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Page 4-E-Thursday, September 4, 1980-The Michigan Daily
WCBN:
'Radio Free Ann Arbor'
By BONNIE JURAN
Rock... Blues ... New Wave ... Reggae ... Jazz.
As strange as it may seem, a combination of these
diverse music form can be heard regularly on WCBN,
the University's student-run FM radio station.
An abbreviation for Campus Broadcasting Net-
work WCBN is found at 88.3 on the FM dial. The
station sits in the basement of the Student Activities
Building (SAB), and draws a large listening audience
which is approximately 75 per cent students, accor-
ding to General Manager Eugene Lisansky.
ACCORDING TO LISANSKY, WCBN plays a "mix-
ture of just about everything." He added that the disc
jockeys "try to blend it so people see the relationship
between forms,"
This description of WCBN's music seems very ap-
propriate, given the station's reputation for uncon-
ventional, innovative programming. To the dismay of
some, andthe approval of many others, the station
has consistently refused to engage in the
promotional, mass-appeal strategies that are per-
vasive in many other collegiate, and professional
radio stations. There are no commercials on WCBN,
and its weekly schedule is heavily oriented towards
music formats-though there is a 5:30- news report
aired locally Monday through Friday, with other five-
minute news and sports shows broadcasted
sporadically each day. But for WCBN, the emphasis
is on music-good quality, unpretentious music,
reflecting the deep musical backgrounds which are
primary qualifications for its jocks.
The other half of the Campus Broadcasting Net-
work is WRCN, which is transmitted by "carrier
current" to University dormitories at 650 AM, and by
cable television on the news channel I. WRCN, often
the "breeding ground" for WCBN news and music
staffers, features a Top-40 format, with some com-
mercials and more news and sports than is offered by
the FM station.
"THE DISC JOCKEYS have ultimate freedom in
deciding which records they play and in what order,"
according to a WCBN DJ who preferred to remain
nameless. "You can be as avant as you want, but if
you're avant and awful, you may not get a show next
time," he joked.
He added the only time a DJ is instructed to play a
specific type of music is during a program with a
predesignated ,format. These programs are a
specialty of WCBN which tries to be as innovative
and unique as possible. The most popular regular
programs include "Jazz Around Midnight" every
night, and weekend programs such as the "Down
Home Show," "Nothing But the Blues," and
"Carribean Jamboree." A program guide can be ob-
tained at the station.
In addition to AM and FM shifts, volunteers for the
student stations can get involved with the other
departments. A full-scale news department, headed
by News Director Chip Drake, offers local listeners
breaking news and weather information in the city,
as well as national and international news. The
station also contains a sports department, which
broadcasts many University sports through the
school year.4
A production crew, moreover, works on the
technical aspects of the stations' operation:
producing "carts" for public service announcements,
taping news and music features, engineering remote
broadcasts. There are also staffs to handle public af-
fairs, promotion, and sales for WRCN's advertisers.
The campus network receives a budget of $20,000 per
year from the University, less than half of which is
paid out in staff salaries. Consequently, experien-
ce-rather than money, is the more beneficial aspect
of working at the radio station, according to General
Manager Lisansky. He said he believes taking
University radio and television classes cannot
-provide a student with as high quality broadcast
training as WCBN can. He explained that this is
because the University facilities are outmoded, and
the chance to broadcast over the radio is rare. "The
hands-on experience is extremely valuable," he ad-
ded.
Persistance is the key to achieving success and
satisfaction on the campus network. According to the
anonymous jock, "It helps to do shows on short notice
and at six in the morning."
When you arrive on campus, notices will be posted
campus-wide regarding meetings for new WCBN
volunteers. A personal visit to the station, however, is
the best way to get involved.
University students interested in broadcasting, in
addition, can~get involved at the generally non-
student, professionally-run University station
WUOM. Broadcasting to all of southern Michigan via
its WVGR satelitte on the state's west side, the
station features a full schedule of entertainment and
public affairs programming. A news department,
headed by News Director Fred Hindley, combines
local, national, and international information. The
sports department, with Tom Hemingway as direc-
tor, broadcasts many University sports, along with
daily reports of breaking sports events from around
the world. Steven Skelley serves as the station's
program director, and organizes the entertainment
fare the station offers. Finally, Evans Mirages, the
station's senior producer, works to record, edit, and
broadcast special campus concerts for Michigan
residents.
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Daily Photo by JIM KRUZ
ONE OF WCBN's veteran staff members, Mike Kremin, rattles off a public
service announcement during his weekly radio show. WCBN is one of three
campus radio stations, and is commercial free.
baobab
San Bls molas- dcarved
Peruvian gourds
~ toapestry and design
textile -ontemp rary
~~ and ancient jewe I ry
Brazilian ceramics
-African sculpture
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ON THE DIAL:
Detroit dominates radio waves
By MITCH STUART
_
ARE YOU...
twiddling your thumbs, feeling restless
-bored with the routine of your evenings
ARE YOU...
-intrigued by the arts & meeting artists
interested in an art or craft class
ARE YOU...
-a Uof M student creating original work
-seeking out a good market for your work
ARE YOU...
-wondering how art fairs are organized
or how arts programming is developed
IF SO--
fou are invited to check out our Collaborative Art Workshop classes
or .join the guild, (membership is always open to students; you
do not nave to be enrolled in the Art School), or apply for work/study
with us. fou may want to 'do all three.
Call us to find out what we can do for you at 763-4430.
Or stop by our office in room 3410 of the Michigan Union.
UNIVERSITY ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN GUILD
Despite the presence of two Univer-
sity radio stations (WCBN and WUOM),
the music emanating from many
student dwellings comes from
Detroit-one of the active centers of the
radio industry.
The competition for rock and roll
listeners is very keen in the Motor City.
The all-rock stations-WRIF (101.1
FM), WABX (99.5 FM), and WWWW
(106.7 FM), provide listeners in Ann
Arbor with a wide variety of rock and
roll. These stations compete bitterly for
one-upmanship, and have consequently
become interchangable in format. The
formula "to duplicate is to succeed,"
abused to death by the television net-
works, is the standard strategy of these
"album-oriented rock (AOR)" stations.
At press time, WRIF held the edge on
its competitors, but only slightly.
If you are into the hard rock, album-
oriented formats like those
predominant in Detroit, you might do
well to pick up WIOT (104-FM) in
Toldeo. Here is a station, using the
snydicated "Superstars" format, that
has nearly perfected AOR. Last year's
Arbitron ratings showed WIOT with the
nation's highest audience percentages
for a rock station, and you can tell. The
playlist is longer than those on the
. 1 1
Detroit Three, although still limited,
the advertising is slick and
professional, and the jocks don't seem
to have been reduced to mindless clones
like thosein Detroit.
THE SECOND MOST active rivalry
competing for Ann Arbor listeners are
the "easy listening" stations. Ann Ar-
bor has borne two of its own such
stations during the past several mon-
ths. WIQB (103 FM), once a free-form
rock station, has shifted gears in favor
of a lighter, softer format. Now known
as "Rock 103," ,WIQB appeals to a
much larger market than its
predecessor; and features tamer artists
as a result (eg. Seals and Crofts, Fleet-
wood Mac, Barry Manilow, etc.).
Another convert to easy listening is
WPAG (107 FM). A country station as
of last spring, WPAG now shares its
neighbor's mechanized,..pudience-
oriented programming. The result for
local listeners is a decreasea diversity
in their Ann Arbor stations,and an in-
creased tendency to explore WICBN or
WUOM, or in most cases, jump to
Detroit airwaves.
The rivals for the easy listening
market out of Detroit are WNIC (100.3
FM) and WMJC (95 FM). With iden-
tical formats, similar to the two Ann
Arbor stations, neither station has
established a firm or distinguishable
personality, yet their ratings indicate
they are being heard.
FOR JAZZ LISTENERS, Detroit's
WJZZ is a respectable alternative at
105.9 FM. Although its jazz offerings
are consistently more slick and imper-
sonal than WCBN's, it does feature a
likable style. The bridge between
WJZZ's jazz and what is most often of-
fered by WCBN is Eastern Michigan's
WEMU, which is just a notch higher
than WCBN on the FM dial (89 FM).
Believe it or not, it is not inconceivable
to turn on the radio and hear Chuck
Mangione on WJZZ, Chic Corea on
WEMU, and Charles Mingus on WCBN
(during one of its jazz slots).
