Fordham University AAA 90.7 WFUV New York has adjusted its programming to skew current.
In a market with no commercial Alternative or current based Rock station at all, WFUV is shifting its gold-based AAA format to become “New York’s Music Discovery“. The station’s playlist is now half current and half from its existing broad library.
Along with the musical tweaks, the station is dropping other programming elements including hourly NPR newscasts and traffic reports during drive times, noting that there are other places to get that information much more regularly.
WFUV’s release follows:
WFUV (90.7 FM/wfuv.org) has made several programming adjustments to focus more on being a vital, local contemporary music service. These include some tweaks to the weekday music mix and replacing NPR news headlines with all local newscasts.
While continuing as a Triple A station, WFUV will bring forward its role as New York’s source for music discovery. “With such a wealth of exciting new artists these days, we’re renewing our commitment to that,” said WFUV Program Director Rita Houston. “But we also have a responsibility to preserve what’s gone before, so we’ll dig even deeper into the work of music icons and draw a line between them and today’s new artists. That might mean a set that includes Neil Young, Alabama Shakes, Mumford and Sons, and Frank Sinatra. You could say that FUV’s music mix is ‘miles wide and miles deep.’”
At the same time, WFUV has dropped top-of-the-hour NPR newscasts, although the station remains an NPR member station, contributing content to both NPR News and NPR Music. WFUV’s award-winning news department provides coverage of national, international, and local news at :50 past each hour during morning and afternoon drive. “We are expanding the role of our news department, to do more in-depth reporting on issues important to all of us,” said WFUV News and Public Affairs Director George Bodarky. “Listenerslooking for NPR’s hourly newscasts can find them on New York’s NPR News station, WNYC (93.9 FM/AM 820).”
The station has also dropped drive time Total Traffic reports. “It’s also been our experience that listeners looking for traffic reports want that information right now,” said Bodarky. “Since we’ll never be able to satisfy that need, we’ll let the news stations take care of it.”
Finally, Echoes has been replaced from 2:00-5:00 a.m. by the weekday FUV Music mix. “This gives us three more hours to do what we do best,” said Houston. “We have an opportunity to fill a real need in the New York market, and we’re excited to offer a music mix that’s uniquely diverse, eclectic, and true to our public radio values.”
Sample Hour
Tuesday,October 1, 2013
7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Kings of Leon – “Supersoaker”
Blues Traveler – “But Anyway”
Shelby Lynne – “Thought it Would Be Easier”
Little Green Cars – “Harper Lee”
Buddy Holly – “Everyday”
Fitz and the Tantrums – “Out of My League”
Marvin Gaye – “Trouble Man”
Cage the Elephant – “Come a Little Closer”
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – “Man on Fire”
Amos Lee – “The Man Who Wants You”
Bob Marley – “Could You Be Loved”
Dr Dog – “The Truth”
Tom Petty – “Yer So Bad”
Lorde – “Royals”
Mumford and Sons – “The Cave”
The line continues to blur between commercial and non-commercial radio.
First “enhanced underwriting announcements” that sound just like commercials to anyone not in the biz.
Now public radio embraces commercial formats and imaging.
NPR News has already been dumbed down but most commercial radio stations abandoned news long ago.
I understand your thoughts on the necessary distinction between commercial and noncom, but at the end of the day, those stations have an objective that is ultimately similar. Make enough money to sustain the brand, though i think these days they do better at serving their respective communities. In a market, that has the heritage of having WNEW, but nothing to show for it with the many loyal listeners to that and K-rock, having to find alternatives, and being in market 1, which is in essence the most commercial market in America, I applaud Rita on that work. tripple a stations need to stop sounding too sleepy, sure there isroom for ballads, but there is way too much alternative product that doesn’t get exposure.