Thursday, October 4,1990
Behrend's
WPSE alters
talk format
Rivals WLKK and
WEHN try to take a
piece of the market
by Mark Owens
the Collegian
Radio has always been one of
those industries that does
everything at once. At one time
everything music, sports,
news, bingo - was on the AM
dial. Then everyone discovered
FM and made die switch, turning
the AM band into the proverbial
Twilight Zone.
Matters stayed that way until
the advent of the talk/information
format. That is where WPSE,
Behrend's commercial AM
station, comes in.
Last December, B urbach
Communications donated the
tower and AM 1450 dial position
(which formerly belonged to
WEYZ) to Behrend. Since then
WPSE has made waves in the
Erie market by offering the only
talk, news and sports game in
town.
Until now, that is.
On Monday WLKK, which
formerly broadcast country and
western music, debuted its news
and information format. 7/LKK
has not only lined up NPC for
news and the Mutual Radio
Network (featuring Larry King,
Bruce Williams and Rush
Limbaugh), but features several
local hosts talking about local
events.
WPSE, by contrast, features
primarily national programming
with CBS and the American
Radio Network.
"We saw this coming a couple
of months ago," said Fred
Ansivino, WPSE's general
manager. "Right now we’re
trying our best to be as clean as
possible and do what we do best -
• talk, news and sports."
Part of WPSE's strategy for
dealing with the new kid on the
block is consistency, or "not
departing from what we say we
are," Ansivino said.
That means devoting the
station to its format - news, talk
and sports -- and getting rid of
anything that doesn't fit,
including music.
"We were running a music
show Sunday nights from 9 pm
to 1 am, but the students decided
to eliminate music because it
didn't fit with the format,
especially since WLKK is now
using the news/information
format as well," Ansivino said.
That development may not sit
well with some people, who have
come to expect WPSE to follow
the traditional idea of a college
radio station; playing music --
and lots of it. Ansivino,
however, said WPSE is more the
exception to the rule.
"People over 40 listen to AM,
while people under 40 listen to
FM. However, 80 percent of
people who listen to radio listen
Mark Owens/77i« Collegian
Off io the races: Maria Torres of Alpha Sigma Alpha and Kim
Howard of Alpha Sigma Tau participated in tricycle races held in the
apartment quad on Monday evening. The races were a part of Greek
Week activities which will continue through Saturday.
to FM," he said. "If you're
listening to music, it'll be on
FM because it sounds better.
Music on AM will get beaten by
FM music every time,” he said.
That's exacUy what happened
in WLKK's case. Earlier this year
WXTA (Country 98 FM) started
their country/western format,
leaving WLKK high and dry. "As
soon as an FM plays your music,
you're dead in the water,"
Ansivino said.
And right now the talk/news
business is hot for WPSE, while
music is not.
"Music was never our strong
point,” said Ken Bunting, WPSE
student manager. "Not only
would we be in the same market
as the major FM stations, but the
college music scene is already
being served by Gannon (WERG
89.9), Mercyhurst (WMCE 88.5)
and Edinboro (WFSE 88.9).
We're in a position to do
something different than music
and make an impact in the
market”
In fact, Ansivino points out
that WPSE has a lot of
advantages that other college
stations don't
"We're an AM station, which
gives us a lot of room to work.
We're also a commercial radio
station, which lets us operate
exactly the way other stations do
- a plus for students thinking
about a career in broadcasting,"
he said.
Ansivino added that there are
very few college radio stations in
the country that have an AM
station, and almost none with a
commercial license. "We have
opportunities here that very few
colleges in the country have,"
said Ansivino.
WPSE was recently given the
go-ahead to sell commercials,
"which will let us train people in
marketing - something that no
other college in the area is able to
do,” said Bunting. Edinboro,
Gannon and Mercyhurst all have
non-commercial licenses, which
limit them to underwriting to
fund themselves.
The Collegian
Coming down the stretch
With commercials and a
collection of national radio
personalities that Ansivino says
have a big following in the Erie
area, WPSE hopes to fend off an
aggressive WLKK and hang on to
the majority of their listeners.
"Of course we're going to lose
some people to WLKK; it's the
nature of the business," said
Ansivino. "Of course, it's
important to note that we're not
in direct competition with anyone
in the market. They're out there
to make money and survive. We
don't have to worry about that, so
we can concentrate on educating
students in radio broadcasting and
not the bottom line."
The biggest thing is
that students can get
experience here...lf
you look for a job
in broadcasting,
they 'll ask you for
experience. If you
don't have any,
they'll ask you to
come beack when
you do ~ and no
one is going to be
able to take the
time to train you.
We, on the other
hand will."
The weak link in WPSE's
armor is the local angle; they
have none.
"Right now we don't have
students to produce local news or
other local shows that fit the
format and that's going to hurt
•Fred Ansivino
WPSE General
Manager
us," Ansivino said.
"The biggest thing is that
students can get experience in
radio here. If you leave Behrend
with a degree and look for a job
in broadcasting, they'll ask you
for experience. If you don't have
any, they'll ask you to come back
when you do and no one is
going to be able to take the time
to train you. We, on the other
hand, will. It's that simple,"
Ansivino said.
For the time being, WPSE
plans on doing what they do best.
"We can't control the
competition, but we can always
get better," Ansivino said.
Bo would know
Behrend, but he
doesn't read The
Collegian.
Page 3
NewPSU
President
Thomas visits
Behrend
(continued from page 1)
scholarships and slightly
rewording the recruitment
procedures are important factors
in recruiting and retaining
students, stated Thomas.
The Dußois campus currently
has less than 1 percent minority
students. Thomas said that some
areas in Penn State need more
diversity than others.
"We should spend more time
looking for unity," said Thomas,
rather than "learning to cope with
it."
Behrend Provost and Dean Dr.
John Lilley said that Behrend's
minority students constitute 10
percent of the student population.
"We're getting about 10 percent
minority students here at this
time,” said Lilley. "We can and
want to always do better," said
Lilley in reference to the number
of minorities at Behrend.
Thomas said Behrend offers a
unique opportunity because of it's
location near a
manufacturing/industrial area.
"There is a serious problem
with moving into a service
economy,” said Thomas. "There
are times when the United States'
economy looks more like a
developing nation's than a
developed one."
He went on to say that
Behrend's solid manufacturing
partnership with Erie is
important to the Commonwealth
and the nation's economy.
Thomas was also asked about
the tradition of raising tuition
every year for the past decade. He
said underfunding by the state
legislature greatly contributed to
Penn State's financial problems.
Thomas said the solution was
either increased funding from the
State legislature or a lowering of
the national inflation rate by 5
percent as the only feasible
means for reducing Penn State's
educational price tag.
A LAST STRAW
Fresh flowers for all your
floral needs. Behrend
students - 10% discount
898-1879