October 1997
WUMB's 15th Birthday Bash Precedes Groundbreaking Partnership
Fifteen years after its official debut on the airwaves, WUMB FM (91.9) threw a party September 20 for more than 2,000 of its closest friends. Despite the forecast of thunderstorms, WUMB's all-day festival at Copley Square drew folk fans from throughout New England, and as far away as Nottingham, England, to hear locally and nationally known songwriters and performers Laurie Lewis, Christine Lavin, Sol Y Canto, Salamander Crossing and others.
Although the concert was free, WUMB raised more than $3,000 in new memberships and raffle ticket sales over the course of the day from faithful fans.
New England has a reputation as a folk music bastion, and WUMB reflects that interest, through its devotion to folk music in its many varieties. The station commits fourteen hours a day of folk music programming, more than any other station in the country.
Why folk music? According to General Manager Pat Monteith, "From the beginning, we wanted WUMB to have a strong cultural connection that wasn't being done elsewhere. Folk music is really "roots" music. It comes out of who we were and who we are. So we've had Celtic, Latino, and other traditional music programs that remind people of where they come from," she says.
Despite having found its programming niche, university support, and more than 48,000 devoted listeners a week, the realities of public radio broadcasting in these times of funding cutbacks have meant that WUMB has had to find creative ways of keeping its financial head above water. For example, because of funding cutbacks from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and increased costs, WUMB recently dropped NPR's "All Things Considered" from its programming lineup.
But tough times prove to be fertile ground for new ideas. In this case, creative thinking has led to a ground breaking partnership unlike any other found on the airwaves. By November 1, WUMB and WILD AM 1090, the foremost Black owned and operated commercial radio station in New England, will join forces. WUMB's folk music format will continue during the day, but in the evening, turn to 91.9 FM and you will find a public radio version of WILD's music, news, and live programs.
This may be the first such partnership in which a station broadcasts commercially during the day and publicly at night, says Monteith. "I can't begin to tell you what the ramifications of this are, because we don't know yet," she says. The stations will share resources and revenues as well as airwaves.
For WILD CEO Bernardine Nash, broadcasting in the evening hours has been an elusive, 15-year goal. "It has always been a source of frustration to us and to the African American community that when the sun goes down, we lose our voice," comments Nash. "Now, we will be able to do more programming that we've wanted to do but couldn't. It will free us up to be more creative."
Nash says that WILD has opted to broadcast over the Boston and Worcester signals, but for the meantime, will not broadcast over WUMB's signal on the Cape, leaving both daytime and evening programming in that area to WUMB.
"Since I met Pat (Monteith) five years ago, the broadcast industry has changed, and we've both been affected by the changes," says Nash. "When we sat down to discuss this proposal, it just made so much sense."
In addition to the WILD partnership, WUMB is adding a fourth radio station to its network. WKPE-AM, which broadcasts from Orleans, was recently donated to WUMB through the UMass Foundation. This acquisition will now allow WUMB's programs to reach the lower Cape and Nantucket.