Shudders to think what would happen

I am writing in response to the request on the WMUB website that asks for comments on the station.  I do not know what plans you are considering but I ask you to please consider keeping WMUB as part of your universities mission and outreach to the rest of us.

My husband and I began listening to public radio in the 1970's around the time of Watergate. It came from a public university in Washington state. We do not, nor have we in the past chosen to have cable TV.   In fact,  we lived in isolated places where any other TV was not accessible for almost 15 years.  We spent ten and a half years of that time without NPR at all.  Fortunately we were able to pick up Canadian radio otherwise we would only have had country music with talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh.  We have loved listening to WMUB since moving to Indiana in 1993.

Your radio station is especially important to me and probably to many others like me, who currently find WMUB the only station that is received at home.  Although I can listen to a multitude of stations when I commute to work, WMUB is the only station I receive in my neighborhood.   I value and treasure the ability to hear good radio programming at home.  Our radio is on for many hours per day.  We have supported WMUB since we moved to Indiana in 1993.

 Once we also received WXVR which was a subsidiary of WVXU.  I don't know what happened but the station vanished from the air several months ago and is now a Christian FM station.  I shudder to think what would happen if WMUB disappeared also.  There would be nothing to listen to at home at all.  Although I value reading internet news, I really like listening to radio at home too.

WMUB has consistently excellent programming.  Not only are the NPR programs diverse and excellent but I have not heard such high quality local programming on any other station I listen to.    This includes, due to much commuting, stations in Indianapolis, Anderson, and Muncie, Indiana.  It is an excellent way to make people aware of your university and it is an excellent way to train students interested in a career in radio.

The other long term benefit to your school is if students who apply to attend Miami University have access to good public radio while they are growing up they will have a wider base for understanding the world than if they grow up with private radio station with a more narrow point of view.

Please find a way to help this station continue its wonderful mission to the people of America.  We need it.   And we love listening to Mama Jazz.

--Kristen Dobyns, Richmond

Values of freedom and community

When I moved to Richmond I was pleased to find two local NPR stations.  When there was not something that interested me on one then I could listen to the other.  Today, there is only one NPR station and its signal is weak.

WMUB provides an important community service by providing balanced news coverage and a voice for the community.  Corporate stations can never offer such a voice, this is especially true with recent mergers and rulings from the FCC.  When corporate radio stations have the same DJ for 5 or more cities, it truly affects the content and just how in touch the station is with local listeners.

WMUB also provides a level playing field for discussion.  In an area that is overwhelmingly filled with conservative voices and a nation tending towards conservatism this is an important first step.  Democracy depends on open forums such as the one provided by WMUB.

Keep WMUB on the air and continue to protect the values of free thinking, freedom of speech, and the value of community over profit.

--Joseph Tolton, Richmond

Priceless addition to our culture

I am a proponent of Miami U. continuing to fund and provide support to WMUB!

THE station is my favorite, it is on my computor whenever I go on-line and in space #1 on my cars radio.

Last week, while on the way to visit my mother-in-law in Michigan, I listened to WMUB for as long as I could on my way North through Indiana.  When IT was no longer available, I searched in vain for a station as good as WMUB.  When returning 5 days later, I searched and searched until WMUB again became available in my vehicle.

THE station is a true priceless addition to our culture as a locality and I understand is listened to nationally.  IT really gives a good impression of Miami U. and that it cares about the community and the quality of radio that is available.

Please provide a report to the Miami U. Administration that promotes the continuation of this service.

--Richard, Okeana

Reflects positively on Miami

I feel it necessary to comment about WMUB. The station is part of my daily routine.  It is where I not only receive national news, but local news as well. During the times when I am away from a radio, I listen online. Because of online listening, one could mistakenly say that WMUB as an entity is unnecessary, most of the programming could be found on NPR.org. However, that would not provide the local news, which WMUB provides in an intelligent manner.

Without WMUB, there would also not be the 9am block of local programing, which is informative and educational.

WMUB reflects positively on Miami University.  For us listeners, this concern over the fate of the station is causing us to think negatively about the University.

Thank you for allowing comments to be made.

--Lisa C. Boggs, Lewisburg, Ohio

More music than just jazz

I used to listen and contribute regularly to WMUB, primarily for new and for a few shows like Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion.  When WVXU came on line in Richmond, I switched to that station for a single reason -- I could listen to decent music and not have to be exposed to jazz.

