In July, UB agreed to sell WBFO-FM 88.7 to its rival, WNED, for $4 million.
Both WBFO and WNED operate public broadcasting stations, whose lineups include syndicated National Public Radio (NPR) programs, as well as local news and music. Officials from WNED's parent company, the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, believe that merging the two stations is logical, given the similarity of the stations' programming.
WBFO Station Manager Mark Vogelzang said he doesn't foresee any fundamental changes to the programming on FM 88.7.
"WNED hasn't made up its mind about all the specifics about it, but they've assured our listeners and they have said publicly that WBFO is going to be an NPR station," Vogelzang said. "It will continue to have all the programs that our listeners love....I think broadly, listeners and people on campus can be reassured that WBFO is going to be the NPR station for Buffalo."
Vogelzang added that the staffs of WNED and WBFO will have to be merged once the sale is complete.
WBFO broadcasts out of UB's South Campus on the second floor of Allen Hall. WNED operates an NPR news station on the 970 AM frequency.
UB started WBFO in 1959 in an effort to promote local culture and report local news. In the station's early years, students were an integral part of WBFO's broadcasting. Student involvement has diminished in the last few decades, causing the station to hire more staff instead of unpaid student interns. There is a long list of WBFO alumni, many of whom have gone on to illustrious careers in broadcasting.
UB, however, does not want to focus its finances and energy on keeping WBFO.
"It's a terrible thing that the university wants to sell the station. Not terrible because of what it is now, but [because of] what it was and what it could be again," said Daniel Sacks, an alumnus of WBFO.
Sacks worked with WBFO in the late 1960s. He, along with hundreds of other UB students in the past, learned the ins and outs of radio broadcasting, interviewing, and news reporting through working directly in the WBFO studio.
"The powers that be don't see the value of having a radio station, and no wonder they don't see it; it hasn't been a valuable tool for the last few decades," Sacks said.
Sacks feels that the unique programming that used to be a part of WBFO has suffered because of the reliance on paid workers, rather than students using the station as a tool to learn broadcasting.
"Students would go out and find something new – music, or a great story – and bring it into the station. Students can do it for free, but when you have to pay people? It's way too expensive. I used to record meetings, edit for a few hours, and [broadcast] that night. That's a full day of work for someone that you need to pay," Sacks said.
UB provides $205,000 in annual funding for WBFO, as well around $1.3 million in additional support costs. The change in the nature of the station since its beginnings, when students did much of the work, means that WBFO has similar programming to WNED and other public broadcasting stations because, according to Sacks, "students aren't coming up with their own programming like they used to."
Because of WBFO's similar programming to WNED and the growing financial burden on the university, UB officials felt that it would be in the best interest of the university and the station to complete the sale to WNED.
"Public radio and TV is [WNED's] singular focus, and they are a respected national leader with the skills and resources to help WBFO grow and improve. As a university, our focus must be on teaching and research. While we value our public radio station, UB, like any university, has to put its academic mission first," said Joseph Brennan, the vice president of communication at UB.
Alumni like Sacks, who credit so much of their education in broadcasting to WBFO, feel that the station should always continue to be a part of the academics at UB. While the $4 million UB is getting from the sale will go to helping research and student scholarships, students will no longer have the opportunity to learn radio broadcasting hands-on.
WNED has no concrete plans for new programming or staffing changes. Both Donald Boswell, the CEO and president of the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, and Brennan have reassured listeners that the programs they love will not be changing.
"This is an exciting opportunity for us to create a more efficient service to the community and offer a more comprehensive program schedule," Boswell said.
The sale of WBFO to WNED is still pending.
Additional reporting by Senior News Editor Luke Hammill.
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
