WGLS: Glassboro's Latest Victim

The Whit, 1991

Well here we are, witnesses to the beginning of yet another WGLS error. One that will solidly confirm their devotion to the relentless pursuit of the mediocre. WGLS has taken our bull off an administration by the tail and kissed its ass. At the helm of our beloved station, piloting ever truly down the middle-of-the-road, is its newest advisor, Frank Hogan.

Frank and I sat down and immediately agreed on something. The station was in bad need of help. How to have helped it is where I found room to debate. First off, the station hasn’t been up to snuff in the area of public service. I agree. The nature of our license dictates that we provide services that will benefit the community. Aside from community service messages aired throughout the day, there is Campus Call-in, a one hour-long news show, mostly addressing college problems. Frank wants to expand the news programming by creating shows for evening broadcast Monday through Friday. I am excited by this prospect as well. An hour a day addressing college, contemporary, or sports issues sounds healthy.

The remaining 90 percent of the remaining 19 hours of the broadcast day is where I feel something’s gone awry. Weekdays, morning and daytime, have always been at the heart of musical contemporary at WGLS. We have, in the recent past, gone from “alternative” (college charted) to various forms of “full spectrum rock” (alternative and classic rock), to the most recent “adult contemporary” (lighter rock, targeting a middle-aged audience) format. In light of our being a college station (non-commercial, educational), I would lean towards the “alternative” format because college radio is not at the financial mercy of advertisers that dictate formats of commercial stations. Alternative music has not been given a mentionable place in commercial radio. Every time WGLS changes its format, it moves further away from alternative music and deeper into the music that has swamped commercial radio for years making WGLS even more redundant.

Frank defends the format change by arguing that his students will become better acquainted with the music that they will be playing in the commercial field. Frank, the gripe! It’s the responsibility of all students to familiarize themselves with the music they’ll be playing, not the station’s. At the expense of programming that could only come out of a college station, a handful of radio hopefuls will learn how to talk-up Phil Collins and Madonna on their demo tapes.

Alternative music is not all I want from WGLS, though. There is more than just college music. There is plenty of music that can’t be found on radio in this area, and I know from personal experience that there are people who will tune-in searching for new, different music. The media is renowned for simply pacifying people by bludgeoning them with what they already know. WGLS is small and can’t be expected to change the world, but it could be used to offer a radio experience to the people in this area who want to listen and expand their horizons, be educated.

Frank, the administration, and those in support of this new format have simply bowed down and chosen the easy way out. Under Frank’s command, we warned! Don’t look for innovative, educational programming, and don’t look for a station that will offer you the highest listening challenge.

Our DJs are just as inexperienced as they were with the last three formats. A lot of them sound really bad, in fact. But that’s what we’re here for, to learn and grow — the DJs, the staff and the listeners. We don’t need overplayed music. We need people dedicated to, not afraid of, learning and who have the energy and concern to offer a program to those who would dare listen in order that they might grow.

Andrew Nelson
(former DJ)