News

Phish, Lies and Radio Waves

KWVA's programming is alienating the majority of students who foot the bill.And they may be lying to justify it.

"KWVA is like a black hole. Neither responds to outside variables, andthey both suck."
Joe Ryan, sophomore.

Indeed. Chances are that you don't like KWVA, 88.1 FM, either. There is probably not a radio station anywhere that pleases all of its potential audience. Yet KWVA, the UO's student-run radio station, has been catching an unusual amount of flak in the past few months. Starting in January, a flurry of letters critical of the station's programming began to appear on the Emerald's "Perspectives" page. Most of the public's distaste was aimed at KWVA's precociously alternative programming. The station's mission statement specifies that their programming "serves as a clear alternative to the student population and community at large." They attempt to play only music that can't be heard anywhere else, but the resulting mélange of genres such as goth, surf-punk, grindcore, and the ubiquitous "indie rock" has stepped on quite a few students' feet.

The letter that started it all was written by sophomore Frank Jezukewicz. "Campus radio, giving the students the chance to play the music that only we like," he wrote on January 29, inventing a mock slogan for the station. In December of 1998, he and his friend Brett Johnson went to KWVA with a proposal for a show they considered well within the "clear alternative" spectrum. "We were going to do a jam-band show," said Jezukewicz. The program would include live recordings by Phish, the Grateful Dead, and various blues artists, as well as local bands such as the Habañeros and Groove Juice Special. They were given the run-around, and eventually the show was turned down by Programming Director Sean Fracowiak because, according to Jezukewicz, he didn't like "that type of music."

KWVA General Manager Emily Walter defended the decision. "According to our mission statement, we're required to be a 'clear alternative' to the mainstream," she told the Commentator on May 19. "The Grateful Dead and Phish fit under a mainstream heading simply because they're played on other radio stations." Never mind that the only Phish song Jezukewicz has ever heard on local radio was, in his words, "an airbrushed single," or that the Habañeros, Groove Juice, and other local funk bands such as The McKenzie Project get less radio play than your average street vagrant.

The KWVA staff is quite sensitive about criticism. They keep everycritical thing written about them, according to a DJ who wished to remain anonymous. "They post all feedback on the wall, and they put older ones in a big binder," he said. So it was inevitable that they'd try to defend themselves. The problem is, the best defenses they could come up with are fraught with falsehoods. Is the KWVA staff merely ignorant, or are they lying to the students who pay their bills?

Music Director Michael McLaren defended the station from Jezukewicz'scontentions in a February 2 letter to the Emerald. He claimed that"because [KWVA] is noncommercial by definition, playing commercial music would be a direct affront to local commercial stations. We are required by the FCC to play material that you cannot hear on other stations."

Among the items posted on the wall at the station is a letter from former KWVA General Manager J. Pierson that contradicts McLaren's reasoning. "KWVA is in no way prohibited by the FCC from airing content that is also aired by other stations," wrote Pierson. "If that were the case, KLCC and KRVM would have had grounds to seek remedial action against KWVA long ago." McLaren was either willfully or ignorantly misrepresenting what it means to be a "noncommercial educational radio station," which is how the FCC classifies KWVA. According to the FCC's immense online library of regulations and precedents, all that "noncommercial" means is that the radio station cannot sell advertisements to make a profit. He took it to mean they must play "noncommercial music," and he interprets "noncommercial music" as music not played by other stations in town. Filter that down and its common name is "indie rock."

Emily Walter is guilty of the same misrepresentation. After carefullyconsidering her words, she defined 'non-commercial' as "self-determined... we're not a corporate radio station. It gives us the freedom to play what we want to play." McLaren was unavailable for further comment. But McLaren's and Walter's offenses were minor--one can't blame them for this mistake in an age when "noncommercial" really means that "advertisers" are disguised as "underwriters." They may have honestly deduced that the station's FCC classification referred to the music KWVA played.

The FCC cares little about the specifics of a station's programming. As long as obscenities, politics, underwriting, and other basic guidelines are followed responsibly, a noncommercial educational radio station can play whatever it wants. Applications for licenses and license renewals are about 98% concerned with technical specifications. The FCC stopped requiring program logs from noncommercial stations 15 years ago, and just two years ago it stated that it "does not scrutinize or regulate programming formats, nor does it take [them] into consideration when making its licensing decisions."

It was when Walter stepped up to the plate in an April 6 Emerald letterthat things got really dirty. Defending KWVA's "clear alternative" mission statement, she maintained that it was approved by the FCC in order to obtain a license. "Should we ever wish to change the mission statement, we would have to reapply to the FCC when our license expires in six years."

But their staff meeting minutes betray them. (These minutes are quite easy to come by, through Appleshare, on any campus Macintosh.) On February 27, according to the March 1 minutes, Frank Jezukewicz showed up at the station to rant about why they shouldn't be funded (Jezukewicz told the Commentator he didn't really mean it--he likes the station in principle). He brought up a flaw in the wording of the mission statement--a Freudian slip: "alternative to" rather than "alternative for the student population"--and KWVA is now hustling to make amends. Here is a direct transcript of those meeting minutes (emphases added):

"Walter:Saturday-Frank J. showed up to lodge a complaint about why we shouldn't befunded...he is a student and the majority of students are not beingsatisfied by KWVA... mainstream rock covers it...alternative to studentpopulation?... Jeremy brought up the green tape notebook... haven'tcontacted manager, board, asuo, etc...we are going to amend the missionstatement and the bylaws so this doesn't happen again..."

Pull over! Walter lied to us. "It's a complete load of bullshit," asJezukewicz put it. She knows that they can change the mission statement whenever they want.

