Dear Editor:
Many students involved in Ball State University's own WCRD were interested in the editorial that appeared in the Tuesday, January 25th edition of the Daily News. Though it did mention our recent Communicator Awards success, it also seemed to misrepresent several aspects of the station's operation. A group of five station managers decided to collectively address the issues raised about our station's power, marketing and programming situations.
The column noted that "power might be a major problem," and mentioned our broadcasting signal as 310 watts, calling it weak in comparison to other collegiate stations in Indiana. Comparing the level of our WWHI antenna to other stations is unfair, as any increase in the wattage of our station would interfere with the frequency of WRTV, Indianapolis's ABC affiliate. Eventually, WRTV will make the transition to broadcasting from a completely digital signal, after which we will be able to make changes in our wattage. Since the digital transition is still years away, WCRD is making an effort to improve our signal in other ways, starting with a new antenna and transmitter, greatly improving the signal of our station throughout Muncie.
The editorial also stated that "Ball State needs to wok harder on promoting its student-run station." WCRD is aware of our past problems within the promotional department, and has recently brought in a new and improved promotion staff that is committed to providing campus with an eclectic mix of station-sponsored events. For, instance, February 27th brings another concert at the Student Center with local talent, and on March 19th the station will partner with UPB Late Nite to put on a Battle of the Bands.
Lastly, the column said that WCRD "needs to provide (and demand) high quality programming" because "unprofessional and irrelevant banter will not win listeners on an FM dial." As a non-commercial, college-radio formatted station, of course WCRD is not as professional as any given Clear Channel station. However, all of our disc jockey's, not to mention our managers, work as volunteers in unpaid positions. Our staff is here for the experience of working in a real radio station and the freedom and fun that a college radio station offers. Our programming reflects those two aspects, offering formatted programming during the day, with regular news, sports and weather, while the night offers a wide mix of specialty shows, featuring not only talk radio, but music-based shows that feature everything from the experimental to metal. The station also broadcasts over 120 live high school and Ball State sporting events each year, with daily sports talk shows and three live on-location Ball State coach's shows.
We realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion about WCRD, and we just ask that the facts be kept straight and that everyone on campus gives the station a shot by tuning their dials to 91.3 FM, or their Web browser to wcrd.net. You might just like what you hear.
WCRD Managerial Staff
Drew Deboy, Colleen "Bunny" Haney, Lindsey Wells, Ashley Wilson, Joe Lacay
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