Post by johnruscher on Jun 30, 2010 20:06:33 GMT -5
A fair amount of the questions on the "official" WTJU forum ask how the station can attract more student involvement, student listenership, overall listenership, community partnerships, etc.
Well, it seems to me that one of the most obvious and valuable ways to boost these numbers is through the power and resources of the University itself. Sure, volunteers can put up flyers, throw dance parties and go door to door soliciting underwriters. Such grassroots efforts are valuable, but can only do so much. UVA has a vast network of resources that they could tap in the interest of expanding WTJU's presence. And they haven't.
For one, they could feature WTJU on virginia.edu. The Prospective Students page, as far as I can tell, doesn't include one mention of WTJU. Wouldn't an awesome radio station where you can become a student DJ be a good thing to advertise to prospective students? Also, it's quite difficult to navigate to WTJU's homepage from virginia.edu, much less stumble upon it as an unsuspecting student or web-surfer. Why isn't the station mentioned prominently alongside other UVA entities like the Art Museum, Cinematheque and the Film Festival?
The Office of Public Affairs, the very organization which is pushing for these programming and format changes, is itself probably WTJU's most valuable resource, with UVA Today, the university's press release and news service, as well as marketing, media relations, business outreach and strategic communications options at their disposal. WTJU is mentioned sparingly on UVA Today--less than 5 unique instances this year as far as I can tell, and that includes the announcement about the forum and town hall meeting.
I don't see how the Office of Public Affairs can rightfully use a lack of exposure and involvement as leverage to change the format of WTJU when they themselves are the ones who, from my perspective, have neglected to give the station anywhere near the attention and support that it deserves and (obviously) needs, even though such resources are the exact purpose assigned to their office.
I know it doesn't do any good to merely criticize such hypocrisy, but it seems that, if we are given a chance to actually shape the changes at WTJU, a demand for more support from the OPA in marketing, media relations, communications, etc. would be a crucial point. It's not a matter of increased funds, just a matter of the office actually using the resources they have at hand to WTJU's benefit. I think that could boost numbers much more than block scheduling, song rotations, etc.
Well, it seems to me that one of the most obvious and valuable ways to boost these numbers is through the power and resources of the University itself. Sure, volunteers can put up flyers, throw dance parties and go door to door soliciting underwriters. Such grassroots efforts are valuable, but can only do so much. UVA has a vast network of resources that they could tap in the interest of expanding WTJU's presence. And they haven't.
For one, they could feature WTJU on virginia.edu. The Prospective Students page, as far as I can tell, doesn't include one mention of WTJU. Wouldn't an awesome radio station where you can become a student DJ be a good thing to advertise to prospective students? Also, it's quite difficult to navigate to WTJU's homepage from virginia.edu, much less stumble upon it as an unsuspecting student or web-surfer. Why isn't the station mentioned prominently alongside other UVA entities like the Art Museum, Cinematheque and the Film Festival?
The Office of Public Affairs, the very organization which is pushing for these programming and format changes, is itself probably WTJU's most valuable resource, with UVA Today, the university's press release and news service, as well as marketing, media relations, business outreach and strategic communications options at their disposal. WTJU is mentioned sparingly on UVA Today--less than 5 unique instances this year as far as I can tell, and that includes the announcement about the forum and town hall meeting.
I don't see how the Office of Public Affairs can rightfully use a lack of exposure and involvement as leverage to change the format of WTJU when they themselves are the ones who, from my perspective, have neglected to give the station anywhere near the attention and support that it deserves and (obviously) needs, even though such resources are the exact purpose assigned to their office.
I know it doesn't do any good to merely criticize such hypocrisy, but it seems that, if we are given a chance to actually shape the changes at WTJU, a demand for more support from the OPA in marketing, media relations, communications, etc. would be a crucial point. It's not a matter of increased funds, just a matter of the office actually using the resources they have at hand to WTJU's benefit. I think that could boost numbers much more than block scheduling, song rotations, etc.