WESU leaders have committed to using public broadcast programming from WSHU, an NPR affiliate station based in Fairfield, Conn. The decision was made in an attempt to bring organization and financial stability to the station. This plan, the details of which are still under negotiation, was announced at a public meeting on Monday.

With President Bennet, community members and students all in attendance, the meeting addressed concerns among those who fear the involvement of WSHU will lead to the end of “freeform radio.” But several members of the panel, notably Bennet and WESU General Manager Jesse Sommer ’05, argued that the new proposal is the best option at this time for a station that is in need of organization.

According to Sommer, WSHU will supply financial backing for several concrete improvements at the station, including a security system at the Broad Street location and the installation of a new recording studio to replace an old record library. These vinyl records will be used to begin a new digital library at the station. WSHU will also offer a structure for workshops to teach students how to run their own professional programming.

At the meeting, Sommer continued to remind the audience that the plan is not an NPR “takeover,” a term several student groups have used to describe the situation. Instead, WESU will be able to use WSHU’s resources without being called a full affiliate of WSHU, according to Ken Weiner, a community volunteer and the news and public affairs director of WESU.

Many students and panelists were still cautious about WSHU’s presence and Wesleyan’s commitment to freeform.

“I would caution you about losing that identity that is ultimately your biggest asset,” said Ursula Ruendenberg, a panelist from the Pacifica Radio Foundation.

Ruendenberg added that she understood the need to find a viable solution to the problem. Several Pacifica affiliate stations also include NPR programming, she explained. Wesleyan currently airs “Democracy Now,” a Pacifica radio program.

Via its association with WSHU, the Wesleyan station will have access to about 20 public broadcast satellite channels, which DJs can use at any time of day for programming. If WESU chooses to play six hours or more of these feeds, fees would be waived for the purchase of an internet radio stream, a service that WESU members have wanted for several years, according to Sommer.

There are also financial implications for the amount of WSHU feed time that 88.1 uses. Two-thirds of any fundraising raised during WSHU pledge drives on the WESU transmitter will go directly to the Wesleyan station. These proceeds will go directly to covering costs, according to Luke Snelling, the author of a WESU student proposal that did not include WSHU involvement. Snelling added that any local fundraising done on WESU-exclusive shows will continue to go directly to the station.

In addition to fundraising drives, the WESU Board of Directors is exploring other fundraising options such as program guide advertising and underwriting, in which businesses receive on-air acknowledgement for financial support.

Community members and students raised several concerns about the implications of this plan for community programming. Sommer said the specific logistics have yet to be worked out but shows that air on multiple days will probably be the first to get cut down. Sommer stressed that many details are still open to negotiation, including how much the station plans to use WSHU’s feeds.

“It’s up in the air, but needless to say, I don’t think it will be as traumatic as people may think,” Sommer said.

He added that the WSHU involvement will hopefully only be temporary until WESU can achieve financial stability and the radio station meets the education of goals that the University expects.

Sommer said he was happy with the agreement, especially considering the fact that, since the transfer of the station’s FCC license two years ago, the final decision is up to the University.

“Under the circumstances, I believe we have done our best to repair the damages done to the identity of WESU,” Sommer said.

Bennet, who initially wanted to use as many as 12 hours of WSHU broadcasting a day, said the current plan is a good compromise.

“What we’ve accomplished is a synthesis of the two possibilities,” he said, adding that students will still be responsible for programming while the station manager will have a much richer set of program options.

The new proposal will go into effect on Feb. 1, 2005. Bennet said the station will go off air for a time over winter break to figure out the new programming schedule and accommodate the inclusion of WSHU.

The plan also includes the addition of a general manager that can provide some structure to the station. Sommer suggested the presence of a faculty advisor that could act as a liaison between the University and the station.