Letters page: 'Happy that my station had given me the facts - the corpse's name

by '69
Amherst Student

Early Saturday morning, or late Friday night, a young man jumped off the 19th floor of J.F.K. Towers over at U.Mass. I thing WAMF must have been very happy about it. They stayed on the air all night broadcasting bulletins, interspersed with the usual run of cheap rock and roll. Nobody thought it important enough apparently to take the time to program more appropriate music, sounds with a little honesty within them.

The point I'm trying to make is how disturbing it is that, rather than try to form new creative forms of communication while it is still possible in a non-professional setting, the WAMF group seems content to merely imitate the emptiness already present in vacuum-cleaned commercial radio. And on Saturday morning, this emptiness prevailed. After every report on this boy's suicide, WAMF was always eager to remind the listener: (paraphrased)

"We are the only station broadcasting at this moment in this area. We are the only station that cared so much about getting the facts on this story to you as they arise, that we have stayed on all might with news reports. The minute the incident occurred, WAMF sent out its news gathering team straight to the scene to find actual witness reports. In this way, we've been able to almost recreate the scene for you as it happened, to let you in on the drama as it unfolded at UMass tonight. This is just one more example to prove what I think has been true all along: WAMF has the top, the quickest, and the most efficient news team in the area. We may be a college station, but we serve everyone."

Except, of course, that kid who jumped. The announcer seemed overjoyed with their reports, bursting with pride and eagerness, unable to refrain from playing the next on-the-scene installment, immediately following the next soul sound. At the end of the night, the announcer called it a "very exciting evening" right before the alma mater came on. I think it was around 6:15 in the morning, and I went to sleep, happy that my station had given me all the facts and I now knew the corpses' name, and what it was like when he fell, and that his death was instantaneous and that he was mangled a lot, and that the Association were at the top of the Valley Talley survey, and that down at radio central, they hadn't slept for 18 hours, but it was worth it . . . After all, it was good practice. It's getting cold now and Amherst students are getting ready to caress their own images to help keep them warm while ghosts of flesh and feeling pass on by to be dry cleaned and permanently put away . . .

The kids down at WAMF are amazing, adept, incredibly efficient and professional. They're just too busy to think as high as 19 floors.

When they went off the air, it was morning, and the sun was coming up. All I could think to myself was: If it gets any lighter we won't see a thing. And then I went to sleep. Maybe next time, two people will jump and the radio will take dedications from all those Who knew them.

Jim Steinman '69

Source: Amherst Student Archives


Letters To The Editor: One Hundred Students Ask Return of ‘Leather Hour’

Amherst Student

To the Chairman:

As Amherst College students, we would like to request that "The Leather Hour" be put back on the air. We find it absurd that this program be banned from the air by six members of an executive board without even a word from the students being heard. Contrary to Dave Michael's slick, "cute" article, "The Leather Hour" was not sick or offensive. But, in agreement with Mr. Michaels, we felt it was "the best thing to hit WAMF in years." It was amazingly creative radio . . . Honest, thoughtful, moving, funny, and courageous. It had what radio lacks not only in Amherst but throughout the country: guts and feeling. We would like to see it back. Mr. Popejoy and company have been heard for a long time. At least, let's listen to Messrs. Steinman and Dilg one more time and let people decide for themselves.

[the names of 100 students followed, signing this letter]

Source: Amherst Student Archives


Current WAMF Dispute: A Problem Of Innovation, Personnel, Taste

by '70
Amherst Student

The following article is the first of a two part study of WAMF. This article seeks to clarify and state the positions of both groups in the present discussion. Part II will seek to analyze the various segments of WAMF as an institution serving the College community.

WAMF, the Amherst College radio station, is now in its twenty-first year on the air Located in the catacombs of Pratt, the station beams its signal from Steams tower into a rectangle bounded approximately by Northampton, the Holyoke Range, Springfield and Greenfield.

The station has recently acquired a tape deck costing more than $1000 and a cartridge playback unit. These, coupled with the renovation of its Studio C complex which allows program production while the station is on the air, have given the station a much needed equipment boost.

Life of the Station

But WAMF is beset with problems this year, one of which involves the very life of the station.

According to Jack Popejoy '69, Station Manager, "There was a docket proposed to the F.C.C. about a year ago that non-commercial educational FM stations of ten watts or less are to be phased out. No new ones will be licensed and when the licenses of the old ones come up for renewal they will not be renewed." WAMF thus faces the alternatives of applying for one three year renewal, which is possible, but quite difficult, increasing its power to 1000 watts or perhaps 3000 watts, which would necessitate moving the transmitter site, or going commercial FM or commercial AM.

"We want very much to remain non-commercial educational FM," says Popejoy. "What seems to be the most reasonable course of action is to increase our power to 1000 watts and move our transmitter, probably up to Mt Lincoln."

WAMF, however, has recently come under criticism for its programming. The most vocal critic has been Jim Steinman, who alleged a lack of taste in the station's coverage of the UMass suicide in a letter to the STUDENT on October 5.

The Usual Run

Steinman wrote, "I think WAMF must have been very happy about it. They stayed on the air all night broadcasting bulletins, interspersed with the usual run off cheap rock and roll… At the end of the night, the announcer called it a very exciting evening.

"...and I went to sleep, happy that my station had given me all the facts and I now knew the corpses' name, and what it was like when he fell, and that his death was instantaneous and that he was mangled a lot, and that the Association were at the top of the Valley Talley survey."

In a carefully worded reply, the Executive Board of WAMF answered that they found Steinman's criticism "quite valid in parts." They then noted that they were surprised at Steinman's criticism, since he himself had acted "with utter irresponsibility and disregard for common decency" in presenting an all-night program called "The Leather Hour."

"The Leather Hour" was an experimental program along the lines of the programming of WBAI in New York. Running the show with Steinman was Larry Dilg '69.

No Censorship

"No questions were asked as to what type of show it would be," the Board wrote. "There was no censorship of any sort before the microphones were opened at 1 a.m. the morning of the show. It was simply assumed that the announcers would act with discretion."

WAMF Radio

Instead, the Board charged, "They risked Federal action, not only against themselves but also against the entire station and staff of WAMF."

"The Leather Hour" has been temporarily discontinued, creating further criticism of WAMF.

"The program could go on the air," said Popejoy in a recent interview, "not in the same form as it appeared, though. I think the idea of an all-night show of that type is basically an excellent one, and I only wish that we had the personnel to put it on every night of the week."

Steinman's criticism of the station is based on what he feels is its drive to "merely imitate the emptiness already present in vacuum-cleaned commercial radio." He claims the station is unwilling to try new ideas and calls its programming "innocuous."

Steinman reels that there is nothing on WAMF that couldn't be heard on other stations in the area. "The Leather Hour," he says, was an attempt to change that.

Steinman recommends that WAMF put away its echo chambers and "just play music," cut out a lot of its easy listening, and present documentary-type programs.

Source: Amherst Student Archives