Tuning Out Where WRMC Falls Short

Author: Erika Mercer

Since its beginnings in 1949 in a dilapidated "Chicken House" at 14 Adirondack, WRMC has made major strides in defining, developing and bolstering its role within the Middlebury College community. Still, as recent poll results prove, fewer than half of current students tune in to the station on a regular basis, giving rise to a simple question. Why?
A large part of the answer derives from the mission of college radio in America as a whole, termed by WRMC as "providing an alternative to mainstream music programming in the Champlain Valley" and upholding "this commitment through our passionate support of independent music that we feel to be exciting, experimental and new." WRMC does not offer Top 40 programming but rather seeks to play alternative music that cannot be heard on other radio stations. While this goal is admirable, many students polled - having grown up listening to commercial, Top 40 stations - admitted being put off by the station's choice of more alternative or experimental programming. In fact, 14 percent of students responded that they didn't like the selection of music played by WRMC.
Given this percentage, the question surfaces: If the music that WRMC offers is so alternative as to alienate a significant percentage of the student body, can it be dubbed too alternative? Several students polled responded yes. One senior went so far as to say, "There is too much weird music." WRMC Music Manager Nathan Hogan '03 rephrased this characterization, stating that much of the music may be "more challenging to sit down and listen to." Listeners accustomed to hearing melodic pop tunes may be repelled by the dissonant rock music featured on WRMC, yet the station makes efforts to educate listeners in more experimental music -DJs, for example, will explain or describe the music they're playing.
While acknowledging what Hogan referred to as "friction" between Top 40 and college radio listeners, WRMC DJs and managers are unwilling to abandon their mission statement to cater to the 53 percent of students who don't listen. But unlike commercial radio stations that rely on advertising profits and a solid listener base, WRMC is financed entirely by Middlebury College. A more modest listening audience therefore doesn't impact the station's finances. As general manager of the station Zachary Manganello '03 commented, "We worry less about how many people are listening." WRMC does not feel the financial pressure that commercial stations do to play a limited list of popular songs for a target audience - instead, they can explore music that isn't featured on Top 40 stations. Still, Manganello wonders, "Are we trying to attract more listeners or are we just playing music for ourselves?" If the latter is the case, does the financial inconsequentiality have a positive or negative impact - does it limit WMRC's role within the student community?
WRMC also does not depend on slick radio personality voices to win over listeners. Its DJs are mostly students in training rather than professional DJs and may not be as smooth on the air. This aspect of WRMC is two-sided. On the one hand, the station serves as an ideal venue for students to learn the art of Djing. On the other hand, it means that most of WRMC's DJs are less practiced and polished than commercial station's DJs, prompting comments from students that the DJs are "unprofessional" or "ill-prepared." On top of this, WRMC consciously attempts to maintain its alternative nature, preferring student DJs who will play more independent, experimental music. Manganello '03 stated, "We generally look down on people who play the Top 40."
Does this stance, though, create too wide a divide between the proponents of WRMC and the other half of the student body? Many students responded to this question by declaring the existence of a "WRMC culture" at the College. One junior commented, "WRMC often takes a position that is too consciously separate from the college as a whole. Their new motto of 'Middlebury's Premiere Source of Alternative Culture,' used on a number of posters, is evidence of this mildly elitist stance."
While such a culture may be inevitable, the criticism leveled against it for seeming elitist or exclusive sparks the debate over whether WRMC is taking steps to reach out to the student body and prove that they are, in fact, both receptive and inclusive. With events like Radio Free Proctor and the Friday Concert Series, the station is on its way to proving its willingness to broaden its appeal to a larger percentage of the student body. According to survey results, however, perhaps more measures must be taken in this direction.