WLUW Update: First Loyola Response

So, as I explained in my last WLUW post, the biggest concern we have is the callousness Loyola is presenting in their re-absorption of 88.7 WLUW-FM Chicago, a one-time listener-supported community radio station. Well after a good number of unsuccessful attempts to contact John Pelissero, whose email is listed on the FAQ page presented by Loyola in response to the situation but most attempts to that address were bounced back unsuccessfully, a WLUW volunteer got through to Jennifer Clark, Director of Community Relations. The following is the email exchange word for word followed by a response by Dustin Drase of The Hump Day Dance Party (Wednesdays 8-10p on WLUW) sent out to the WLUW staff listserve. My reasoning behind posting this to the public is because the absence of communication between the university and the station has been our biggest concern, so I wanted to share with everyone the first response we received. I feel it is important to forming a well-rounded perspective on the situation.

The following is the exact email WLUW volunteer Ang Concepcion sent to the WLUW staff listserve containing the email exchange she had with Jennifer Clark, Director of Community Relations at Loyola-Chicago:


I was talking to some people at my office, and my supervisor suggested that I should contact Jennifer Clark of Community Relations and see what's up.

First email is mine, the second is Clark's response:

Hi Jennifer-

My name is Ang, and I'm a senior at Loyola who works at Student Life, Campus Recreation, and WLUW. I was referred to you by Mary Rinaldi, and I was hoping that maybe you can help us out, or perhaps give some insight.

I went to a community council meeting of WLUW's yesterday evening 7/25, and witnessed a fair amount of people from the community who support the radio station. Basically, they expressed much disdain and frustration with the lack of communication from the university to WLUW. The chair of that council, who happened to resign that evening because he did not want to fight Loyola to get any answers, said that it didn't help that John Pelissero's email on the press release on WLUW was bogus.

I feel like I'm rambling, but the gist of this is that it's not just the Rogers Park community that'll be affected; there are many people who tune into the station that are from Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, and Andersonville. The people I met at this community radio council last night feel that Loyola doesn't care about the community and the type of rare programming that WLUW has that makes it more special than any of the other commercialized radio stations.

How can we, the community of volunteers and staffers, and the community of listeners, have our voices heard?

~~~~

These are some articles that various Chicago media outlets have posted/blogged:

Robert Feder's article on Friday 7/13 in Sun Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/business/feder/466749,CST-FIN-feder13.article

Preliminary follow-up from Loyola:
http://info.luc.edu/newsevents/public/news_story.cfm?newsID=7325&siteid=0

Chicagoist story (a pretty solid account of a staff meeting held on Monday 7/16):
http://chicagoist.com/2007/07/17/wluw_wtf.php
Chicagoist follow-up (with some clarification):
http://chicagoist.com/2007/07/18/wluw_mini_updat.php

Time Out Chicago blog (has some back-'n-forth with Loyola administration):
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/outandabout/?p=2548#more-2548

~~~~

Many of the WLUW staffers are just devastated that our bosses are getting fired, and that no one from Loyola has stepped up to even acknowledge us.

Thanks for reading this email,

Ang Concepcion

And her response:

Properties
From: Jennifer Clark Thursday - July 26, 2007 4:11 PM
To: Angelic Concepcion
Subject: Re: Loyola and the community based radio station WLUW

Ang,

I am not aware that Dr. Pelissao's email was "bogus." If the people who are interested in learning more are not willing to believe what they hear, there is very little anyone at Loyola can do to help. Loyola takes control of the station back from WBEZ in July 2008, so very little has been planned that will effect anything in the meantime. Also, there has not been any discussion about changing the format of the station, it has an independant community format, and that seems to be what people are most worried about - I am not sure where the idea came from that it will change to talk radio or punk music or anything - I think there is a lot of misonformation being spread by some disgruntled people about who owns the station and what it is intended to be used for.

In terms of communication between Loyola and the staff of WLUW, you have to remember that the at this point the staff are employees of WBEZ so it would be inappropriate for Loyola to communicate with them, they should be getting their information from their employer.

As to your last point, I am very disappointed to hear that people think that Loyola doesn't care about the community. It seems to me that it is the people that are spreading half-truths in order to make themselves look good are the ones who truly don't care about the community. Like I said at the begining, why would Dr. Pelissaro lie? He has nothing to gain from lying, but other people do. I am not accusing anyone of lying, I don't even know the people involved, I am simply encouraging you, as a critical thinking Loyola student to consider how quick you are to believe that Loyola would lie to you for no reason.

To have your voice heard on this matter, contact Dr. Pelissaro. His email is in groupwise and I am sure he would be happy to hear from you.

