Podcast #240 – WFMU is Still On the Air During the Pandemic

Ken Freedman is the General Manager and the Program Director of WFMU, a free form community radio station in Jersey City, New Jersey that prides itself on it’s live, in studio sound from every one of it’s DJ’s. So this particular crisis, the Pandemic and the Lock Down, is a unique challenge. “This disaster is […]

The post Podcast #240 – WFMU is Still On the Air During the Pandemic appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Ken Freedman is the General Manager and
the Program Director of WFMU, a free form community radio station in
Jersey City, New Jersey that prides itself on it’s live, in studio
sound from every one of it’s DJ’s. So this particular crisis, the
Pandemic and the Lock Down, is a unique challenge.

“This disaster is so completely
different from any disaster we’ve ever had before such as 9-11, or
Hurricane Sandy,” Ken told us on this week’s episode. They are
running the station with a small skeleton crew and for the first time
ever, they are relying on a lot of rebroadcasts of archived shows.
Although Ken is still requiring all of his DJ’s (many of whom do not
yet have the gear at home to produce live radio) to participate in
the live online chat forum that WFMU had already had built. It’s a
compromise Ken is calling “half live.”

The crisis has also increased the
radio’s online audience. “Our streaming traffic and online traffic
has gone through the roof,” Ken said.

WFMU also has three online-only
channels with about 50 volunteer DJ’s who have always been
broadcasting live, from their own home studios. Now those remote DJ’s
are the online experts who Ken Freedman plans to connect with his
WFMU DJ’s that need a little help to learn the ropes of home
broadcasting. All of this though, is something that Ken hopes is only
temporary. Getting back to live, community radio where everyone uses
the same studio and interacts inside the same building is an
important part of WFMU’s culture.

This interview was recorded in the
morning of April 2, 2020. Careful lovers of radio and sound will note
the occasional whine of Ken Freedman’s puppy, who is a very good
puppy.

Show Notes:

WFMUThe Call-in Comedy Show in which WFMU listeners get “tested” for the virus.

The post Podcast #240 – WFMU is Still On the Air During the Pandemic appeared first on Radio Survivor.