WEMU struggling WDET breezes

[lilpup]

Recently read that WDET just had the most successful fund drive they've had in five years! But WEMU is on the ropes - they're on Day 5 of their drive and haven't even reached the halfway mark of their $150,000 goal.

If you care to help out you can donate online, too: http://www.wemu.org/

[Gannon]

Glad WDET survived those bone-headed decisions from that disgraced station manager, Michael Whats-his-name.

Getting Ann Delisi back was key to many folks' enthusiasm uptick...giving Fahle more room to stretch...and hiring some other key team players...all have been good decisions.

They got LUCKY when that abrasive fellow from The Takeaway snatched up Celeste Headlee [[our previous franchise celebrity over-achiever and eternally pleasant person). Without her, that show would be unbearable, she deftly smooths out his harsh idiosyncrasies.


I haven't kept up with EMU, most of the time they are outside my reception area enough to be annoying. But I don't want to see ANY public radio stations falter.


Simply amazing that WDET had such success in this economy...in this town. Shows what good management can do...


Cheers and good luck to EMU...

[Carey]

WDET has improved greatly over the past year or so. The news department especially seems energized, doing a number of enterprise stories and special reports. Jerome Vaughn & Co. are rocking. I give that new GM a lot of credit.

[Thruster315]

WDET has improved greatly over the past year or so. The news department especially seems energized, doing a number of enterprise stories and special reports. Jerome Vaughn & Co. are rocking. I give that new GM a lot of credit.

I like the fact that WDET plays music- and unique forms of music that I can't hear anywhere else. If I want to hear Lady Ga Ga, I can find it darn near anywhere along the dial. But if I wanted to hear some obscure jazz. folk, or some local music- I can always count on WDET to play it and tell us about it. For music junkies, WDET is the best thing around- something that Michael Coleman just didn't understand when he just wanted to do all news programs.

[Jimg]

'DET always had eclectic programming, and although I think they took some wrong turns over the years I'm glad they are becoming stronger. I still don't understand why the concept of playing Detroit music - be it Jazz/Blues/Rock is not one which they fully embrace. Detroit is the New Orleans of the North in terms of music contribution.
I guess listeners like having the daytime programs slanted towards talk instead of music. Ipod, anyone?

[douglasm]

I hope the fundraising outlook for WEMU improves. Back in 1970, it was my first paying radio gig. Art Timko [[who was a grad student when I was there) has done a remarkable job with the operation.

[gnome]

It is nice to have NPR choices, but I'm a bit confused here. There is WDET, WEMU and WUoM, right? All NPR stations that rely on donations and have competing programing.

Assuming the region's "target audience" for NPR style programing is finite and - if demographers are to be believed - getting smaller. Hence each station is nibbling on the others listeners.

[Downriviera]

I hope the fundraising outlook for WEMU improves. Back in 1970, it was my first paying radio gig. Art Timko [[who was a grad student when I was there) has done a remarkable job with the operation.

I hope WEMU's fundraising gets better as well. It was also my first paid radio job back in 1975. I have not dropped in at the studio in a few years and I need to do so.

[douglasm]

Downrivera......
....was Dick Jacques still the station manager? Studios were in the Quirk Building, and WHUR's were in the TV lab. Last time I was back in Michigan was for Art Vuolo's blast honouring the late Bill Swisher upon his retirement in [[I think) '95......

[lilpup]

It is nice to have NPR choices, but I'm a bit confused here. There is WDET, WEMU and WUoM, right? All NPR stations that rely on donations and have competing programing.

Assuming the region's "target audience" for NPR style programing is finite and - if demographers are to be believed - getting smaller. Hence each station is nibbling on the others listeners.

Not all three carry the same programming. I flip around between them depending upon my mood. For example overnight WUOM had BBC all night, WEMU carries the eclectic music show Undercurrents [[the only show I know of received around here that's also carried on the Native Voice One radio network) and WDET has jazz.

