What WRTI-FM Should Be

Opinions

The following is an excerpt from a page in Jerry Klein's annex.... I was never happy about the decision to change WRTI-FM to an all-jazz format. That's the primary reason I was not involved with the station after the change was made. I was student station manager of WRTI-FM during my junior year; in my senior year, I wasn't even on the staff.

Read it all plus a letter to Dr. Blenheim

The following is an e-mail from Mike Biel to Jerry Klein....I had a chance to look at your Blenheim letter and listen to the anniversary show clips. I could have written the letter you wrote to Blenheim word for word. In fact, I did do something similar a few months back on our 78 mailing list when the question of WFLN came up and WRTI was mentioned. I'll try to dig that up and send it to you.

We used to joke about WRTI becoming an all news station to compete with KYW, but whenever joking about becoming an all-something station we all agreed that we should never become an all-anything station. You were probably in on those discussions. I remember when I told you that I was coming East at the end of Spring 69 and would be able to do The Record Shelf live for the final week of your semester, and you said that the station would be going all-jazz the week before. I thought it was a joke that you were pulling to make me think that I would never be able to do a broadcast from the new building. It turns out that that is what happened because it was no joke. I just couldn't believe that they would do it. And in looking at the clipping on the end of the AM station, I see Kassi's comment that when the station went 24 hours that the students would get additional background in radio. Bull. An all-anything station by definition would give less experience to the students.

I also thought it interesting how Mr. Roberts explained (on RealAudio®) it away--that earlier WRTI was for the students and now it is for the audience. WHY? First of all I will deny that the audence was not considered back in our day. But there is another point that I have made concerning WRTI, my university, and several other colleges: if ANYTHING on the college campus is not primarily for STUDENT instruction or advancement IT IS A TOTAL WASTE OF THE COLLEGE'S MONEY. Where else on the college campus is there something--ANYTHING--that puts the mundane interests of the general public ahead of the student's education? Think about it. Is there a class that is done for the benefit of non-students over students? Is there an activity that is done for the benefit of non-students over students? Anything? ANYTHING?? C'mon. Name it. Why does it have to be so with WRTI??????? Go over to theatre. Would they stage ALL their productions just to get an audience and have it not be primarily for the benefit of teaching their theatre students? Do they stage only musicals--JAZZ MUSICALS--and not do dramas, tragedies, comedies, dance, modern, classics, and a host of other types of productions?? Over in music, do they stick to just one kind of music even if the students don't want to become ONLY this type of musician? Do they select that one type of music just because some NON-STUDENTS want to hear it and nothing but it?? For example, do they teach ONLY TROMBONE PLAYERS????? No trumpets, only trombones. Of course not. Have they switched to an all-Rap curriculum??? Of course not. Because it wouldn't be in the best interests of the music students. Why did the R-TV students have to be sacrificed??? No OTHER department sacrificed their students. That's what happened.

Somebody got their PRIORITIES screwed up, and apparently NOBODY stood up to them and told them that the STUDENTS come FIRST. Mr. Roberts might rightly say that this decision taught the lesson that it is the audience that a commercial station would consider first and foremost. But that could be covered in one lecture in "Program Planning and Building." They were supposed to be running a UNIVERSITY, not a radio station. Certainly not a commercial radio station.

And what has just happened in Philadelphia has PROVED that philosophy that the audience comes first, to be a LIE. If that philosophy were true, then WFLN would still be a classical station and WRTI would still be a jazz station. WFLN's LISTENERS did not want it to become the umteenth rock station in Philadelphia, they wanted it to remain a classical station. And WRTI-FM's listeners did not want it to become a wishy-washy half and half. They wanted it to stay an all jazz station. The current management of WRTI has proven that Roberts' attitude was no longer being followed. They have knuckled under to the worst aspects of what commercial radio has come to stand for. We'll go where we think the money is even if it means kicking our listeners in the teeth. We don't give a damn what the listeners want because WE OWN this station and can do whatever we damn well please with it. And Reagan and Fowler screwed up the FCC enough in the 80s to assure us the right to kick our listeners in the teeth if we want to. And we'll buy up all our competitors and make 'em all the same so that we can sew up the market. Aparently, according to several articles I just checked back on, the decision to do the classical split was made by Temple Vice President for Public Relations George Ingram and another Temple VP Thomas F. Maxey who was quoted as saying the college is prepared for unhappiness from loyal fans of both formats. Just look at what this article said--nowhere is the benefits to the BROADCASTING STUDENTS even mentioned, let alone considered. I bet the same thing happened in 1969.