Jennifer

----------

No where did I say in my email that Pelissaro ever lied about anything, and I never ever implied that Loyola lied about anything; they're just not really saying anything... and there's only so much that WBEZ can do for us.

I like how she kind of slipped a jab at me with the last lines in the third paragraph. That's all I guess.
-
Ang



And now a response from WLUW staffer Dustin Drase sent over the listserve to other staffers that I felt was appropriate to include as well so you have an idea the kind of discussion we are having in-house:



I was hoping to stay out of the large scale rhetoric on all this for a while, but Jennifer's email and specifically the response she got from it, really struck a cord for me. What hurts me the most in all of this, is that Loyola is completing dismissive of the current staff, many of whom have been around the station for 5-10 years.

Specifically, these two points from Jennifer Clark's response email are what gave me an angry start to my day:

"In terms of communication between Loyola and the staff of WLUW, you have to remember that the at this point the staff are employees of WBEZ so it would be inappropriate for Loyola to communicate with them, they should be getting their information from their employer."

Inappropriate? How so? Torey and the folks at WBEZ can only tell us as much as they know, and at this point any information in regards to the future of the station is completely out of their hands. Attending the community advisory meeting this past Wednesday, reminded me how passionate, and genuinely concerned Torey is about the situation. However, for Jennifer Clark to brush all of us off as "employees of WBEZ" is exceptionally short sited. It's obvious from this statement that they have zero regard for us as a part of what WLUW is now and what it will become in the future. How exactly is Loyola helping the current staff follow the Jesuit mission of spreading justice into the world? The answer is, that they are not. We are DOING exactly what their school is trying to exemplify, yet they act as if we are some sort of rogue agents working for a rival company. It's obvious that they have no idea that WLUW is more than just a transmitter and a license; there is literal sweat, and lifeblood behind every radio wave broadcast from this station. For us to do what we do every single week is not a whimsical decision. To give up our precious free time to be part of something that is truly important and rare in this or any community for that matter, it really does take a lot out of us both physically and emotionally. A large part of who I am is intertwined in that station, and i'm sure every one of you reading this email can say the same. Why does Loyola not realize this?

"I don't even know the people involved, I am simply encouraging you, as a critical thinking Loyola student to consider how quick you are to believe that Loyola would lie to you for no reason."

This here is some truly specious reasoning. Jennifer says it all right here, "I don't even know the people involved". What the hell? How idiotic and shortsited can these people be (answer...immensely). Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't lying. Craig's dismissal (Ed. Note -- http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/thebusiness/070727/) reeks of behind the scenes power plays, and it's truly unfortunate that a man that I admire so much, and who would be infinitely useful as a resource for both the school and the radio station, has been ousted for no apparent reason aside from the fact that Loyola wants to start with a clean slate when they take over in 2008.

I plan to keep doing the Hump Day Dance Party as long as possible, knowing full well that Loyola has absolutely no use for me, and has absolutely no regard for any of the relationship that I have forged over my 7 years at WLUW with staff, listeners and community members. Apparently none of that matters to them, and that fact almost crushed my spirit entirely. Luckily, something Torey said to me at the advisory meeting kept my spark alive. To paraphrase what both he and Shawn have been saying, this radio station, and our shows are a completely altruistic endeavor. Each show we do is a treat for our listeners, our fans, and those that we play over the airwaves. I have been so incredibly lucky to have this forum to champion things that may not have gotten exposre otherwise, be it music, bands, artists, movie makers, social ideals, community activism and all other sorts of weirdness that has taken place on the Hump Day. Shawn has said again and again, "it's better to have a radio show than to not have a radio show," and she is right. Whatever I have built by doing my show may not have a place in the future of WLUW, and that's ok. I am extremely proud of what I have done, and what I have been a part of. I am extremely grateful for the friends and colleagues that I have worked with over the years at WLUW. We deserve to be treated with a bit of respect, and Loyola has not done that in any way whatsoever. The fact that this whole fiasco was leaked to the press on the same day as one of our biggest promotional events of the year is completely demoralizing. I have no interest in smearing Loyola. They can do whatever they want, and they've proven that point. What I do have an interest in, is them treating us with a bit decency and respect, and the very least they could do is send a representative to talk with us. Even if that person spoke with double talk and vague statements, it would show on some level that Loyola actually espoused their own beliefs. Somehow I have little faith that they will even give us that.

your friend

Dustin Drase
Dr. Drase of the Hump Dance Party
http://www.humpdaydanceparty.com



I hope this adds a little more perspective to what we are dealing with and the feelings from both sides of the situation.