As a mathematician, I am told by others that I should love jazz.  But it literally makes me ill (with the exception of a few classic pieces). by the way, I think Momma Jazz is a cool person, just don't like the music she plays. WVXU played some world music (Echos and another show whose name I cannot recall, among others), some jazz, and some classical along with the news and entertainment programs that it shared with WMUB.  I found that much more to my taste.

Now that WVXU has left the air, I listen to news on WMUB every morning, but have to turn to my CD's other times because I have found nothing but jazz on your station.

Please offer some variety in music.  I'll listen more and begin contributing again.

--Richmond listener

Irreplaceable vehicle of culture

I've always considered WMUB as an extension of Miami University. I never thought this irreplaceable and excellent vehicle of culture, information, and entertainment could be threatened by the risks of declining funding.  It's impossible for me to duly emphasize the importance of WMUB as the ambassador of the university and agent of the Miami Mission:  "To preserve, add to, evaluate, and transmit the accumulated knowledge of the centuries", "Committed to serve the community, state, and nation". 

If something should be changed and improved for the benefit of the University and the community funding for WMUB should be increased.

 

--L. David Mirkin, MD, FCAP, FAAP, FASCP

Acting Chairman, Department of Pathology

Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics

Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Director of Pathology and Clinical Laboratory

The Children's Medical Center

Worst shows are the local ones

I have lived in Richmond now for over 20 years and been listening to WMUB for that amount of time.  This year we supported both WMUB and WVXU.  I gave morre to WVXU because it was my prefered station and I am very disappointed that Richmond can no longer get it.  I will tell you why I wish WMUB would move its programming to be more like WVXU's.

The audience of WMUB is primarily educated, if not highly educated, listeners in Oxford, Richmond, and no doubt other areas.  I doubt if many Miami students are among your listeners because mmost of them don't listen to the types of shows you have.  You don't seem to have students actually doing shows on the radio station.

Frankly, your worst shows are the shows you do locally.  The shows between 9 and 10 every day are difficult to listen to, but unfortunately there is nothing else to listen to if your prefer a talk radio station and don't want to listen to Christian radio.  And when you rerun your local talk shows it is a total waste of time.

The computer help show, the medical call-in show, the "spirituality" shows, are particular examples of shows that frequently seem like a waste of time.  More likely than not, on the computer show a question is asked that has no relevance to anyone but the person asking the question and much time goes by hemming and hawing while not succeeding in getting an answer.  The medical call-in show can be good if there is a person featured who can fill the time intelligently when there are no calls, but sometimes the moderator just goes on and on about nothing.  The so-called spirituality shows are usually a bunch of nonsense.  If they have a following it must be a small group of people who just tune in for them, they're too irritating to listen to unless you are "one of them."  They give public radio time to a fad, in my opinion.  I think most of these local shows appeal to too small a segment of the audience to really succeed.  

WVXU runs Morning Edition again during that 9-10 hour and I much preferred that.  

I don't care for the Michelle Martin show.  I have liked all of the shows with black hosts better than this one.  This one is, simply, boring.  

I am glad you have stopped running most of the old radio comedy shows.  Most of us who have listened to the station have heard all of those two, three, or more times.  I enjoyed them the first couple of times but there were really getting too repetitive.

Another show that WVXU runs that I would like to see you run is BBC news.  

There are some other shows that I have heard in Indianapolis that you don't run that are interesting.  One of them is a lecture series given at some club.  It is always provocative and informative.  It would be a good show for teachers to use for classes because it would lend itself to classroom discussions.  It also goes beyond what NPR can do and features some well-known person giving an opinion on something instead of a balanced point of view.  

Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion and the shows from Chicago are good.  Are you carrying the NPR quiz show, "Wait, WAit Don't Tell Me?"  WVXU had that and it was good.  

--Judith, Richmond

Valuable resources

Both NPR and WMUB are valuable resources to our community and our area. The loss of these resources would be substantial and unthinkable to us. We strongly urge the University not to deprive this region of such a precious resource. Please continue to broadcast!

