Student radio station WERW officially split from its parent organization, University Union, on April 19 after discussions about its desire to become independent.

Even though the split was officially announced, WERW will not be its own organization until next fall. The two split amicably with the desire for each to be able to grow separately, both WERW and UU officials said. WERW was previously a subdivision of UU and is required to stay under UU until the end of the year.
 
WERW is a free-format radio station that was student-built about 23 years ago. Since then, the station has been run entirely by students. WERW has approximately 70 disc jockeys and about 15 people on staff. Currently, the station is only available online because its transmitter is broken.

Marina Zarya, a junior graphic design major and WERW’s general manager, said it was time the two organizations took separate paths.

“We’ve always acted like an independent student organization,” Zarya said. “We’ve become increasingly independent.”

The split was something that was a long time coming for the two organizations, although it was just recently officially talked about, she said.

“We need to be independent from UU,” Zarya said. “We want to be more than just a radio station. We want our own brand. We have our own uniqueness to us.”

Funding will go unchanged with the split because the two organizations already receive separate funding. WERW receives a yearly budget separate from the UU budget, said Darren Goldberg, president of UU. The funding for both organizations will remain the same, regardless of the split.

The change does not affect the organizations positively or negatively but instead offers the opportunity for both organizations to grow, Goldberg said.

“The best growth for both the organizations is to grow separately,” Goldberg said. “The organizations are becoming more efficient and I think it’s a good thing. UU will be able to focus on programming events, while WERW will be able to focus on putting on a radio show.”

About a week ago, a group of students from WERW approached David Rezak, director of the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, and asked if he would be the organization’s new faculty adviser.

Rezak has been a supporter of WERW for years and said he feels there is a need for a real college radio station on campus. As the new adviser, Rezak said he hopes to provide better learning opportunities for the students.

Rezak said he couldn’t think of how the break from UU could be a bad thing. He hopes the split will result in better funding for the radio station. Rezak also said he hopes the split will not affect the quality of the station’s on-air output.

WERW will also have the opportunity to collaborate with local radio station WAER to generate a larger listening audience, Rezak said.

“It’s a very progressive free-format radio station,” Rezak said. “You’re going to see more impact from the radio station.”

jjmontal@syr.edu
 

Published on April 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm