WUMB Radio Changes - FAQ - March 2008

We're excited to tell you that beginning March 1st, WUMB Radio will offer the best of the best, in time periods more in tune with the lifestyles of our listeners. More local programming will be offered with the addition of a new show on Saturday from noon-2:00pm with Dick Pleasants, as well as extended hours for current programs on Sunday including Acoustic Sunrise which will now include vocals and Folk Odyssey. And, there will be schedule changes for our more popular shows, to make them more accessible to a wider audience. The new WUMB Program Grid can be found here.

Change is never easy, and we understand that for some of you, these changes will be difficult. For others, these changes will be welcome. WUMB has been an integral part of the fabric of the greater Boston area for the past 25 years, and with your continued support and understanding that some change along the way is necessary, we'll do all we can to ensure that we remain a community asset.

With the help of our community advisory board, The WUMB Friends Council, we have put together this list of the most "Frequently Asked Questions" about our current changes.

It seems like WUMB was doing pretty well. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" -- so why make any changes?

The nature of radio listening is approaching a new paradigm. With the addition of internet broadcasting, pod casting, music downloading & other listening platforms, listeners have more choices and have become polarized in their listening habits. This is our radio station -- yours and ours -- and we all want to see it do well and continue presenting the unique mix of music that we all like. As a result, we have been conducting intensive research about our services including a lengthy review of audience trends and the performance of our current schedule during fundraising; lots of information emerged from that research.

First, we have not grown our audience for the past five years, and in fact have experienced a small decrease. In the end, a smaller number of listeners are being asked to give more: a trend that is not sustainable. So, after much deliberation, we came to the conclusion that making some changes will allow us to compete more effectively in the new media realm with our current listeners, as well as reach out to a broader audience.

Be assured that WUMB's mission and core programming is not changing, and we intend to continue to bring you a unique music mix. But, occasional program changes are necessary in an effort to broaden our public service by building a more sustainable public radio operation. Any changes are certainly a difficult decision for WUMB and impacts many of our regular listeners. But the bigger risk is doing nothing. Doing nothing means a continually diminishing audience. We are doing this to sustain our commitment to folk music and to the local community.

Are you dropping your folk programming and changing formats?

No, we're not doing either. However, over the past six months the programming has been a bit different than it used to be. Recent survey participants stated they have noticed a change in the music playlist recently and have enjoyed them. In recent months, the rotation has expanded to include a wider variety of songs from current artists. We're still largely playing the same performers, but we've added more up-tempo songs, and the way it's all mixed together is different.

The playlist has also been expanded to allow more contemporary artists. There was a lot of interest in hearing more Blues music and we've added in a bit more of this. In one of our focus groups, there was a strong aversion to "twang" and there were definitely negatives associated with "country" music or new "Americana." However, this did not hold true with some of the other groups. While we still have to spend more time analyzing the enormous amount of data regarding specific genres and artists, rest assured - we do not expect to make any further significant changes from what you're currently hearing.

What happened to the co-hosts of the morning show?

Although the change was by only the length of one song per hour (approximately 5 minutes per hour), listeners perceived that the Morning Express included more talk since the inclusion of a co-host. In general, this was perceived as a negative, especially when the talk did not involve a subject that was relevant to the music. Also, because of a lack of financial resources, these co-hosts have included various rotating full-time and part-time staff as well as students, which presented problems with consistency and quality. We have decided to remove the co-host position, at least until such time as we can fill the second slot with a permanent individual. However, you can still expect the great music features to be included such as "Story Behind the Song" as well as the live-music and interview clips from other shows such as "Folk Scene", "World Cafe", and "Live at Noon".

What happened to the "Question of the Day" in the morning show?

The lack of a second person in the studio in the morning has created a few logistical issues, such as not having anyone to deal with the correspondence during the "Question of the Day" feature which can result in dozens of calls and emails.

A Boston Globe newspaper article from a few weeks ago said that you're getting rid of Mountain Stage and Afropop! Is this true?

