What Now ?!?
We here at SaveWRVU continue to be surprised and saddened, as you are, of the news of the VSC decisions – the poaching of WRVU for $3.35M in chump-change against the well-articulated protests of fans, students, alumni, Nashvillans, musicians, music lovers, and decent people the world over (see HERE and HERE for starters). WRVU has as much as a storied history and as much wide-spread allegiance as ANY Vanderbilt student organization, so how. could. this. happen? We share in the thousands of visitors that this site has received in the past 24 hours in the grave disappointment that this announcement has wrought.
Do keep in mind, much effort was made on the behalf of many to prevent this outcome, but Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC), the insular, self-anointed arbiters of WRVU’s fate, had clearly made-up their minds long ago, yet, went to the additional effort of displays of embarrassing public hand-wringing on how difficult this ‘decision’ was for them to make. Keep these facts in mind:
1) VSC, the board who unilateral made this awful decision has NO WRVU representation.
2) VSC indicated that at the onset that they would be transparent to WRVU staff in any moves to sell the station, which, evidently was interpreted by the VSC as actually meaning that they will remain largely silent as they execute a fait accompli, while paying lip-service to the avalanche of ideas and support to better alternatives.
3) There is mention of a concession to WRVU with it continuing in HD3 format. Have you heard of HD3? Yeah, we haven’t either. If is the future, why is the buyer so interested in the antiquated on-air band-width of WRVU? You know the answer: HD3 is a joke, dead on arrival, and is no substitute to on-air broadcast.
4) The timing of their decision is no accident. Naturally, this date was picked because it is an inherently ‘slow news day’ on campus since most students are on summer break.
5) This IS NOT OVER.
As noted, due to the VSC’s continued deceptions, secretive and evasive maneuvering, and actions counter to their own promises and assurances, we were caught off guard. What we need you to do is this: STAY WITH US ON THIS! We need time to organize and figure out the next steps and present them. Promise that you will keep coming back to this forum and others. Remember, the scum, who are in some advance stage of executing WRVU, picked this time to intentionally keep a low profile to mitigate the public outcry to their shameful decision – these are cowardly and craven people and as such want to wait for the ‘din to die down’.
The din will not die down until we hear some intelligent reasoning why this was the only recourse allowed for WRVU – the murder of a 60 year student-founded and student-operated and roundly beloved institution.
Again, STAY WITH US ON THIS!
WRVU’s final moments HERE..
See The Nashville Scene for MORE..
Also See The Tennessean for MORE..
Also See The Tennessean Comment Section for MORE..
Also See Radio Survivor for MORE..
Also see Public Radio Advocate MORE..
Also yesterday’s Nashville Scene article for MORE..
Also posted by our friends at WUAG HERE..
Save WRVU 91.1 FM 
I’m with you all the way…I’m so sad over this.
Anyone who thinks this wasn’t a done deal the minute someone put serious money on the table is off living in la la land.
As someone who was there when the transition from carrier current to FM was done, I think I speak for all involved when I say it was not done in order to put money in the VSC’s coffers, even 40 years down the road.
And boy am I glad I’m not the first to be saying “What’s HD3?”
As a high school student in Nashville in the early 1990’s I spent a lot of time at WRVU helping out with older friend’s shows. I helped flier for benefit shows. I bought music and brought it into the station for our shows. I gave back what I could to what was a real community resource for *young people* in Nashville.
A classical station is supported by a different, and frankly much older and much wealthier community. OF COURSE, a resource like this for young people doesn’t make cold economic sense, regardless of how its funded. Young people do not have the financial resources that adults have. But we had a station anyway and our lives were richer for it.
Its not as if the people who operate this station made a decision that their community would be better served online. It really looks like a group of people who are working on other projects saw an opportunity to fund those projects better by stealing something that they didn’t create and don’t care about. Its a damn shame.
WRVU, I’m so sorry to hear about what’s happening to your station. I’m the News Director at WUAG 103.1FM, UNCG’s college radio station in Greensboro, North Carolina. I wanted to send you a news brief I wrote up today about WRVU and college radio stations in similar situations (http://wuagnews.tumblr.com/post/6345992634/college-radio-stations-go-silent-news-brief-for).
I want you to know that WUAG supports you. We’re only 18 watts, but we would fight just as hard as you are to keep them. We’ve recently had some awful news of our own. WUAG was lucky enough to have a full-time GM for the past 8 years and he just lost his job because of budget cuts. We collected who knows how many letters, but I don’t know if our administrators even read them. If they did, it didn’t make a difference in the end. The people at the top just don’t get college radio. Like you, we were really active in our community and now everything is up in the air.
Keep fighting the good fight. We’re all in it together.