My Side of the Mountain

            The advent of broadcast technology brought a new sense of limitless communication, which stations such as WOSU Public Media had never experienced before. Of course, there are limits to broadcast: bandwidth room, content censorship, and distance, to name a few. However, WOSU Public Media has never been in jeopardy of losing its frequency and always been committed to offering thoughtful programming for all ages  which leaves the distance issue.

            WOSU’s broadcast signal spans a radius of approximately 50 miles, a distance that should easily serve the needs of most local broadcast stations. But WOSU is not “most local broadcast stations.” Renowned nationally, the station is one of the more popular public broadcast pick-ups on the Internet. (You can access program content from any public broadcast station on its Web site.) Even aside from the World Wide Web, though, some people take nontraditional routes to picking up the WOSU signal.

            Kathy Horton and her family in Elliotsville, Kentucky, are “some people.” This past fall, WOSU’s customer-service operator in Portsmouth, Ohio, received what seemed to be a normal tech-support call. Upon further review, the operator found that the customer lived 100 land miles away from Portsmouth, near Morehead, Kentucky. This should be impossible, since it is a great distance outside of the station’s 50-mile radius. So how did they get the signal? The amazing answer: Horton and her family were receiving the WOSU signal at their house on top of a 1,300-foot mountain.

            According to WOSU chief engineer Tom Lahr, who worked on the technical problem, Horton and her entire family are avid WOSU supporters and are especially interested in “anything in HD,” which reflects either the vast amount of quality, high-definition programming on WOSU or the lack thereof in all other broadcast signals that you can pick up on top of a mountain in the middle of Kentucky. For the record, the customer-service representatives and engineers were able to fix the technical problem, and continue to treat the Horton family with same consideration that they would accord any other ground-dwelling customer.

- By Brett Renzenbrink

OSU Sports on WOSU Radio? What gives?

            As audience advocate for WOSU, I receive constant responses and suggestions regarding programming. Most recently, there has been a strong response to Ohio State University sports being broadcast on our 820 AM station.

Our positioning statement for our AM station is “WOSU 820: All day NPR news station.” That is the statement that most accurately reflects the programming broadcast, but it is not a brand (a fixed stance on the kind of programming we offer).  It is understood that organizations take artistic license with positioning statements.  Take Wal-Mart for example.  “Lowest Prices Always” or Target “Expect More, Pay Less.”  While these statements are factual most of the time, they are not true all of the time.  Sometimes, as with our sports broadcasts and Bluegrass Ramble, we choose to enhance our programming with other offerings that are not always news-oriented.

            The sports broadcasts on 820 AM fill less than 2% of programming a year.  Out of 8,760 total broadcast hours, sports programming takes up approximately 136 of those hours.   It may seem that men’s ice hockey, baseball, and women’s basketball take up more time than that because the broadcasts air in a concentrated six month period. Our AM station chooses to air these broadcasts to offer listeners seasonal coverage of local popular sports.

            Many listeners have expressed both pleasure and displeasure with the sports broadcasts. We hear form listeners on both sides of the fence.  The most frequent frustration seems to be the pre-emption of regular NPR programming.  Because of the unpredictable nature of most sports, sometimes other programming is preempted in order to accommodate them. More often than not, the preempted broadcasts can be found on NPR’s web site, www.npr.org, where listeners can hear programs in their entirety at their convenience.

            WOSU uses its sports broadcasts to give those who cannot attend home or away games the opportunity to hear them on the radio. For fans like Lori, who has no internet access, and Sara in Durango, CO, hearing coverage of Ohio State baseball games on the radio is their way to keep up-to-date on their favorite sports. The Ohio State athletics program has a large fan base which our sports broadcasts seek to address as a licensee of The Ohio State University.

            Our station co-brands with WBNS 1460 AM as recognition for the sports commentary they provide us.  This service provides income for WOSU as we receive funding from OSU per our contract with them, as well as from 1460 AM for making their commentary available to our listeners.

            WOSU hopes to attract audiences of all demographics with a wide array of programming options, although we remain loyal to our core audience.   OSU sports is merely one of the avenues we are pursuing.  “All Things Considered,” it is a very small avenue, at best. 

 

43210-the next 90210?

I get to talk with folks from all walks of life during the course of my day. Yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with a viewer who called in to advocate for a home-grown documentary. The topic of conversation was varied as we chatted about programming in different geographic locations and the different mindsets of viewers.

The viewer proceeded to share w/me an encounter she had while world traveling back in the late 80’s. During a 10 hour flight on a Chinese airline the Chinese flight attendants were encouraged to practice their English speaking skills with native English speaking passengers. Being that they were on an overnight flight, not many passengers were awake with exception to the viewer with whom I was chatting. A young gentleman attendant asked he if could practice his English with her. She graciously agreed. Upon his asking her where she was from, she replied “Columbus, Ohio, 43210″. Not being able to contain his excitement he exclaimed “43210-I know that zip code-The Ohio State University!” The attendant proceeded to explain to the viewer that he had many friends who had attended the University and he would correspond with them via mail. The zip code 43210 was a now a permanent part of his psyche. It never ceases to amaze me -the far reaching impact that OSU has had on the rest of the world-and how we can all make connections through conversation…

Alysia Gobert-Smith, Audience Advocate, WOSU Public Media, wosu@osu.edu

Reflections on My Role at WOSU

Upon reading an article from npr’s Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin announcing his stepping down from the position, I was compelled to take a retrospective look at the last 20 months that I have held the position of Audience Advocate for WOSU. The most difficult task during this time has been answering the question “what is it that I am here to do?”

Am I an Ombudsman? Yes, but not entirely. I do not hold a degree in Journalism, nor do I have any formal Journalism experience. And while, on occasion I have been asked by audience members to research bias or the mis-use of language in a story, that has not been my primary function.

Am I a Public Spokesperson for the stations? Again, yes, but not entirely. I have been the conduit of information to those of you who have inquired. Topics such as programming choices, playlist queries, the COSI initiative, Arts Partnerships, events, local productions, fundraising and even “which college holds the record for the most players recruited by the NFL?” I have answered you the best that I could seeking out the information from my colleagues at WOSU and beyond. I have not always told you what you were hoping to hear, but have instead focused on providing you with honest and forthright answers, hoping to gain your respect through open communication.

 

Am I a Customer Service Representative for the stations? I do provide a service to the community, being our customer, but to me, it is much more. While I do answer questions and give information, resolve problems, and address concerns as any good CSR would, to say Customer Service, does not embody the whole of what I have been. My official title is Audience Advocate Coordinator (Universities like big titles). I feel it is fitting. I am not in a position to make the daily operational decisions here at WOSU, however, I feel confident in saying that we (the audience and I) have influenced the outcomes of those decisions. I have been the cheerleader on your sidelines, the trainer in your corner, and more often than not solo voice speaking up on your behalf, and will continue to do so. As Mr. Dvorkin prepares to step down from his post as npr Ombudsman I realize that I am just beginning the journey that he now feels he has completed. And while my adventures will certainly be unique to Mr. Dvorkin’s, I too hope to be able to say that at the end of the day I was able to give you, WOSU’s audience, the voice that you deserve.

Alysia Gobert-Smith, wosu@osu.edu