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July 15th, 2009 at 10:10 AM
WNYC Buys New York Times’ Classical Radio Station WQXR-FM
It’s no secret that the New York Times is struggling with plummeting ad revenues and falling readership, but the sale of its classical radio station WQXR to New York City’s NPR affiliate WNYC for $45 million is a chilling reminder of how the arts are affected in the economic downturn.
At 96.3 on the radio dial, WQXR is the city’s sole classical radio station and the foremost venue for institutions like the Metropolitan Opera, the Julliard School, and the New York Philharmonic. Founded in 1936, the station is one of the country’s first, and the oldest in all of New York State. Its studio has been a veritable who’s who of classical music, with violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Matt Haimovitz as two of its most recent stars.
I know what you’re thinking… the geeks that run WNYC won’t forsake folks who count on their Saturday afternoon broadcasts from the Met, but under new ownership, WQXR’s future gets a bit more complicated. WNYC president and chief executive Laura Walker promises that the station “will not only look to continue those relationships, but to extend and expand and deepen them.” Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to hear it. As part of the sale agreement, WQXR will lose its high-power spot on the radio band at 96.3 (6,000 watts) and trade with WCAA at 105.9 (600 watts), a station currently owned by Univision, meaning less people will be able to pick up the station by air. The fate of repeaters in Poughkeepsie, NY and Asbury Park, NJ is currently unknown, but should they be discontinued, listeners in those areas would be cut off as wellf. Of course, there’s always a webcast, but since WQXR’s audience skews older, this could prove to be a serious problem for its listenership.
Finally, the sale also proves difficult for public radio stations, as the addition of another major station to the roster places more demand on public support and charitable sponsorship by underwriters… a pot that has been shrinking as the economy worsens. On the bright side, WNYC appears determined to preserve the mission of WQXR, having begun The Campaign to Preserve Classical Music Radio in New York City, a $15 million campaign co-chaired by renowned classical pianist Emanuel Ax, along with WNYC Board members Nicki Tanner and Martha Fleischman. The campaign is meant to help with the transition and management of the new station. Says Walker, “For generations, WQXR has made classical music available free to millions, and has infused the concert hall experience into the daily lives of New Yorkers. We are delighted to continue this tradition and to extend WNYC’s own 85-year commitment to classical music and the arts.”
Now, I know that not everyone here is a fan of classical music, and in fact, some of you might think it’s snotty. However, I think many music-lovers can agree that it would be an incredible shame to see the genre of classical music completely vanish from the New York City airwaves. Many qualities we appreciate in music these days have roots in classical tradition and training, whether we know it or not. Have you heard those strings in the Dirty Projectors‘ “Stillness Is the Move?” Think about it.
(via Public Radio Redux, WNYC and the New York Times)
Comments
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July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
“Now, I know that not everyone here is a fan of classical music, and in fact, some of you might think it’s snotty.”
Well, now!!. Quite a language to use for a description of the literature that has brought to millions a modicum of spiritual respite in a world of noise and duress.
It is indeed, a sad day for the memorable musical accomplishments of the world that have brightened our lives, brought us greater depth of feeling. and if we are fortunate enough to perform, offer to us the possibility of sharing moments of adventure, sorrow and joy.
Hip-hip hooray. The gradual disappearance of light!
Thank you, anyhow, WNYC, and I do hope you keep trying. It is a notable effort. I will be an ardent fan of “hanging on” . and will always send my support to keep the world singing
mimi stern-wolfe
artistic driector
http://www.downtownmusicproductions.org -
July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
Actually, I’m a classically trained cellist. I’m just being realistic. As stated above, I agree that the absence of classical radio would be a big loss, and I’m hoping WNYC will be able to keep it up.
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July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
I think the OP meant “snooty” – and the point is well taken!
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Here’s my take on this … TERRIBLE development:
I, too, think that there’s been “more light than heat” in connection with this radio “juggling act.” By which I mean, classical music lovers are – I think it’s safe to say – a way more educated and articulate than most group, and they obviously have strong feelings about a change that affects something they value highly. However, sometimes the facts get lost amidst the rhetoric.
WNYC is engaged in “spinning” this deal big time because – masters of communication that they are – they know that the more you look, the less you’re gonna like. (Call it a mix of the “big lie” with “pre-emptive attack.”)
Everybody knows what a joke “battery life” is. “COVERAGE” – as in “how far away can this or that radio station be heard” – is another “your milage may vary” kinda thing … and vary! BY A WHOLE HECKOFA LOT.
Bottom line, a huge number of WQXR’s listeners are going to call this the ultimate “denial of service” attack. It’s not just in far-away suburbs – WNYC knows that even the crude maps on the web show that some of WQXR’s listeners are going from in-range to out of range…. MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, given NY City’s many tall buildings, Lincoln Center residents and those on the Lower East Side, among many others, will be treated to dramatically inferior listening – and, as many have pointed out, this is a rather more important issue when it comes to broadcast classical music than it is with “talk radio.”
BUT – last and WORST – by migrating everything that ISN’T “talk” from 93.9 to 105.9, WNYC is kicking classical music, in particular, in a very sensitive spot.
That is, WHATEVER your view of this or that WNYC personality or show, when somewhere between 10 and 30 percent of its listeners lose it, that hurts! And when another 10-30 percent complain that the amount of static has increased, how does that represent anything other than WNYC being derelict in its duty to this important and sizable portion of its listner base?!
Did I say “WORST” before?! I goofed. What’s even worse than the preceding – bad as that is – is that $15 million has been earmarked to this act of vandalism. I’m sure Emanuel Ax was not “bought off,” but one has to wonder if this Western Mass. resident HAS A CLUE as to what’s about to transpire in and around NY CITY.
Even if the very generous Greene and Spitzer families were picking up the whole tab, rather than 50% thereof, as WNYC management has outlined, there can be not a doubt in the world that the money could be spent more intelligently.
But to think that their money AND OUR MONEY is being spent in a way that will be diametrically opposed (that is, LESS, rather than MORE, classical music on air, measured by LISTENER-HOURS!!) to the stated goal … is nothing short of obscene.
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July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
Upon hearing the annoucement that WQXR will be a mere tinkling of faint musical notes the first thing that came into my head was……THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED. Buddy Holly was a prophet. Music has metamorphized into the personal ears of those IPOD people. Here’s looking at you WNYC.
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July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
Classical Music is expendable — that is the one message we can take away from this proposed mess. The city means so many things – among those – ideas which are more sophisticated representing the height of imagination – not unlike the Empire State Building itself from which WQXR has broadcast its signal for decades. To describe classical music either as snotty or snooty is to claim that the music only belongs to snobs but not to the universal imagination of the human mind. To categorize such a variety of music in such a way is the equivalence of stating that all architecture, art, literature, and even history itself is of little value and, as in the book burnings of Bradury’s “Fahrenheit 451″ can be easily dispensed with.
Even if classical music is more for the few rather than the majority, doesn’t it deserve to remain a standard? Never mind the fact that millions even in this unwashed land still attend countless live classical performances each year.
Even Fifth Avenue – a symbol of finery and taste – is turning into a suburban strip mall devoted to ignorant jeans-twilling SUV-marauders, most admiring little more than money. Why shouldn’t the radio waves become just as progressively mediocre? And the tragic thing is – we actually have a choice but will not concede to it. I suggest we try to save our standards, snooty or not.
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July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 AM { # }
i cannot get a signal at 105.9 in morristown and am very upset. i have this playing all night.
Comments