--Michael R. Jackson, Earlham College, and Deb Jackson

Close to perfect

I don't know exactly what "gathering feedback on the future of WMUB" means, but it makes my blood freeze to think that WMUB would be diminished.  I've been listening to WMUB for 20 years now, and the station has changed a lot in that time, and much for the better.  I really appreciated it when WMUB began to focus more on news programming.  It became a great balance to WYSO, to which I also listen, switching back and forth almost equally, depending on programs that I enjoy.  Sometimes I prefer music, and sometimes I prefer talk, and between the two stations I can satisfy my every whim.  Many days, especially during the day when I'm running errands in the car, I keep WMUB on all the time.  Evenings and weekends, I'm back and forth, because both stations have programs that I enjoy.  It is a huge benefit to have both these stations with their different focuses in my listening area.

 

Our home is a bit unique in our dependence on public radio, because 25 years ago, we kicked the TV out of here.  We have four computers but no TV.  None of my four children grew up with a TV or any of the problems associated with that medium.  I have found that the impact of radio on my children is very different than TV.  While TV really does inflict passivity on them, radio does not.  Where the audio-visual medium seems to take over their brain in a very negative way (and I could give you a thesis on our experiences with this) I have found that my kids can listen to the news on the radio without being overwhelmed and we can talk about the information they get more clearly.  My children have become real consumers of news and enlightened citizens much earlier and in a much better way than they would have if they had gotten their news from the TV.  I feel very strongly that human beings do much better taking in knowledge through books and radio than through TV, for many reasons.

 

Because of this, public radio plays a huge role in our lives.  Public radio is our most important link to the world, both locally and internationally.  WMUB's programming has been fantastic on this point.  The daily schedule of Diane Rehm, Talk of the Nation, Fresh Air, the noon programming, and of course the follow-up by the prima program All Things Considered, are the best way to get the local, national and international news ever.  The weekend programming of Car Talk, Weekend America, This American Life, Tavis Smiley, and Prairie Home Companion are perfect complements to our weekends here. 

 

WMUB does so many things well.  I have listened to the Help Desk on Tuesday, Free Advice, WMUB Forum, Friday Feedback, and the SoundHealth programming, too.  The local call in programming has been great!  I've called in a few times, too.  Recently I listened to the Woodsongs program, when they had Riders In The Sky on; I remember when we could hear the Riders on WMUB!  That was one of my children's favorite programs.  Now my kids love to listen to Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion as much as I do, among many other programs as well. 

 

Please consider doing what can be done to keep WMUB as it is now, because it is as close to perfect as it has ever been in the 25 years I've been listening.  Thank you for continuing to support WMUB, as I do as well!

 

--Ann Davis

Programming suggestions

Thank you for your invitation to suggest programming.  I have been a longtime WVXU listener.  I was saddened at the recent programming changes when the network was sold.  I used to love the 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM "theater of the mind" block of old-time radio shows.  I come from Connecticut and it seems like every PR station plays the same 'ho-hum' classical music all day long...YAWN!  I was so refreshed to come to OH and discover a public radio station that was interesting, fresh, fun, and the opposite of everything that I had come to hate about public radio.  To hear that the station was being sold and then to find out that my beloved "theater of the mind" was being terminated was a shock and a disappointment.  I know that there are some random times when there are old-time radio shows, scattered through the week, however, I would like to see a regular feature to the mid-day lineup.  The 11-12 spot was a perfect release during the midday.  Something to take our minds off of the problems of the day.

--Bruce Krauth, Greenville

Important educational asset

I am writing in support of WMUB during this time of review of the station.  I have been a longtime supporter and listener, since coming to Miami as a faculty member.  I always found WMUB to be an important asset in our educational community, but even more so since Cleve Callison became the general manager some years ago.  His move toward incorporating more "intelligent talk" from both national programming, such as Diane Rehm, Talk of the Nation, Science Friday, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, News & Notes (now Tell Me More), and locally produced programming such as the Help Desk, Sound Health, and WMUB Forum have all proven to be such an important source of meaningful connection to the greater world, as well as our own region.  I feel I can rely on the information and insights gained from these generally balanced programs at a time of increased politically biased "news" (bordering on propaganda), celebrity "news", and "infotainment" from other popular media sources.