For classical music, the University's
WUOM (91.7 FM) has a schedule
heavily oriented to this genre. With the
"Afternoon Musicale" playing classical
music every afternoon, and a similar
program in the evenings, the search for
symphonic radio typically begins and
ends at WUOM for local listeners. The
station also offers news production s
from National Public Radio in
Washington, as well as indepth local
news and events.
Very similar to WUOM is Detroit's
WDET (101.9-FM), which is to Wayne
State University what WUOM is to
Michigan. Both stations, pre National
Public Radio affiliates,' and feature
many of the same network music and
news (e.g. "All Things Considered")
programs. The strategy here is simple:
When you don't like what programming
one station is broadcasting at a par-
ticular moment, listen to the other
station. Rarely will both stations
provide unappealling programs at on-
ce.
It is a confused, unpredictable FM-
radio spectrum for Detroit-area ,
listeners, in which no one station stands
out among the rest. The frustrated
twirling of the tuning knob is a common
by-product of this dilemna. Local
listeners can be comforted, however,
because out of all the stations crowding
the FM airwaves, two of the most
quality-oriented stations on the dial
(namely WCBN and WUOM) can be
found right here in Ann Arbor.
A Guide to Area FM Radio -
WCBN
WABX
WRIF
WIQB
WIOT
WWWW
WPAG
WMJC
WNIC
WCBN
WEMU
WJZZ
WUOM
WDET
ROCK
88.3 FM
99.5 FM,
101.1 FM
103 FM
104.1 FM
106.7 FM
107.1 FM
Free form, progressive
Album-oriented
Album-oriented
Automated commercial
Album-oriented
Album-oriented
'Automated commercial
EASY LISTENI
95 FM
100.3 FM
JT, EASITY
cMUSIGAL c8OGIFTY
ANNOUNCES.
N :a
JAZZ
88.3 FM
89.0 FM
105.9 FM
,
r ' ;,
= _
NG
Contemporary
Contemporary
Traditional, progressive
Traditional, commercial
Mainstream commercial
University operated,
National Pubic Radio affiliate
Wayne State
University operated,
National Public Radio affiliate
CLASSICAL
91.7 FM
101.9 FM
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INTERNATIONAL
PRESENTATIONS
1980-1981
Brochure with comtnleenformaionn available upon rquest
Choral Union Series
Mstislav Rostropovich, Cellist ................ Sun. Oct. 12
Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Davis . . Tues. Oct. 21
San Francisco Symphony Orchestral
Edo de Waart ............................Sat. Oct. 25
Martti Talvela, Basso........................Sun. Nov. 16
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Carlo Maria Giulini Sun. Nov. 23-
Rudolf Serkin, Pianist....................Mon. Dec. 15
Pinchas Zukerman, Violinist & Violist .........Tues. Jan. 27
Oxana Yablonskaya, Pianist................. Sat. Feb. 7
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestral
Andre Previn .......................... Thurs. Mar. 19
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Kurt Mazur . . . Sun. Mar. 29
Chamber Arts Series
Smithsonian Chamber Ensemble ............. Tues. Oct. 14
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields .......... Mon. Nov. 3
Kenneth Gilbert, Harpsichordist ............. Sat. Nov. 15
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio .......... Thurs. Nov. 20
Music from Marlboro.....................Thurs. Jan. 29
Guarneri String Quartet ................... Thurs. Feb. 19
New York Chamber Soloists ................. Sun. Mar. 15
Guarneri String Quartet .................... Mon. Apr. 20
with David Shifrin, Clarinetist: Gyorgy Sandor, Pianist
Debut & Encore Series
Anthony di Bonaventura, Pianist ...............Sat. Oct. 18
Murray Perahia, Pianist ................... Thurs. Nov. 13
Horacio Gutierrez, Pianist .................. Wed. Jan. 14
Walter Berry, Baritone ...................... Sat. Mar. 7-
~44G
*QJ ,Z4 * ,
"Flowers
for every
"Y I
occasion"
FLOWERS
AND GIFTS
334 S. State Street
663-5049
Your apartment
cramped?
y
o , e a
I
Choice Series
(choose any 4 or 8 dates for a series)
Goldovsky Opera Company ...... Mon. & Tues. Oct. 6 & 7
Rossini's Barber of Seville (in English)
Ballet Folklorico Mexicano ................. Thurs. Oct. 9
T - r~~rir}i l~n~ nm~er~ 11. RW-4CI r7Q & ?
A0
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