For Temple, pushing aside some jazz to make way for classical and other Temple shows is seen as a way to boost the school's image. Said Ingram: ``I think Temple is an undervalued institution in the area, and we have an opportunity here to show the excellence of our teaching, our research and our performing arts. I think it's an exciting opportunity.'' ``WRTI's potential goes beyond just being a jazz station,'' added Maxey. ``We want to be a Temple station that reflects diversity. We think that a hybrid of jazz and classical music will reach a larger audience, and will have more of an appeal in and out of the university.''Money, too, had something to do with the switch, said Maxey. The station is hoping to increase income from membership and underwriting, though no specific goals have been set. Maxey said the college is prepared for some unhappiness from loyal listeners of both formats. ``I think you're always concerned about how various constituencies, including, quote, the community, unquote, feels about it. We started with the premise that Temple owns the radio station, and Temple is a very diverse number of cultures.
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You would think that I would welcome the return to diversity with the 50/50 format, but what has that done to help the students? WRTI hired some of the WFLN people. Now, I don't begruge them their jobs--WFLN shouldn't have canned them--but is the Temple News run and written by ex-Phila Bulletin staffers?? Students still write it, right? The Temple News didn't say, hey there were a lot of Bulletin readers that we could serve if we went out and hired the staffers they fired and turn out a city-wide paper and chuck the students who wanted to learn how to do a paper and chuck the students who wanted to read a paper that told them what was happening on campus.

Aaaaaaaggggghhhhh. You got me on the soapbox. You shouldn't have gotten me started. You know what you should do, Wilkinson, go get the posting permission to that article about WRTI that ran in Philadelphia magazine around 1973. I have it somewhere, but Mike Muderick was the one who sent it to me. The article that told about the race war that developed in the station after we left. Lets get this out in the open. The myth of how the students benefit from having a major station in their midst. The ivory tower they can emulate. In their dreams, that is. Scrub it, and let them get their hands dirty in it. Take some of the ivory out of that tower.

You know something. The faculty never fully understood what was going on at WRTI. You can see from what Mr. Roberts said about the classical programming. He mentioned that they made the students read from the jackets so they could learn about it. That was the absolute FIRST thing that I dumped when I became music director and then program director.

I'm sorry, Mr. Roberts, but album liner notes were not written in a style meant to be read aloud, and THAT should have been the first lesson taught in COMM 43. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER READ CLASSICAL LINER NOTES OVER THE AIR. NEVER. In fact, it would be a good classroom exercise. Take a classical LP from 1958 and have some student try to read it aloud. Then, after it proves to be an impossiblity, you take it from him and tell him and the rest of the class that they have learnd the lesson to NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER READ CLASSICAL LINER NOTES OVER THE AIR. NEVER. Dr. D. used to send down classroom excercises writen by the continuity writing students to use as the scripts for the classical shows. Great. Stuff written by students just starting to learn writing, and having NO KNOWLEDGE of classical music. I immediately
outlawed the use of those scripts. In fact, that would be a good classroom exercise. Take one of those scripts and have someone try to read it. Then have one of the professors from the music school correct all the asanine statements that were made by the writer who didn't know anything about classical music. Then you tell the class that they have just learned never to use a script written by someone who didn't know what they were writing about.

But I got off the subject. I was starting to say that the faculty didn't fully understand what was happening at WRTI because much of the programming was not their cup of tea. They didn't like folk music. They didn't like rock. They didn't like modern rock announcing styles. They didn't understand the sophmoric humor of our comedy shows. They didn't like the non-pearl-shaped tones of some of the kids--despite the fact that sometimes these were the ones who knew more about their topic than the other ones. They were willing, EAGER perhaps, to turn the programming over to a professional staff because the station was not broadcasting things like was done in 1955. Don't think I am complaining because they are not now broadcasting things like was done in 1965--our time--but I think that they listened to us on WRTI with the constant thought: "My FRIENDS can hear this. The other Dept Chairs can hear this. The women in my wife's bridge club can hear this." They didn't mind it THEMSELVES, but what will the OTHERS think? (I know this is what is behind a lot of the philosophy of how the station is run here at my university and at many others--and I can sense that it happened back then, too.) Radio was changing. WE WERE CHANGING RADIO. We KNOW they didn't understand rock radio styles. They wanted us all to speak like Ben Grauer. And by ending the student management and by ending free-form programming, they got that headache taken care of. It is not so ironic that they killed off AM six months before they dumped the student management of FM. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY EMBARASSING IF THE STAFF MOVED OVER TO AM. But it is ironic how they ended up with a race war at the station and the programming being run by many non-students who had intiminated the faculty manager. And they ended up with a HUGE increase in enrollment with fewer studios and fewer outlets for their productions. They killed one of the best hands-on schools in the country and exchanged it for a lecture factory.

