Suggested Courses of Action

I think it's important that blues, jazz and soul listeners be part of this conversation. I think the goal here should be the involvement of the community in the creation of a station that serves everyone's needs. This movement is not just about Classical Music. I personally was not a fan of most of the classical programming at the station, with the exception of Agnes' show. I don't think the "classical fans donate so much money" argument is really a fair one or totally relevant now. The radio station is there for people who can't possibly donate, as well -- people who will never have more than $10 to give. When I was at the station, doing jazz and blues, the most powerful donations to me were not for much money at all -- what a $10 pledge meant was that the listener had few resources but that the program was really significant for them.
Let's not center this revolution around who has the dollars to pay for the programming they want.
What I am a fan of is balance -- which means offering a variety of local shows with local producers who have an understanding of what makes the city unique. (Austin may have said it first, but in my view this is an effort to Keep Gainesville Funky!)
I've put up a note on Facebook about this web site, and people think it's about taking away all the national news programs, which it's NOT -- and shouldn't be. The enemy is not Diane Rehm, it's the loss of uniquely Gainesville voices attentive to local concerns, accessible by local people. I don't think one kind of programming should dominate - we need to look for balance here. Returning things to how they were is mythical. Forging a new reality that takes everyone's needs into consideration is the only possible future.

Hi, and thanks to everyone that has worked so hard to put up this site and organize against the changes to WUFT.

I sort of agree that we should not listen to WUFT anymore. At least not let ourselves be forced to use the lousy HD radios/tuners or the equally bad bit stream. We need to keep demanding the return of all the pre-Aug. 3 programming to Classic 89 analog.

For other stations to listen to, I have some information that may help some of you:

There is a web site, www.radio-locator.com, that lets you search for radio stations by format (Classical, public radio, country/western (ugh!), etc; by call letters, by frequency, by state, etc. It is very helpful in locating an alternative to WUFT. There are several around us, it is just a matter of finding them. The site also will give you maps of the transmitter location and listening area, as well as transmitter power and other facts. It also gives links to the station's web site, and indicates whether or not the station bit casts or bit streams its signal. There is a limit of how many stations you can get detailed information on per day. But the counter does reset either the next day, or in 24 hours. Or it may be easy just to delete cookies from the site. In any case, a great resource.

For those of you who have very good hi fi systems and would like a good outdoor antenna, some say the best ever for FM, to receive more distant stations well, Antenna Performance Specialties (www.antennaperformance.com) has just completed another production run of their legendary APS-13. I have one on pre-order so that I can receive stations from, basically, all over Florida.

I think that we should not get complacent and fade away. We must keep up the pressure on the dean and perhaps even on machen, his boss. And the lack of capitals is intentional, neither one deserves the respect.

I have a friend that owns an embroidery/t-shirt business, and I LOVE the "Not a dime for 89" slogan. I might get a shirt made with it. Anyone have any ideas for the graphics or design?

Scott Cook

Dean Wright was quoted in the August 24 issue of Current magazine as saying "the tide has turned over the controversy here," in reference to the format change at WUFT-FM.

We need to let him know that the "controversy here" is very much alive! If you are unhappy with the change in programming on the station, please send an email to him, write a letter, or phone Dean Wright, and let him know what you think! His contact information is as follows:

2096 Weimer Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
Phone: (352) 392-0466
E-mail: jwright@jou.ufl.ed

Perhaps the best way to show displeasure and angst with the authoritarians at WUFT would be to have lapel buttons made that simply state "I USED TO SUPPORT WUFT." They could be worn at performances at both the Phillips center and the UA. They could be worn at Thomas Center performances of the GCO, to whom I now pledge my former WUFT money. They could be worn at organ recitals of the Organist Guild during both Advent and Lent. They could be worn at the Gainesville Fall Spring Arts Festival and at the springtime Sante Fe festival. They could be worn at Hippodrome performances. Hell, where it to the grocery store. Bumper stickers would work as well, but I'd really like to meet everyone that used to be a WUFT supporter and is now left out in the cold. So a lapel button attached to a face will, I think, help build commuinty; which is precisely what the WUFT JUNTA has so callously helped to destroy.

I would like to know why the all-news format couldn't have been put on the HD2 stream and the website, instead of the music. That would have given the same educational experiences to the College of Journalism students, wouldn't it? Or do they need experience specifically on an analog station? If so, maybe there could be another, smaller analog station available to them, rather than the 100,000-watt WUFT-FM, leaving Classic 89 intact.

And a better solution for the segment of the public that prefers to have the all-talk NPR shows, it seems to me, would have been to put that programming on the HD2 stream and the website, since Dean Wright seems to think that those are adequate alternatives to the analog station. Classical music has been strongly supported in recent years, and we were repeatedly told on the air: "this is your public radio station."