We will continue airing both of these shows. However, at the time of the interview with the Boston Globe reporter, the costs for Mountain Stage and Afropop Worldwide, both of which are distributed by Public Radio International (PRI) had become astronomical in a short period of time. In fact, the cost per hour for WUMB to air Mountain Stage and Afropop Worldwide was more than four times more expensive than any other program on our schedule. PRI has since negotiated our rate to something more reasonable.

The program grid says Live at Noon will only be happening on Fridays - is this true?

Live at Noon is actually not live every day. In fact, it's an ambitious goal to try to provide live-performance programming every day and to get interesting and talented musicians in the studio. As a result, it's necessary to repeat archived performances to fill the slot five days a week. Several listeners noted they're getting bored with hearing the same member concerts over and over again. And, many times, noon is not a convenient time for performers to come into our studios, especially if they have a late-night performance scheduled.

As a result, we're only committing to doing Live at Noon on Fridays when it's been easiest to consistently fill that time slot with in-studio musicians. However, when the opportunity for a live in-studio segment presents itself on other days, we'll simply schedule it at the time of the day that is most convenient for the performers.

What happened to the special programming at 7 pm? Why move World Cafe there?

This was one of the biggest surprises with our research. Even though it's on late, from 9:00-11:00pm, many listeners and donors mentioned World Cafe (a National Public Radio - production) over and over again as one of their favorite shows - far above any other national program except for Mountain Stage and American Routes. They particularly enjoy the variety of music heard on World Cafe; also, the variety and quality of the live musicians showcased on the program.

There were many requests from listeners to move World Cafe to an earlier time period, so we have done this. Many of the 7:00pm specials have moved to later in the evening.

It looks like my favorite programs got moved to a different day/time period; I liked my programs where they were - why change them?

We mentioned earlier that many of these changes are about better serving our current audience as well as increasing audience for the radio station and our various programs. In general, other than with World Cafe, there seems to be more interest in locally-produced shows rather than airing nationally syndicated shows.

Some of the biggest changes will take place weekends. On Saturdays, we'll be moving Highway 61 Revisited by an hour to air from 8:00am-noon, to better accommodate those listeners who enjoy sleeping in a bit later. And, we're thrilled to announce that the host of our Morning Express program, Dick Pleasants will be following it and will be doing a special WUMB Music Mix program from noon-2pm.

On Sundays, Acoustic Sunrise will be expanded by 2 hours to air from 8:00am-noon and will now include vocals in addition to instrumentals. Folk Odyssey, our world music program, will be expanded by 2 hours and will air from 2:00-6:00pm. We hope to add more live programming later in the year.

While some programs have been moved to other time periods to make room for the above changes, we have only taken two programs off the schedule: National Geographic and The Changing World. Removing these two shows from the schedule was a part of the fee negotiation with Public Radio International so that we could keep airing Mountain Stage and Afropop Worldwide.

Someone told me that you're going to be doing more newscasts and talk programs. Is this true?

No, WUMB is largely a music radio station and we actually see ourselves as an alternative to the news and talk programs on the other public radio and commercial radio stations. We learned that WUMB is an important source of music discovery for our listeners. Listeners really enjoy the announcers putting the music into context. And, they appreciate the "curator role" that our announcers play in preserving the unique music we present.

We did ask survey participants several questions about the value of adding National Public Radio (NPR) news headlines in place of, or in addition to, our brief news headlines from Associated Press. Participants valued the news headlines the station provides when an urgent situation arises. News is okay as long as it's short. However, they did not believe adding NPR newscasts would be of benefit or interest to them. If they want news, they'll tune to other radio stations.

I have a question that was not answered here -- what can I do about it?

WUMB is listener supported radio. We exist for you. Your support, comments and thoughts are very important to the operation of WUMB. We are basing the changes that we are making in our operation and programming in part from what we have learned from our members and listeners in the last few months as we look inward and then outward in our operation. We want to hear from you. We encourage you to send us an email at: wumb@umb.edu or a letter to WUMB Radio, UMass Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125.

Thanks for listening to WUMB Radio! We hope you enjoy the changes.