Collaboration
After years of losses, Maryland stations explore collaboration to cut costs
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The Eastern Shore’s Delmarva Public Radio and WESM-FM seek long-term survival in a competitive market.
Current (https://current.org/tag/delmarva-public-radio/)
The Eastern Shore’s Delmarva Public Radio and WESM-FM seek long-term survival in a competitive market.
Plus: Lightning strikes twice for Delmarva Public Radio.
Dana Whitehair arrives this week as the new general manager for financially struggling Delmarva Public Radio in Salisbury, Md., whose licensee will be reassessing the station’s future in three years. Whitehair’s experience includes four years as g.m. of WNCW-FM at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, N.C. He also spent 17 years at University of Texas at Austin’s KUT, 11 of those as manager of technical services, and worked as a broadcast engineer at WXXI in Rochester, N.Y.
Most recently Whitehair was executive director of Foothills Connect Business & Technology Center, a nonprofit focused on expanding broadband service in western North Carolina. Salisbury University said in today’s announcement that WSDL in Ocean City, Md., and WSCL in Salisbury will soon move from their headquarters on campus to temporary facilities nearby. The university is building a new tower and replacing aging equipment. The SU Foundation will transfer licenses to the university, “where DPR is expected to form closer ties with SU academic programs,” the announcement said.
A group of local boosters looking to take over operations of Delmarva Public Radio’s two public radio stations submitted a bid last week that outlined their proposal to preserve the stations’ existing formats, but the Salisbury University Foundation has postponed any decisions on the future of WSDL in Ocean City, Md., and WSCL in Salisbury. During its regular quarterly meeting on Dec. 5, directors of the foundation did not discuss or vote on bids submitted by organizations seeking to operate the stations, according to Jason Curtin, interim executive director. The foundation is an affiliate of Salisbury University that holds broadcast licenses for the two stations. “We are not going to rush into any decisions,” Curtin said.
An analysis recommends that the Salisbury University Foundation negotiate with another pubcaster to operate its two Delmarva Public Radio outlets as music stations.