quintet album. I guess it’s all a matter of perception. (And it was definitely moreso jazz than some of the African, Middle Eastern and Indonesian music I was playing!)
Subscribe Via Email
Enter your email address to subscribe to Scanning the Dial and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
Mr. Janssen, this is terrible news. On my journeys to Florida by auto and via I-75, I’m tuning to 90.7 shortly after passing Ocala, and WMFE is my “traveling companion” to likely around Yehaw on the Florida Turnpike. On journeys when I have made use of the Amtrak Auto Train, just before surrendering my auto for loading on such, I’ll switch the dial from WETA 90.9 to WMFE so that when I get my auto back, the audio is ready to go.
Even commercial classical stations such as WFMT 98.7 in Chicago have taken to fund raising in recent years. I’ve never gotten over the loss of WNIB 97.1, but then the family owning the station was made by Bonneville International the proverbial “offer they couldn’t refuse” and now it is “Drive 97”.
I’m unaware if WQXR 96.3 in New York has fund raising drives.
One more source of on-air classical music appears to be endangered.
GBN
Clarendon hills, IL