WIU eliminating funding for WIUM/WIUW (our local public radio station)

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sealhall74
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sealhall74 wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:21 am NPR gets a small amount of funding from CPB which gets a miniscule amount of funding from the federal govt. Let me define miniscule. CPB gets about $450M per year out of a budget of $4T. If I did the math right, it is 0.0001125%, more or less a rounding error. With the spread of misinformation amongst social media sites and even a few traditional news sources, we need to put way more money into our trusted sources. NPR can proudly boast as being the most trusted news source in the land. Political campaigns should be getting some but not a lot of free air time on NPR and Public TV to spread there messages as elections approach. Lord help us if we base our decisions on the troll-driven social media sites.
Update: $450M will buy about five (5) F35 Lightning II jet fighters. The federal government plans to buy 2,000 starting in Fiscal 2021.
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rocki
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sealhall74 wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:21 am NPR gets a small amount of funding from CPB which gets a miniscule amount of funding from the federal govt. Let me define miniscule. CPB gets about $450M per year out of a budget of $4T. If I did the math right, it is 0.0001125%, more or less a rounding error. With the spread of misinformation amongst social media sites and even a few traditional news sources, we need to put way more money into our trusted sources. NPR can proudly boast as being the most trusted source in the land. Political campaigns should be getting some but not a lot of free air time on NPR and Public TV to spread there messages as elections approach. Lord help us if we base our decisions on the troll-driven social media sites.
Sealhall74, while I agree with you about the social media sites (and, quite frankly, most of the MSM), I find NPR to lean to the left way too much for my conservative taste. I told the people who asked me for money the same thing - that if they would at least present a conservative point of view, I'd give. So far, it hasn't happened.
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From longtime BC&J professor and current interim Dean of our award-winning Broadcasting and Journalism department, Sharon Evans:
It is the only place on campus, except the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism, where our students get to work with media professionals and learn from them. Visit TSPR. Many of the award winners, whose pictures hang on their walls, were Broadcasting students during their tenure at WIU. Having this wonderful opportunity has always been a recruiting tool for BC&J.

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WIUSuperFan
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Very disturbed that WIU recklessly went this route without any discussion from the community and from TSPR. Doing discussions and possibly reaching a compromise would have been reasonable. I would love to be optimistic about maybe WIU backtracking and trying something else, but lately they've been dead set on their plans with or without input from the community or those affected by the change.
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Tere North
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WIUSuperFan wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:04 pm Very disturbed that WIU recklessly went this route without any discussion from the community and from TSPR. Doing discussions and possibly reaching a compromise would have been reasonable. I would love to be optimistic about maybe WIU backtracking and trying something else, but lately they've been dead set on their plans with or without input from the community or those affected by the change.
Agreed, just like their reorganization. They may ask for input, but they definitely don't want it unless it coincides with what they've already decided AND make them look good.
wiu712
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Sign of the times, I guess ===> Each year, the new freshman class gathers at Hanson Field to form a block "WIU". Looks like they just did the "W" this year.
Image

The chatter on campus today was that the funding cut to Tri-States Public Radio is just the first of many economic "shoes" to drop.

The Rec Center has really been impacted by the drop in enrollment. The Rec Center is funded through student fees. So fewer students means less revenue.

As a result, the Rec Center is considering opening their membership to anyone. Right now, only WIU faculty/staff/retirees/graduates/their spouses/domestic partners, Go West employees, Sodexo employees, and chaplains are eligible to purchase membership cards.
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WIUSuperFan
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wiu712 wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 7:00 pm Sign of the times, I guess ===> Each year, the new freshman class gathers at Hanson Field to form a block "WIU". Looks like they just did the "W" this year.
Image

The chatter on campus today was that the funding cut to Tri-States Public Radio is just the first of many economic "shoes" to drop.

The Rec Center has really been impacted by the drop in enrollment. The Rec Center is funded through student fees. So fewer students means less revenue.

As a result, the Rec Center is considering opening their membership to anyone. Right now, only WIU faculty/staff/retirees/graduates/their spouses/domestic partners, Go West employees, Sodexo employees, and chaplains are eligible to purchase membership cards.

This is saddening. The state, and the times overall in the country, have killed college enrollment in Illinois. I'll save the rest of this discussion for later. Just remember we won't know the official head count of student enrollment for a few weeks. Plus, not all WIU freshmen and new students attend the picture.

For the Rec, while this is sad, expanding membership is a good move. Unless we want to see an empty building and possibly another implosion on campus, WIU needs to do what it can to get the money to run the rec. Otherwise, reduced hours or even closure will happen.
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ST_Lawson
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WIUSuperFan wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 7:41 pm This is saddening. The state, and the times overall in the country, have killed college enrollment in Illinois. I'll save the rest of this discussion for later. Just remember we won't know the official head count of student enrollment for a few weeks. Plus, not all WIU freshmen and new students attend the picture.

For the Rec, while this is sad, expanding membership is a good move. Unless we want to see an empty building and possibly another implosion on campus, WIU needs to do what it can to get the money to run the rec. Otherwise, reduced hours or even closure will happen.
This is true, depending on when the photo was taken, maybe only a small percentage of the total group was present. I also agree with opening up the Rec center for anyone to be able to join. If they can bring in some additional revenue sources to help keep buildings open and people hired so that things can keep running during what I hope we will one day refer to as "the lean years", then I'm ok with that. I'm sure there's more to it than just saying "anyone can join now", but I don't see any huge downsides right now.
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wiu712
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ST_Lawson wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:08 pmDepending on when the photo was taken, maybe only a small percentage of the total group was present.
That photo is usually taken on Saturday morning at the Orientation session that is held at Hanson Field. The freshman come as a group from their dorm floor. Then they sit with others based on their major.

The session deals with learning the Western Traditions and Leatherneck Heritage. The Pep Band and cheerleaders are there to teach the Western Fight Song.

The photo is the last thing on the schedule for that Orientation session.
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sealhall74
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Y'all complaining about the size of the W. I am a sad because I can't zoom in and out on it and tag myself or a friend or family member who is in the photo and share it on Facebook for all the world to see but that is just my inner techie persona talkiing. ;)
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