[lafayette]

"Most successful fundraiser in the past five years." That could mean anything. Interestingly, they didn't give details. They didn't say how much money they raised. And they've been trumpeting new contributors, but that alone doesn't help the fundraiser unless those new contributors are making substantial contributions. WDET used to say publicly how much money they raised. The new GM doesn't release that publicly anymore. If the news was good, they'd tell us. And I'll bet they're making a fraction of the $ they made during fundraisers more than five years ago. So, a vague proclamation like that from the GM about a successful fundraiser, without details or a definition of what that means, doesn't mean much to me. And, based on the fact that WEMU does publicly say what their $ goal is and how much they actually raised, they've been taking in almost as much as WDET has raised during the last few fundraisers when we were told how much money their fundraiser made. That's pretty sad that WEMU is taking in almost as much as WDET, if their publicly released figures are accurate.

[Thruster315]

"Most successful fundraiser in the past five years." That could mean anything. Interestingly, they didn't give details. They didn't say how much money they raised. And they've been trumpeting new contributors, but that alone doesn't help the fundraiser unless those new contributors are making substantial contributions. WDET used to say publicly how much money they raised. The new GM doesn't release that publicly anymore. If the news was good, they'd tell us. And I'll bet they're making a fraction of the $ they made during fundraisers more than five years ago. So, a vague proclamation like that from the GM about a successful fundraiser, without details or a definition of what that means, doesn't mean much to me. And, based on the fact that WEMU does publicly say what their $ goal is and how much they actually raised, they've been taking in almost as much as WDET has raised during the last few fundraisers when we were told how much money their fundraiser made. That's pretty sad that WEMU is taking in almost as much as WDET, if their publicly released figures are accurate.

Of course "success" is defined differently. From what I understand is that WDET set forth to get 750 new members to donate and they met and surpassed that goal. Whether the new members donated more or less money than previous campaigns remains to be seen. But in this sad economy, any sort of donation to a public radio station is a blessing.

By your own admission, lafayette, since we don't know the exact dollar amount raised by WDET this time around, we don't know whether they made more or less than WEMU. No WDET pity there needed unless one has comparable numbers. And quite honestly I don't see it as one station being better than another. They serve slightly different demographics, have slightly different audiences, and have slightly different programming. I say bravo to any and all public radio stations for raising what money they can at this time.

[Downriviera]

Downrivera......
....was Dick Jacques still the station manager? Studios were in the Quirk Building, and WHUR's were in the TV lab. Last time I was back in Michigan was for Art Vuolo's blast honouring the late Bill Swisher upon his retirement in [[I think) '95......

Yes, Dick Jacques was the station manager when I started, Art was the PD. I became Music Director after I was there for about a year. I remember my first show, 9pm till 1am, the next day I got called into Dick's office and Art was there. I had a great show and was wondering what I did wrong. They were concerned about some wine bottles that were left in the trash can in the on air studio. The show before me had a few people in the room, they were drinking wine and burning incense. I didn't want to rat anybody out, but I wasn't going to lie either. I think Art and Dick knew who it was anyway.

[Hypestyles]

who has worked at WDET?

[Hamtragedy]

I was never a huge fan of Michael Julian, who had the most monotonous voice in town, but what little reggae he played is now gone. His show was taken over by a John Mosier second weekend shift. What happened to Julian?

The lack of daytime music around here is still ridiculously frustrating. I find that most people who listen to talk or sports radio are pissed off at the end of the day after listening to all of that incessant babble. Then again, I usually fly into a rage after about 10 minutes of Delisi's saccharine, soulless, and horribly thought-out program.

Detroit needs pirate radio.

[NorthofNormal]

[Then again, I usually fly into a rage after about 10 minutes of Delisi's saccharine, soulless, and horribly thought-out program.[/quote]

Thank you. I was starting to think I was the only one who noticed that she was a complete hack.

[Jimg]

I worked at WDET for a while, ending in 1993.
I think Michael Julian [[a/k/a Mikey Dread, in the old days) has a good radio voice, ditto Delisi, who is also a very creative soul.

[lafayette]

Props to Ann Delisi, but I do wish she would SLOW DOWN how she talks and breathe once in awhile. She always sounds like she's in a panic and all her sentences run together. It sounds unnatural. When Julian left, if they were going to repeat an existing show like John Moshers, why didn't they repeat an essential music show like they have the two essential music shows together on Saturday with Ann and Rob Rinehard?

[texorama]

WEMU apparently turned things around, if this is to be believed. Possibly the attacks on NPR in the wake of the Juan Williams affair had an effect.

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainmen...raising-goals/