Extremely upset

I was extremely upset when I heard the plans to reorganize WMUB and combine it's services with Cincinnati Public Radio. While I can understand that economic issues may make the station a heavy burden to the university. The value of the local talk shows to the area are hard to equate to a dollar value.

Public radio in the Dayton area seems to be in serious jeopardy. I have been told that Yellow Springs radio station WYSO is very much in limbo at this time. The campus in Yellow springs has closed, and it's future is not assured. The radio station license has been transferred to the "mother" campus in California. They are currently operating the station as a service to the Dayton area, but how long will a California University continue to support a radio station over a thousand miles away. They have made it quite clear that regardless of the future of the Antioch Campus in Yellow Springs, the Radio Station license will not be sold to whomever purchases the campus.

Besides WYSO and WMUB there are no other other public radio stations available in the Dayton area, with the exception of a few low-wattage stations. This means that there will be no outlet available for the locally produced shows which WMUB now produces.

Has anyone seriously attempted to find a way to keep the locally produced talk shows on the air? These shows, with the variety of guests and topics, provide a different prospective than any other talk shows available in the Dayton area.

Perhaps Miami University can partner with Wright State (which has media production classes), The University of Dayton, the University of Cincinnati, or another local college to produce the five hours per week of local talk shows. This would not be a first for Miami. They partnered with Wright State when Public Television Station 16 first went on the air.

Miami University could continue to provide appropriate, perhaps somewhat downsized studio which would could double as a video conferencing classroom. Cincinnati Public Radio would administer the transmission as currently planned. A block of 5 hours a week could be allocated to Oxford based local productions, while an additional 5 hours a week would be opened for the partner college's local productions from their facilities. Wright State and other local colleges and universities could help pay for the staff which produces the Oxford programs, in exchange for these staff members using some of their time teaching radio broadcast classes. These classes could be offered via video conferencing and the Internet, with advanced students working one or two terms "hands on" at the production facilities in Oxford, or their school's campus.

I believe that some way should be found to continue the local talk shows. These shows, with the variety of guests and topics, provide a different prospective than any other shows available in the Dayton area.

--Scott, Dayton