[Rfu-station] Station Update: Meeting this Tuesday, tips and reminders

[Andrew Ó Baoill]

Greetings!

It's been a little while since I sent a general update to the lists.  
Hopefully you've been enjoying the warmer weather, and bringing good  
radio to the masses.

MEETING
Our next meeting is this Tuesday at 8pm. Remember that attendance at 1  
meeting per month is a requirement of all programming groups. Our last  
meeting had a grand total of three members in attendance - John from  
the Tipping Point, Mike from Extensions, and myself - so we didn't  
accomplish a lot. Please help rectify that with *your* attendance this  
week.

AUTOMATION AND LOGGING
Remember that our license places certain requirements on the station  
and individual programmers.
* It's important if there is no show immediately following you that  
you switch to automation, rather than leaving a CD or computer  
playlist playing (even on repeat), as automation is set up to include  
required hourly IDs, as well as PSAs and other programming.
* If you operate the studio - whether as part of a scheduled show, or  
a once-off piece - it is important that you fill out the log. Only  
*one* operator should be signed-in on the log at any time. [From the  
FCC's perspective, the person signed-in on the log is the person in  
control of equipment and what goes out on air at that point in time.]
* Check the transmitter at least once per 2-hour show. Checking more  
frequently is also OK. Remember to use the main 'WRFU' account on the  
computer, not the 'WRFU user' account, which doesn't work with the  
software.

PROGRAMMING GROUPS
There are a number of reasons for our policy that time is only  
allocated to programming groups, rather than to individuals. One is  
that we want to avoid 'ego-casting' - a focus on the presenter, rather  
than on the role radio can play in the community. A second is that  
having several members in a group makes it more likely that someone is  
always available to broadcast during scheduled times - it's an in- 
built substitution system.

We've adopted a number of policies to respond to the varying  
availability of volunteers. Some shows take a hiatus over the summer  
months (particularly undergrads who leave town outside of semester).  
Groups are asked to send a message to the mailing lists if they are  
going to miss an individual show. However, it's important groups also  
make use of the strengths of the group structure. If you find that  
your group is regularly (or irregularly) missing shows, consider  
adding extra members to your group - perhaps alternating between  
different members each week. The Celtic Collective at WEFT, of which  
I'm part, uses this effectively, with 4 members (at present) each  
taking one week each month, which we agree between us at the start of  
each month, depending on our availability.

Inviting new members into your group - either through this list, or  
from outside station structures - will help ensure that we can provide  
a reliable service to our listeners and our broader community.

OUTREACH
You'll have seen some of the mails from Tynan Kraft, who is leading  
our outreach efforts at present. Please do consider taking her up on  
her offer to produce a press release centered on the service that your  
show is providing.

Also, we're continuing with our Farmers' Market stand. We're  
continuing to expand the materials available at the stand. We hope  
soon to have WRFU t-shirts available for sale. We have some media  
reform materials available for free to the public. We will be selling  
some CDs and other materials the IMC has on hand - which will bring in  
revenue both for us and the IMC as a whole. Please do sign up for a  
Farmers' Market slot if you are available.

Regards,

Andrew

Andrew Ó Baoill
Station Manager
WRFU-LP, Urbana 104.5FM
http://www.wrfu.net andrew at funferal.org
admin/voicemail: (217) 278 3933  x25
(217) 344-2536 (studio)