KWVA has not always been so dishonest and repellent to students' tastes. As recently as 1995, the station featured a Beatles show. Back then, there was no "play list." According to the KWVA Bulletin from that year, "DJ's pick their own music, play it in the order they want and interact with the listening audience, all live and unimpeded...KWVA has no formula."

Those days are over. KWVA's "indie rock" formula is now very much alive. According to our anonymous DJ, "half of what I play must come from five shelves labeled 'A' through 'E.' I've got to play five songs from the 'A' list and 3 songs from the 'B' list." The remaining 50% of the DJ's time can be devoted to his or her own tastes. This may be a far cry from corporate radio's playlists, which are limited to certain "hit" songs repeated ad nauseum. Nevertheless, it is a grave restriction on the free expression of the DJ.

Through this system, the station is fulfilling what McLaren calls "its role in the world of college radio." Ah, the world of college radio. The world of "indie rock," where commercialism is less pronounced than in the "mainstream," but the money talks just as loud. Major record labels such as Elektra and Atlantic have so-called "college" departments that cater specifically to the college market. At the center of the "indie" industry is College Media Incorporated, a company that boasts of its "extensive music business network." In addition to recommending music for campus radio playlists, College Media Inc. publishes the College Music Journal (CMJ), which features a Top 200 chart of college radio airplay.

KWVA reports to CMJ, as one of nearly 500 college, community, and commercial stations nationwide. Each station's monthly Top 30 is factored into the CMJ's Top 200 based on market impact and market reach, leaving KWVA as a bit player compared to stations in New York, Los Angeles, and even Portland. Eugene's humble 88.1 can't possibly have a major impact on the charts. It's right there, once again, in the meeting minutes, this time from April 26: "[We] lose a lot of priority for we are not a CMJ core station."

Yet KWVA's top 30 often bears an uncanny resemblance to the CMJ chart.Just last March, KWVA's #1 album, Built To Spill's Keep it Like a Secret, was also CMJ's #1; CMJ's #2, Sebadoh's The Sebadoh, was the station's #3. Back in July, a full 25 of KWVA's Top 30 were on the CMJ 200, including 10 in the Top 30 and the same #1. It seems our campus radio station's format is geared more to the status quo of nationwide "indie" tastemakers than to the students whose incidental fees subsidize it. Sounds real "self-determined." As a result, more community-friendly programming--such as "Brunch With the Beatles;" "Metal Madness;" "The Zappa Show;" "The Local Show," which showcased local bands; and even live theater--has gone out the window, along with 50% of the average DJ's freedom.

This might be acceptable if KWVA were as independent from the ASUO as it once thought it would become. Back in 1996, "the ultimate goal [was] to become a self-sufficient station," according to Pierson, quoted in an April 17, 1996 Emerald article. "We wouldn't get any money from students." That year, the station asked for "$66,800 in student fees annually for the next two years." They anticipated that for the 1998-99 school year, they would need no more than $11,800 in student fees. The rest of the budget would come from promotions and underwriting. Yet, when the 1998-99 budget hearings rolled around, the station requested about $55,000. For the 1999-2000 school year, they have requested $55,458.

Since KWVA is still taking so much student money, students such asJezukewicz feel it should reflect a wider range of student tastes. "Myfees go to that station and so do theirs. So I have just as much right to play what I want to play as they do." He likes the idea of the station, but feels it should be more open. "I'd like my 1 or 2 hours a week to play my music just like everyone else who plays indie rock." KWVA's mission statement, which they so often hide behind, appears to mandate a more open system of programming: not only should the station be a "clear alternative to (or for) the student population," it should also be "an interactive, open forum for student expression."

Yet the station's hiring practices are anything but open. Potential DJ's are asked to list 100 artists whose music they'd like to play. If any country, Top 40, classic rock, or anything else in a litany of "taboo" genres appears--"you are not DJ material," wrote Programming Director Sean Fracowiak in the station's Fall Bulletin. And to be considered for the position of Music Director, an applicant must adequately navigate a quiz of obscure questions such as "Name three bands that include former members of Spaceman 3."

"Their hiring process is way too selective," observed junior Adam Furler. "It perpetuates their crappy programming." Unfortunately, their hiring process may get a lot more selective for the coming school year. The KWVA Board, which normally does the hiring, was dissolved by the ASUO Executive in early May.

"It was completely ineffectual," Assistant General Manager Kelly Lee told the Commentator. "They couldn't get anything done."

In the Board's absence, current General Manager Walter will be makingtemporary hires for new staff. (Nearly every staff position was up forhire in Emerald classified ads this spring.) "When we get a new board in there [picked by the ASUO Executive], they can either redo the interview process or ratify the hires that we did," she said. Given that the last board was essentially dissolved for laziness, it's not unlikely that the new board will choose the latter option, and next year's KWVA will be run by Walter's hand-picked staff.

So it appears that we're in for at least one more year of alienation from our student radio station. Jezukewicz advises tuning in 91.9 KRVM. The community station, which has three UO students on staff, is in many ways what KWVA should be-a broadcast training ground that encourages its DJ's freedom. The best thing is, we don't pay for it.Some day, Jezukewicz may try again to get his show on KWVA. Not any time soon, however. "I'm not interested in working with the people there now because they're extremely confrontational," he said. "[Criticism] is really personal to them because it's their station and it shouldn't be. It's the U of O's station. It's the students' station."

Dan Atkinson, a sophomore majoring in Journalism and History, doesn't even like Phish. He also finds Groove Juice Special a tadderivative.