 

I find the station not only very important personally, but also as a vital source of new information that I use frequently in the classroom.  I teach several different art courses including art appreciation and a U.S. Cultures art course on diversity, and my current Blackboard site for these two courses includes over a dozen links to audio files and text/image files first heard on WMUB and later accessed on NPR.org.  For example, as part of a section on ethnocentrism, students read or hear "The Clumsiest People in the World", a book review first heard on WMUB.  Part of my final exam in art appreciation is centered upon stories first heard on WMUB, including an interview with Thomas Kinkade about branding of art, J.S.G. Boggs "drawing money" to force a consideration of what we value in our society, and artistic ownership is considered after hearing about Warner Brothers use and distortion of a sculpture from the National Cathedral in one of their movies without permission.  I could continue with specific examples of how WMUB helps me keep my courses current and relevant.  After listening on the way to work, often the first thing I do is access on the computer items just heard on WMUB for future reference and use in my courses.  I would hate to see this important resource limited or become jeopardized in any way.  WMUB is such an important and effective emissary for Miami University in Southwest Ohio and greatly enhances Miami's mission as a state-supported university. 

 

If Miami wants to excel as an educational institution, we need to do all we can to help WMUB public radio to continue its excellence.

 

--Michael Hieber, Art, Miami University Middletown

A vital resource

I want to let you know what a wonderful addition to my life wmub2 has been.  I discovered it while exploring the MU website as part of my preparation for interviewing for the position of Dean of the Graduate School at MU, a position I have subsequently accepted.  I'm looking forward to joining the Miami/Oxford community, and I do hope that wmub2 will remain a vital resource in the community and around the world via the internet.

--Bruce J. Cochrane, Ph. D., Professor of Biology and Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa

Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Designee, Miami University

['wmub2' refers to WMUB's HD2 all-jazz channel, available in parts of the WMUB listening area with an HD radio, and streamed at wmub.org]

WMUB is an essential element

Over nearly four decades in Oxford at Miami, I have witnessed a number of remarkable changes in both communities. On the one hand, Oxford's fabric has deteriorated considerably because of the effect of purely market-driven forces on the housing stock. The problem with depending on the market solely is that it will respond inevitably to the short-run profit motive, with little if any regard for the longer-term well-being of the community as a whole. As  a result, High Street has been described as one long undergraduate food court. Oxford lacks many of the amenities that make regional university communities such as Bloomington, Madison, and Ann Arbor so engaging since  our collective life is shaped by the desires and tastes of the affluent but not very cosmopolitan undergraduates who drive the market.

Miami, for whatever reasons,  has not responded in a very vigorous fashion to the negative forces which have detracted from Oxford's attractiveness as a potential counterpoint to suburban sprawl and mall culture. One of the positive ways in which Miami has responded, however, has been in the decision made several years ago to upgrade WMUB from a very provincial endeavor catering to a diminishing taste-culture to a serious Public Radio station with professional leadership attuned both to the university community and a broader regional audience that hungers for something better than commercial radio as well as an alternative to the (much appreciated) musical offerings of other public radio stations. The revitalized MUB has been able to combine local talent and interests with national and international programming to provide a finely-tuned selection of offerings that appeal to this influential audience. The result has been a considerable amount of favorable publicity and good will for the university as well as the station. MUB, in short, is an essential element in Oxford's and Miami's cultural capital, a commodity harder to define -- and perhaps appreciate -- than the questions of financial capital that all too readily dominate much collective decision-making and priority-setting.

To kill or weaken WMUB would, in short, sadly diminish Miami's effectiveness in portraying itself as a place of learning and culture rather than simply a convenient vehicle for socializing the young into roles as unreflective producers and consumers. A university should be, to be sure, a regional economic asset, but it should also be a cultural asset. MUB is one of Oxford's and Miami's most visible and significant cultural assets. Let's keep it that way.

--Peter W. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Religion and American Studies, Miami

[Prof. Williams is a frequent commentator on WMUB]

WMUB enlightens and embellishes

To quote James Thurber, "It is better to know some of the questions, than all of the answers".  At times like these, when the administration in Washington, DC consistantly insists that they have all of the "answers", it is not only refreshing that WMUB and NPR keep us aware of "some of the questions", but it really is MANDATORY . That will help to insure that we citizens, in our democracy, are able to maintain a truly balanced perspective about news and current events. In addition, WMUB always lightens and embellishes our days, with all of your wonderful interviews and programming about myriad interesting topics. If some increased contributions from your listeners is necessary, let us know. But please, realize the  importance of your role in this regard , and don't cut any of your national programming!  

--Thomas Glynn, Richmond

Fwd: Returned mail: see transcript for details

Please do not discontinue funding for WMUB.  It is such a valuable resource in our area.  We are fortunate to have other stations in our area, but the format and friendliness of the staff there make it so user friendly.  I have recently become a patron and hope you do not let this fantastic station leave our area.  The views and opinions expressed there need to be heard in Butler County.

