To the Good Folks at Cuyahoga Arts and Culture:
This is to voice my concern about ideastream’s appropriation of the Cleveland State University radio station, WCSB.
I write as a witness to the power of public radio to unite communities, spark creativity, provide essential alternative views, cultivate intellectual diversity and provide a full spectrum of musical variety.
I’ve worked for and with ideastream in several capacities over the years, including as a reporter and producer. I’ve overseen pubic affairs and music programming on WRUW-FM. But most importantly, I am a daily radio listener who relies on ALL of our non-commercial stations to provide me with uncluttered access to the widest range of musical and cultural expression. I’ve also been a monthly ideastream donor – until now.
Ideastream’s ignorance, willful or otherwise, of the landscape and listenership of non-commercial radio in Cleveland is baffling.
Why would they prey on a fellow alternative media outlet and kill the most adventurous broadcasting voice in our community? Is it because they’ve grown so large, top-heavy and institutional that they’ve lost touch with the people they purport to serve? Because they look only at numbers? Because they only recognize the value of programs that are bureaucratically vetted? Or because their property and products are viewed not as services, but only as assets to be leveraged with other institutions? Or maybe it’s because their instinct for self-perpetuation has eclipsed their understanding of the service they were founded to provide?
Neither ideastream, nor Cleveland State University, nor Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, nor the Fowler Family Foundation considered the devastating effects this move will have on the broad-based, street-level artistic networks that pulse through our city.
It may not show up in data metrics or rubrics, but Cleveland’s creative class has relied on WCSB as a common reference point and artistic connective tissue for decades. Their astonishingly wide range of musical diversity has been provided, week in and week out, by expert, dedicated music lovers with a deep commitment and knowledge of their specialty genres. Their unpaid music programmers are not “DJs,” they are musical explorers and true curators who understand the depth of the artistry that brings music into the world. This kind of commitment doesn’t just appear because a marketing staff person or consultant proposed it. And it’s done purely for the love it, for free.
Beyond the music, there have been programs on WCSB over the years that have explored the medium of dramatic and improvised spoken word performance in surprisingly intricate, satirical and humorous ways. This kind of genre-defying, boundary-breaking work is rare. It can only happen on a platform that has room for free-ranging expression. It transforms the very medium of radio to an art form in itself.
Diversity? Ideastream has gradually shut down its own ethnic programming over the years. WCSB has consistently championed underserved cultural voices and viewpoints. Now their Spanish language programming has been silenced, along with Hungarian, Arabic and other non-dominant languages, cultures and music.
Internships? CSU students have had the privilege of working side-by-side with community members who bring years of specialized expertise to their musical passions. This kind of direct learning experience doesn’t require administrative control, sanction or approval. It arose organically and is a hallmark of the college radio experience here.
There are reasons that freeform programming resonates with the most creative members of our community. It is free-roaming, it can surprise, be unpredictable and it may seem unprofessional. All of that that is part of its value and charm. To replace this fertile, organic garden with a sterile, monocultural swath of market-driven formatting 24 hours a day is a travesty. Outsourced programming like this is not diverse, it is is not local, and it won’t lead to engaged listening or loyalty.
The online presence of JazzNEO was a completely appropriate outlet for that type of programming. It’s unconscionable to think of exterminating our most richly diverse radio service for this purpose.
I strongly urge CAC to withhold its pending grant to ideastream until they can rectify the damage they have done to Cleveland’s creative and cultural community. They have abrogated their responsibility to foster diversity and alternative viewpoints. Perhaps they could apply their recently-received private grant of one million dollars (!) to address this poorly considered move and restore a valued and irreplaceable cultural touchstone to the public.
Very truly yours,
Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis is a lifelong radio nerd and sound designer. He received a Cleveland Press Club award for his work on Cleveland Public Radio and produced the feature-length live radio drama “Calling All Ears” on WCPN-FM. He’s programmed and produced thousands of hours of public affairs and music programming on college radio. His work has been supported by the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.