WMRA & WEMC programming changes
Brent Finnegan -- January 8th, 2008
WMRA and WEMC are swapping some programs. Starting Monday, there will be less classical music and more informational or “talk show” programming on WMRA. As a result, there will be less informational programming and more classical music on WEMC.
As you may recall, WMRA (operated by JMU) bought took over operations at WEMC last year. There was some concern among WEMC’s listeners in the Harrisonburg community that JMU would ax Democracy Now, and rearrange WEMC’s schedule.
A year later, Democracy Now is still on the air, but much of WEMC’s other informational programming during the day will be moving to WMRA, which has a much wider coverage area. WEMC’s signal covers Harrisonburg and parts of Rockingham and northern Augusta counties. WMRA and its translators cover the areas around Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Lexington, Winchester, and Farmville.
You can check the new schedules on their website. They also have a detailed Q&A section. According to those answers, “The audience for WMRA has not grown over the past 5 or 6 years, despite a rapidly growing population. In the past year and a half, the audience has actually declined significantly, particularly during the middays.” These scheduling changes are an attempt to grow their listener base and ultimately increase financial contributions.
WMRA expects to stick with these new schedules for at least the next two years. “Historically for public radio, there is about a two year lag between when someone becomes a regular listener and when they become a contributor. We will allow at least that much time for the new programming to prove its value.”
Democracy Now, which airs weeknights on WEMC, is moving one hour earlier, from 10:00 to 9:00. WMRA is reducing Insight with Tom Graham to one day a week (Monday afternoon). According to the statement on their website, Insight was their most expensive program. But they say their “long range plan is to make it a live show five days a week.”
A public Q&A meeting will be held at WMRA studios on Cantrell and Reservoir this Friday from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
I wish that WMRA/WEMC broadcasted via the internet. I sometimes listen WAMU (from DC) on my computer because I generally do not have a radio wherever I am. (I only have my computer in my office, no radio.) The only reason why I would get a radio, which I’ve actually been shopping around for, is to listen to WMRA/WEMC and WSVA at work. I offer this thought up as a reason why the stations don’t have midday listeners. Most people are at work.
That’s interesting about the “Historically for public radio, there is about a two year lag between when someone becomes a regular listener and when they become a contributor” because that is definitely true for me. I listened to public radio growing up but wasn’t a regular listener until college, and after two years I began to contribute.
I hope people continue to listen to public radio and to make contributions to it. Its better than watching TV and it definitely helps with any morning commute you might have.
First a correction: WMRA did not buy WEMC. EMU still owns the station and WMRA operates it. Good news, Thanh – both WMRA and WEMC are streaming. Links to both streams are at http://www.wmra.org.
Radio listening overall is lower during the day, largely because people are at work. However, WMRA’s SHARE of what listening is happening is much lower in the hours between Morning Edition and All Things Considered. We certainly hope that more listeners will start tuning in to the streams at work, whether for the classical or the talk. I’m glad you’re interested in the schedule changes.
umm, they do. for some time now.
http://www.wmra.org/
Thanks David. I guess whenever I checked the website last, a long time ago, either they didn’t have that capability or I completely missed it and never looked back.
Nevermind to everyone about my previous comment. I’ll definitely be listening to npr at work now.
Now I wish WSVA could be online. :o)
I’m still waiting for the news page to have RSS. Mr. Easley, I’m looking in your direction.
Still, if WMRA adds RSS anytime in the next decade, I’m guessing they’ll beat WSVA to the punch.
Corrected.
Any chance of eventually getting away from a classical music format?
Or put another way.. how can the WMRA music be so good on the weekend, and so bad during the week? :-)
One of my all time favorite public radio formats is one I heard in Huntington, WV. WVWV 89.9
http://www.wvpubrad.org/
Ecletic music all week, small classical selection on Sundays only.
Harrisonburg has never been known for having a great radio selection to choose from, seems that WMRA has a chance to change that.
JW wrote, “Any chance of eventually getting away from a classical music format?”
That’s what the post is about. WMRA is ditching a large portion of their classical music for news, arts, interview, and discussion shows.
Between WMRA, WEMC, and WNRN, I’d say for a city this size, the radio selection isn’t too bad. Of course, there’s always room for another station.
.. how can the WMRA music be so good on the weekend…
JW,
As a long-time host of Acoustic Cafe, I hope that’s some of the music that you like on the weekends! (If not, please don’t tell me…)
I’m curious about the radio station you like in Huntington. It must not be part of WV Public Radio – they’re classical during the week – unless the station only carries some of the WV Public Radio programming.
As for WMRA, it’s changing to news/talk programs (not to a different musical format) during the week. There will still be short blocks of classical music in the evenings.
WVWV is part of West Virginia Public Radio and airs classical music from 9 am to 4 pm weekdays, and Saturday afternoons. Non-classical airs Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Perhaps you heard WVMR or a repeater of their programming. They don’t have a website with any useful information, like a program schedule, that I could find, but they are very eclectic.
Charlottesville’s WNRN (“Modern Rock, No Commercials”) has a low power repeater serving Harrisonburg at 95.1 FM.
Don’t forget WXJM 88.7, the JMU student station. They have an eclectic format with a lot of head-banger music, but I do enjoy some of the midday shows, 10-2, with jazz and Americana.
Having lived in this lovely Valley since 1987 I am delighted by the recent changes that have occurred in our listening options. It is heartening to be able to hear an alternative to right wing hate radio. The changes proposed are a positive step and a welcome innovation.
I too love the changes. Unfortunately I can never get the streaming to work or I would listen during the day as well.
Tina,
Your show is indeed on my must listen to list.
I may have gotten the station ID wrong, I intended the one in Huntington that has a very eclectic mix.
WXJM does have some decent music. Sometimes it’s a bit too metal-ish. Between that and it’s often inconsistent scheduling it makes it a onto my dial less and less these days.
WNRN used to be a favorite on my old commute, and still is around the house. Was very pleased when their repeater went up in town, as the repeater in Waynesboro cuts out just south of town.
Classical music lovers can always turn to WVTF, broadcasting on 88.5 and 89.3 in Charlottesville…and the RADIO IQ news/talk service is also available on 89.7 and 91.5 in the same area. Both services stream online at wvtf.org and radioiq.org.
I must say that, since moving to Strasburg from New Market, I miss 95.1 and 88.7 while driving around in H-Burg.
Now, my small city of choice is Winchester by default, where there is nothing like that of note.
I kind f liked the classical music during the day. It was different from every other radio station in the area. I do enjoy talk radio of any type, but when I listened to NPR in the afternoons, it was for the classical music. However, since I don’t spnd a lot of time listening to the radio, I can probably stream classical music whenever I want it off of the internet. I hopee that WEMC doesn’t end up as some loser station that gets all the programs that WMRA doesn’t want. I have actually changed to WEMC from WMRA because I enjoy the programs more.