--Joanne and Eckart Wallisch, Hamilton

Endow WMUB for national programs

I strongly feel that the future of WMUB lies in the following:

 

1. Creating a special endowment fund for WMUB;

 

2. Creating original programming that can be nationally syndicated to NPR affiliated stations.

 

The creation of an endowment would ensure capital improvements will be made and entice nationally recognized profesionals to work for WMUB .  Creating a nationally syndicated program would involve hiring producers, writers, production staff, and would offer student interns valuable real-world experience.  I've long thought that Mama Jazz was a great opportunity often overlooked for its potential as such a program. 

 

Regardless of the program developed, it would gain for Miami University the kind of recognition and exposure that decades of public relations and marketing could not accomplish.  In many ways, broadcasting a popular program on the NPR line-up would be more powerful a promotion vehicle for Miami as a winning football program or a national championship in basketball. 

 

--Mike Anagnostou 

WMUB is favorite station

WMUB is and has been my favorite radio station for 10 years now.  That it, since I came to Indiana and Ohio I have found it to be the best public radio station. 

I hear and read that public media is increasingly monopolized by just a few owners.  There is a danger in that and it makes public radio even more important to us in the United States. If WMUB and stations like it cease to exist what will the future of broadcasting be?

We need the chance to hear and express a different point of view.  Isn't this part of what higher learning is all about?  I certainly believe it is and I hope and pray that future generations will be able to enjoy a future that includes these freedoms and possibilities.

--Victoria Burke, M.Div., Dayton

Independent, homegrown flavor

Please don't change WMUB or cut its funding.  Even though I live and Dayton and could listen to WVXU or WYSO, WMUB is the station I like the best and the one that gets my pledge dollars. 

 

WMUB has done a good job of resisting the constant commercials for big money donor companies that have plagued WYSO and WVXU.  WMUB has an independent, homegrown flavor with good local shows and down-to-earth radio personalities.  I appreciate all the hard work that the WMUB team puts in (for low pay) so that I can stay informed.

 

Sincerely,

 

--David Cream, WMUB Member

One of life's joys

In 1947 I was the first Chief Engineer when it was still a "wired wireless" station and if you were on the wrong side of the local power distribution network you received little if anything.  Over the past 60 years WMUB has been one of life's joys and I earnestly hope it will remain so because it is such a far level above the Murdochesque pap we are served on the networks and Fox News.

 

Not a day goes by that I do not listen to WMUB and programs such as All Things Considered, our beloved Mama Jazz (I suspect that some of my old Kenton and Ellington vinyl lurk in the archives from 1947), Morning Edition, Talk Of The Nation, Fresh Air and Diane Rehm are all pearls beyond price to me.

 

The committee should look long and hard at ways to continue to support and expand WMUB even, God forbid, it should come to slashing the sports/entertainment operations of the University.

 

--R. E. van Patten, Ph.D, Retired USAF civilian scientist

Suggestions and reaction

Evaluation and Comments:

1)  Excellent Station w/ good personalities

2)  Offers a nice mix of News from 5 AM to 9 AM; talk from 9 AM to 5 PM: News from 5 to 7 PM and then Jazz in the evening with Mama Jazz till 11 PM and then "All Night Jazz.

3)  The specialized local Oxford programs are fun to listen to, but maybe not as Regional as they need to be.  Warren County would be an opportunity.

4)  What we don't need is one more radio station dedicated to a specific cause or purpose that is another Christian Radio.

5)  Like flexibility of special programs around holiday weekends such as Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving etc.

6)  Would prefer more music to the talk format.  Do not have HD radio at this point, will wait for that technology to develop.

7)  Would like to hear the concerts of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble etc say on a Sunday afternoon.

8)  Boost the power of the station if possible.

9)  Miss the eclectic music  program on Sunday evenings that started at 6 but has now been limited to 7 to 9 PM.

10) Try some different NPR, PRI programs that are not heard locally.

11)  With WGUC being all classical and WVXU being all talk, Yellow Springs not knowing what it wants to be, I would think that WMUB could further expands its market especially in Montgomery, Warren and Clinton Counties.

