WVXA to end local programming this month
In two weeks, all local programming on Rogers City radio station WVXA will cease. The sale of the X-Star Network by Cincinnati-based Xavier University to another Ohio public radio group was finalized on June 24 when the Federal Communications Commission approved the $15 million deal. Xavier officials said they decided to sell the valuable public radio license to help fund capital improvements to the campus. The sale set in motion the transfer of assets of one of the largest public radio networks in the country; however, the news was met with quiet resignation at the WVXA farmhouse-station located on County Road 441 in Belknap Township.
Local staff members Bob Edwards, Carolyn Heinzel, Kim Orr, Barney Tomas, and Karl Grambau will be out of a job on August 19 when the new station owners switch over to an automated system.
DETAILS of how the station will operate are very sketchy at this time. The former owners in Cincinnati were reluctant to comment on the future of WVXA ? Rogers City as it now belongs to the other public radio station in that metropolitan area, WGUC, owned by Cincinnati Public Radio. Repeated calls to the new owners resulted in very little information other than a press release issued in June stating their intention to turn the parent station (WVXU) into a 24/7 public radio news and talk outlet. This would eliminate any local programming by the affiliates. This means the local radio station transmit pre-recorded satellite feeds from southern Ohio; there will be no local programming.
ACCORDING to former employees of the X-Star network, the new management will likely keep WVXA on the air just long enough to attract a buyer looking to buy the assets and grab the listeners for an existing fixed format station. The loss of local content over the airwaves is an economic fact of life in many markets around the country but it is especially painful for small communities that have no other outlet. After August 19 there will be no more broadcasts of school sporting events. In addition, local programs such as news, community calendar, items for sale and interviews with local personalities will cease.
In stark contrast to the lack of response from the new owners, George Zahn, former program director for WVXU was more than willing to take a break from emptying out his office to talk about WVXA.
BUT ZAHN was careful to note that the new company had not hired him and anything he said about the future of WVXA was ?unofficial.? ?I will miss all three of our Michigan stations but WVXA – Rogers City was really special. The best success story out of the entire network was WVXA. We recorded programs in Cincinnati while all the live programs were done by the team in Rogers City,? Zahn said.
He noted that the response from people in Presque Isle County was very positive. The local community supported the X-Star network both financially and with listener loyalty. ?We had seven stations in our whole network and Rogers City was the only one other than the parent station in Cincinnati that paid its own way on a continuous basis. ?When we came to Rogers City we didn?t know what to expect. I think a big part of the decision came from the fact that our general manger Dr. Jim King was originally from Cheboygan. He felt like he knew the area and we could do something up there,? Zahn said.
?THE IRONY of it all is we got kicked in the pants. When we put on other public stations in the network, we pretty much stuck with whatever Cincinnati was playing. ?When we did that in Rogers City the people went ballistic. They wanted to know
?It was one of the first times we actually devoted a large amount of the broadcast format to local programming. We realized the people up in Northern Michigan wanted their own programming and the beauty of the whole thing was they were willing to do it themselves.
?CAROLYN Heinzel got involved in programming and news people like Bob Edwards joined the staff. We would have really been upset if we had gone to all this work to create local programs and then have no one to make it happen. ?We didn?t have to worry thanks to Kim Orr who sold the dickens out of programs. She found ways to get people to buy radio time and support the station. When we had fund drives we would put the Polka Show on with Barney Tomas and people called in with their pledges. ?We tried doing local sports in other markets but it just didn?t fly, yet every one of those sports contracts at WVXA helped to keep the station on the air. ?We took a lot of chances in a lot of markets and WVXA ? Rogers City was the one that really paid off the best,? Zahn concluded.