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FAVORITE RADIO STATION
Melissa Hanna's resignation as Executive Editor of the
Athens Banner-Herald causes another shakeup in our "Athens
News Matters" show on WUGA FM 91.7. We lost her predeces
sor, Jason Winders, to the same Banner-Herald problems. Maybe
we should just invite the publisher to join us, since he seems
to have the only bullet-proof job over there.
But the radio station is the topic here. If you're one of the
many thousands who eagerly await "Athens News Matters"
every week, you have noticed that we've been pushed back
on Thursdays from our usual 4:30 p.m. spot to 3:30 p.m. Most
of the other local programming has suffered a similar shift
backwards from drive time to dead time. These changes have
occurred because the station is under new management.
The station is under new management because it has been
taken over by Georgia Public Broadcasting, the state radio and
television network in Atlanta. GPB had long coveted WUGA
and finally got control of our radio station as a result of the
television station snafu. The University of Georgia bought the
Toccoa, GA commercial TV station, WNEG-TV, planning to run it
as a commercial station at the university, but it turned out to
be a devastating financial failure. To save face, the university
asked GPB to take the
Now, the question is
whether even these
local elements will
survive in the long run.
station off its hands.
Control of the radio sta
tion was the price UGA
had to pay GPB.
GPB had for a long
time owned the license
to WUGA radio, but the
university had enough clout to continue control of the sta
tion's management. Now that control has shifted to Atlanta,
the fear over here is that we will lose our local programs such
as "Athens News Matters," "It's Friday," "Just Off the Radar,"
etc. and become just a "repeater" station for the GPB network,
running the same programming as their other stations around
the state.
The schedule change at the first of the month is seen as
the first shift that will eventuate in the loss of local program
ming. In that shift, local programming was moved back so that
GPB can air "All Things Considered," the afternoon NPR news/
features show at the same time it's broadcast on the rest of the
network. GPB says listeners need this regularity, so that when
they're driving from one coverage area to another they don't
lose their program. It is also true that the schedule adjustment
gives GPB a larger sponsorship package to sell.
WUGA is already but a shell of its former self. Budget cuts
ovc* the years have reduced the station to a news director
without a staff and a program director without programs except
for recorded music and shows cobbled together with unpaid
volunteers. Now, the question is whether even these local ele
ments will survive in the long run.
Programming on WUGA is now determined "co-operatively"
between GPB and the university, and administrators in both
places are quick to point out that they intend more, rather
than less, local programming. What is meant by "local" has yet
to be determined.
University and GPB administrators talk about developing
local programming good enough to be put on the statewide
network and perhaps even the national NPR network. They
mention concerts originating in the UGA music department,
for instance, using the considerable resources of the university
to generate programming. They also profess a commitment to
continuing and increasing programs aimed at the Athens com
munity. That's an important programming distinction. As one
person close to the station puts it, local programming about
Athens holds up a mirror to the community; beaming out pro
grams developed here is like sending postcards from our com
munity to the world.
Time will tell whether we lose the programming that has
made WUGA the perennial favorite local radio station among
Athens listeners or gain more of it.
WUGA's broadcast license comes up for renewal at the end of
next year, so we may have at least that long before any more
drastic changes are made. The real test of GPB's commitment to
local programming will be whether they're willing and able to
invest in the staff it will take to hold up that mirror and mail
out those postcards, and which they value more. Stay tuned.
• Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
City Dope 4
Athens News and Views
What's going in the retail spaces of the ACC/ Batson-Cook parking deck downtown?
Kiddie Dope 8
News from the Juice Box Set
Introducing our new column, which helps clue parents in on fun activity opportunities for the young ‘uns.
art
The Reader
Heck in the Pacific
Buz Sawyer The War in the Pacific is a collection of one of the greatest adventure strips ever.
Film Notebook
News of Athens’ Cinema Scene
Get ready for a very bad—and very bad-assed—movie night at Cine.
MUSIC
Upstart Roundup
Introducing Athens’ Newest Talent
This week: The Sunlight Alchemists, Vespolina, Chromazone and pretty bird
14
AgesandAges
Folk-Rock Commune
Portland folk-rockers take their anti-apathy fight to the road.
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring sculpted garden gates by
Andrew T Crawford on display at the
State Botanical Garden of Georgia
CITY DOPE 4
CITY PAGES 5
CAPITOL IMPACT 6
ATHENS RISING 7
KIDDIE DOPE 8
THE READER 9
GRUB NOTES 10
FLUKE 11
MOVIE DOPE 12
MOVIE PICK 13
FILM NOTEBOOK 14
THREATS & PROMISES 15
UPSTART ROUNDUP 16
MIXTAPEWARS 17
RECORD REVIEWS 18
AGESANDAGES 19
THE CALENDAR! 20
BULLETIN BOARD 28
ART AROUND TOWN 29
COMICS 30
REALITY CHECK 31
CLASSIFIEDS 32
BIKES ON CAMPUS... 35
►► Ort rambles through some vinyl in preparation for Kurt
Wood’s front porch sale this weekend
►► Get the scoop on the Boys Who Rock for Girls benefit
for Girls’ Rock Camp-Athens
►► Let us know about your next event: email calendar®
flagpole.com
►► Is your partner incapable of commitment? Get a Reality
Check from Jyl Inov
►► Contact Us! Submit your original, non-published
writing or story ideas to editor@fiagpole.com
EDITOR l PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
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MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter *
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CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf. Nash Hogan. Jesse Mangum. Matt Shirley
WEB DESIGNER Kelly Ruberto
ADVERTISING 1 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jessica Smith
ADVERTISING INTERNS Caroline Hams. Sarah Zagorsk)
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CONTACT US
STREET ADDRESS: 112 Foundry St., Athens, GA 30601
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VOLUME 25
ISSUE NUMBER 15
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APRIL 20,2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 3