--Gary Kuntz, Lebanon

P.S: Really hope Miami is not considering selling the station.  Know it has a good value right now and would help the University do a lot of things, but WMUB now makes Miami unique.  All the other college stations have sold or severed their "radio" relationships.  In the long run I believe it is a mistake, but as they say in the short run we all have to eat.

Grateful to Miami

I commute from Oxford to Richmond and listen to wmub most of the way. I also awaken to it at 7:00 each weekday morning.  I deeply value the national reporting, even though I read the New York Times, The Financial Times, and Haaretz most days. The reporting is excellent, and the stories individualized without being quirky. When I drive long distances through areas (and there are some out there) where there is  no NPR, I feel good about living here here where this service is available. May I add that I feel grateful to Miami for providing it?  I dearly hope that this service continues; it confers luster on Miami.

Does this mean that nothing should be changed? Well, reporting the local news could be better by being clearer. Also,there might be some regular programming to report on the writings and research of Miami faculty.

--Robert Southard, Richmond

Sad time

It is a sad time for me because WMUB is/has been my favorite station for years and it has slipped into financial trouble.

Although a discussion of how this has occurred would help me vent some pent up frustrations, basically the station and management are not at fault.  Overall you should feel no guilt and I place no blame on anyone there now or before.  The ones to blame are at far higher levels, way beyond the university itself.

But the problem of the money must be faced.

First, even though I have praised the news department from time to time with e-mails and other comments, I want to say that news on WMUB is presented at a far higher level than anywhere else, bar none.  The in-depth stories provide a real service to the community, while local radio and television stations have really let the public down.  For instance, much of television reports accident and crime investigations with fill-ins of sensational nonsense.  So my first request is to keep all of the news operation in tact.

Second, as many of you know, I am a long-time contributor to the station and really appreciate both Mama Jazz and the music she plays.  (I even go back to the days when jazz was on the air all day.  And when you first started, wasn't it classical?)

While I hated to learn that those shows were replaced, I recognize that you can't get what you want all of the time.  So my contributions have actually increased at the same time that the shows that were enjoyed have been cut back.  As an example, the afternoon shows, for the most part fail to catch my interest, however, the morning shows that rotate from day to day and the Diane Rehm Show are exceptions to the rule.

So, what I would like to hear is more music, but I am not sure that a majority of listeners would agree.  That is for you to sort out.

And I am not sure of what the cost of all of these programs are.  While national programs cost money, so do local ones.

Third, even though I do not own any high definition equipment, how can that part of your operation be cut?  Aren't universities supposed to be on the cutting edge of everything?

Fourth, I am personally not in favor of merging operations with other stations, especially when those under consideration are operating in Montgomery County, which is where I live.  And without naming names, some other stations start programs for as much as 30 minutes without indicating what songs are playing or even the name of the program.

Fifth, selling the station cannot be an option.  This is one of the last bastions of reasonable music and information left.  Commercial radio is not listenable.

Regarding listener support: Many people are not able to provide much more in terms of money.  For instance, once a member sends in $100.00, for the most part, that is all they are able to give.  It would seem that once a limit is reached, not much more can come in from current members.

Am I offering you solutions?  Probably not.

As a final thought, if more contributions are needed, then maybe more fund raising is needed other than the two big ones per year.

Thanks for the opportunity for my comments because that is not often permitted.

--Grant Wadsworth, Centerville, OH

Widespread appeal

How on earth could anyone possibly consider canceling WMUB programming when there is such widespread appeal?  Thursday afternoon 3 pm NPR presented a program aimed at the syndrome of Pack Rats: excellent well-rounded comprehensive views about America's obsession with stuff, and the inability to rid oneself of long-abandoned possessions.  There can't be a more essential mission for a University than to educate, to reach out and inform a wide community, especially in a post-9/11 world. 

 

--DB

Unduplicated locally

I have only recently learned of WMUB, after listening for years primarily to WGUC and WNKU. It has now become my primary station.  I much prefer MUB's predominance of talk shows - its thoughtful and thought -provoking programming -  to the music programming of the other stations. In the short time I've known of MUB's existence I have heard so many good programs and learned a lot. What your station has to offer is unduplicated locally, and I hope that you'll find ways to finance this excellent radio station!

 

--Karen Arnett, Mt. Healthy (not yet a member)

WMUB deserves support

We are members of WMUB.  We listen faithfully every morning to the station and often mid-day.  Frankly, we have given up generally on TV news and rely on NPR, both at WMUB and other NPR station via the Internet.  If "community service" still has a meaning now days then WMUB deserves our continued support.  Thank you.