An e-mail from Gerry Wilkinson to Jerry Klein with a copy to Mike Biel....Read Mike Biel's letter. Great! I agree with both of you. I'm not sure that I ever mentioned this before, but in 1972 (I believe the year to be correct), I was in the running for the station manager's job at WRTI. I had to write a proposal on what I would do...well, you can guess. I suggested returning to the old days when WRTI was really a RADIO STATION. (And I said that...bet they loved that comment.) With documentaries, various music formats, interview programs and yes, even radio drama being suggested, that killed by chance. I don't remember whether I dealt with Dr. Gray on this or not. He seemed like the one that would have handled it, but I really don't remember talking to him. I was at WDAS at the time so it didn't really matter much. I don't recall talking money. I really don't think it got that far. I remember being out of the running very early on. I would not have wanted to run a jazz format anyhow. Being heavily involved (especially as time went on at WDAS) in decision making issues at a highly rated commercial station, why would I have wanted to do Temple jazz. The answer was, of course, I wouldn't. I STILL BELIEVE THAT WHAT WE DID AT THE OLD WRTI IS THE RIGHT FORMAT FOR THE STATION TODAY. Call me old fashioned (hey, I've been called worse), that's what WRTI should be. I'll let the soapboxing to Dr. Biel. By the way, is soapboxing a word? (Of course, student run)

An e-mail from Jerry Klein to Gerry Wilkinson....Just wanted to mention that I'm on the professional advisory board of the radio station (WBZC-FM) of our local county community college. Was asked to join when they were in the planning stages. I told them about everything we did at WRTI and the philosophy behind it, and urged that they do it that way. I'm happy to say they did. I'm even happier to report that they received the award for Best College Radio Station from the National Association of Collegiate Broadcasters in their FIRST YEAR of existence!

...By the way, on John Roberts - I think he said what he said (about it being for the audience now) just to be cordial and supportive of WRTI, which after all was HIS baby. But I don't believe he likes what they did with it.

I, however, felt no loyalties to the people now running it or its current state and thus very purposely tried not to say anything that could at all be construed as an endorsement.

From Gerry Wilkinson....Amen, my WRTI brethren.

From Steve Cohen (1954 WRTI Station Manager & former WFLN employee)....His Comments.

From Mike Biel....While I was linked to the Temple News, I looked up WRTI to see what else they had, especially to see if the AM station got on the air. Only ten hits, and that article was the most recent. However, I have copied below some statements from several different articles. The last comment is very, very interesting, because it is from an article about the good relationship the university has with the community.

You might want to put these statements up as proof that the all-jazz format was not good for the R-TV students, and not good for the Temple students in general. Perhaps if you can contact someone at the Temple News, find out about the AM station, and perhaps tell them about our site and suggest an article "WRTI-FM USED to be a student-run station."

He said in comparison to WRTI, the university's almost exclusively all jazz station, TSR would give students the chance to play different styles of music, to complement the diversity of the university, and help keep students on campus during weekends.

"I believe there's a need for a radio station. It gives students another venue to express themselves," Romnus said. "We anticipate that the pros will outweigh the cons."
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Cunningham said he hopes the station will be above and beyond Ambler's radio station, WRFT, which also plays an eclectic mix of music.

"Ambler's radio station is for Ambler students. I spoke to some people who said it's not worth the trip to work at that station," Cunningham said. "We have a much more diverse crowd to draw upon and students at Main Campus really need a voice,"

Sophomore Melissa Campbell likes the idea of the radio station catering to a wider audience.

"I just hope they're fair with what they play, not like [Drexel's radio station] WKDU," Campbell said. "It was supposed to be really diverse too, but now all they play is punk. They used to play house and jungle. It's unrealistic to be diverse."

But, she said, at least students will tune in.

"I don't know anybody who listens to WRTI, the jazz station," Campbell said. "What's the point of having a college radio station when no students listen?"

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Cunningham, WOWL's station manager, wants to offer students the opportunity of working in a number of different positions and musical areas that WRTI, Temple's public radio jazz station, has not been able to offer.

"We're looking for an eclectic mix, as diverse as the university itself," said Cunningham.

Business manager Justin Gilken feels that WOWL will provide an alternative to WRTI.

"There aren't nearly enough positions at RTI for students," said Gilken. "Plus, with a college age crowd, you don't get a large jazz base."

The general consensus among students seems to be a positive one, with many favoring a second or alternative station.

"I think it'll really be a good thing, because there's no musical variety over at the jazz station," said Michael Reich, a junior criminal justice major.

Junior Kalie Barber shared Reich's enthusiasm about a second station for students.

"It'll be a good idea because I hate the jazz station," said Barber. "I hope they'll get it off the ground."

WOWL's student leaders are confident they can succeed.

"In the truest sense," said public relations director Mike Tulencik, "it'll be a student-run station."

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Prunty, of the 1400 block of Norris, echoed the gratitude for the sidewalk clearing. She also expressed satisfaction with campus security.

"Temple police are more responsive than Philadelphia police. They come faster and they are always polite," Prunty said.

Prunty also praised Temple students for operating an appealing radio station.

"I still enjoy listening to WRTI," Prunty said, "The station is getting better. They're definitely more professional and I can appreciate their involvement in the community."

This is the WRTI Old Gang Web Site!