 

--Becky Quay and Richard H. Quay, Professor Emeritus-Miami, Captain USAF, 1963-1969

Excellent programming

We have enjoyed wmub for at least ten years.  Programs we listen to faithfully include:  The Diane Rihm Show ; news casts; Mama Jazz; Prairie Home Companion; Michael Feldman Show.  We are members and hope wmub thrives for many years to come.

 

Thanks for your excellent programming.

 

--Raymond and Theresa Schindler, Harrison, OH

An ambassador of Miami University

WMUB is a great place to learn about Miami University.  It is an ambassador of Miami University.  I have enjoyed my limited exposure to your broadcast programs.

Perhaps a little more classical music and some of the fantastic programs of exploring music history and even the poetry of some of the signet poets of your community would be some good variations.

Sure appreciate the station's interest in the people of the community and better quality broadcasting.

--Lynette Jones, Draper, Utah

WMUB

[Editor's note: Miami President David Hodge has charged the WMUB study committee with the task of making recommendations on the mission and future of the station. It should not be assumed that there is a plan to close WMUB.]

I was recently appalled to learn of the MU President's plan to close WMUB due to financial concerns.  I listen to WMUB daily primarily because the quality of it's programs outshines any other radio station in the area.  I am always disappointed when I travel out of range and loose reception.

WMUB not only provides quality programs but serves as a wonderful learning arena for those students who work there.  What a shame to loose this service to the community as well. 

While I understand the need to cut costs at Miami University and actually support this idea as a taxpayer,  I would suggest that there are other avenues to do so.  My understanding is that Miami pays for some extravagant training for employees.  When sending employees out of state for training, why should Miami cover the cost of the employees staying longer than the required number of days/nights?  Certainly Miami should cover the cost required for attendance but the employees should be required to pay for meals and lodging if they choose to stay longer than required.  Another thought would be to perhaps reduce the high salary paid to the President of MU.  I am under the impression that he makes over $350,000 per year and in addition, is provided free housing.  If a reduction is not a possibility, perhaps he could pay housing costs.

I am sure there are a vast number of ways to "tighten up" at Miami and as stated earlier, I actually support this.  I do feel however that to shut down WMUB would be to lose a valuable asset to the community and the surrounding area.

Thank you for the opportunity to voice my opinion regarding this important matter. 

--Name withheld by request, Oxford

WMUB is a very rare voice

I understand that you're currently discussing the future of WMUB, and I wanted to write to tell you how valuable I believe the radio station is. My family lives in Richmond, IN, and we just lost our local station (89.3), so we're especially interested in keeping WMUB around.  We are members of WMUB (under my wife's name, Rachel Gartner), and listen to it very frequently.  WMUB is a very rare voice in these parts, where a fairly monolithically conservative perspective is by far the most dominant take on the news.  I believe that conservative views are important in our contemporary discourse, but they shouldn't be the only views.  What WMUB does is allow a wider range of opinions to be heard -- both by people desperate to take in some liberal perspectives (along with the conservative folk on WMUB's programs) and people who are encountering these diverse views for the first time.  WMUB helps people of all political stripes to stay informed and to learn and grow.  We would be much reduced without it.

--David Harris Ebenbach, Visiting Professor, English, Earlham College, Richmond

Encourages Miami to continue and expand support

I am a continuous listener to WMUB since it is the primary source in SouthWest Ohio for intelligent programming- Morning Edition, the Diane Rehm program, Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered.

 

I am also highly impressed with Miami University-  we recently attended a production there of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide."

 

I encourage Miami University to continue and expand its support of WMUB to the fullest extent possible.

 

--Jim Wilson, Centerville, OH

Can MU afford NOT to continue WMUB?

I understand this committee has been formed to assess the worth of WMUB to the university as well as to the wider audience it serves.

As a loyal community listener since 1981, I cannot stress too strongly the importance of having WMUB at Miami University.  First, we need an impartial intelligent public radio station giving us news on a daily basis. We also need programs which bring together people from various backgrounds not usually represented in the popular media giving us their perspectives.  For example, I have appreciated hearing about African-American views on "News and Notes" and now on "Tell Me More".  Diversity is one of the "signatures" of WMUB, from "Prairie Home Companion" to "Mama Jazz" and "Car Talk".  As an Oxford resident, I don't usually read about Dayton but I get Dayton news via WMUB.  During my commuting days, I never missed "All Things Considered" in the car--and, yes, I am one who sits in the driveway, listening until an episode is over.

Now I have the chance to listen to "The Diane Rehem Show" as well.  I have been known to cancel Saturday night activities to listen to Garrison Keillor and now enjoy his "Writer's Almanac".  There are other public radio stations in the area but Miami University should have its own unique station with its own interns,  staff and approach to  radio programming.

Speaking of interns, as I've volunteered  during WMUB fund raisers over the years, I have observed the student interns and the excellent program WMUB gives them. It would be a shame not to give these students this experience on our campus.  I have also been on community programs with Cheri Lawson who provides essential  outreach .  It is my observation that Cleve Callison is not only an excellent manager but also has a true public spirit, always available to the wider community.   The entire staff works extremely hard to provide a top quality radio station.  Can MU afford NOT to continue It?    I understand the university has many priorities and I certainly hope WMUB continues to be one of them.  Please feel free to contact me for other comments if desired.

--Cynthia G. Kelley, Oxford

WMUB represents the university

I am a professor at IUPUI, but I live in Richmond, IN.  I have been impressed with the presence that WMUB gives Miami University in the community.  The radio station represents the University to the local area in a way that no other mechanism can and in a way I have not seen with any other NPR stations.  I would encourage you to expand the University's presence in the programming and to not give up the radio station. It represent an opportunity for all of us to hear more about the thoughts of the faculty and their scientific work. This is a gift both to the university and to us in the community.  The radio station is like the voice of the university.  I do not find this true of the Indianapolis station, the Cincinnati station or the Muncie station.  This is probably why I prefer WMUB to all of these.

Don't lose this opportunity to show the value of solid information, reasoning, and knowledge to the community, especially one as economically depressed as western Ohio and eastern Indiana.

WMUB  represents now and can do even more in the future to present the voice of informed reasoning and scholarship to those who cannot go to university or to those who have been away from the university.

It is an opportunity to bring knowledge to everyone.  Don't give this up!

--Dr. Jan Beckstrand, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., FAAN

Hopes support will continue

I enjoy most of the programing on WMUB very much. I am a member and will continue to contribute. However, I do not like the desperate sounding message coming from the management of the station when it comes to membership recruitment efforts. It sounds as if the University is in the process of abandoning financial commitment to the station. I know difficult decisions need to me made in these more stressful budget times. But I feel that free communication and the student's voices need to be expressed in this era of conservatives and the religious right bomb basting everything that they find distasteful. NPR offers a more balanced view.

I am not in favor of your locally produced Monday show, Interconnect. It is way too religious for me. Instead, I think you should involve the students of the university, and perhaps local or university people in dialog in some type of program. The other locally produced programs provide real value, and I am sure they could could up with something better than Interconnect. There are many topics that could be addressed by this type of forum. As it is, there is very little student input into the programming (that I listen to during the day). The noise coming from the university is more usually about drinking problems and a lack of  safety on the campus and around town. I think it is important for students to be involved in the local campus, community and the world. Perhaps they only view the world through the internet. But they need to find a way to communicate with rest of  the community not tied to the internet as the only means of communication.

I think the station does a good of programming and providing the surrounding community information it needs. I wish your signal were stronger so I could hear it in the car. As it is now, I only listen on the internet in my office. Also, as an aside, in the early afternoon, another station comes on the air at 88.3 that interferes with your signal. I don't know where it comes from, but it is very annoying.

I hope the committee finds a way to continue to support WMUB and not destroy the station as UC did when it bought  and took over WVXU Xavier's station.

--David M. Allen, Hamilton

WMUB reflects positively on Miami

I feel it necessary to comment about WMUB.  The station is part of my daily routine.  It is where I not only receive national news, but local news as well.  During the times when I am away from a radio, I listen online.  Because of online listening, one could mistakenly say that WMUB as an entity is unnecessary, most of the programming could be found on NPR.org.  However, that would not provide the local news, which WMUB provides in an intelligent manner.

 

Without WMUB, there would also not be the 9am block of local programing, which is informative and educational. 

 

WMUB reflects positively on Miami University.  For us listeners, this concern over the fate of the station is causing us to think negatively about the University.

 

Thank you for allowing comments to be made.

 

--Lisa C. Boggs, Lewisburg, Ohio