WTJU and Unreality Programming

I've written quite a bit about the community radio station I volunteer for. WTJU 91.1fm is the University of Virginia's radio station, and it's grown from being a small radio club for students to a radio station staffed local citizens and broadcasting to a large portion of the same.

But in many ways, WTJU hasn't quite grown out of its origins. I've worked in commercial radio and worked extensively with public radio stations across the country, so I have a good feel (I think) for what effective radio programming can be. I do love the freedom WTJU provides in letting me program my own show, and I like not having to do live remotes, engineer ballgames, or babysit syndicated programs as I used to back in the day.

But the fund drives are something else! (as I've written about before) Because WTJU is a multiformat station, the tradition's evolved of letting each of the four music departments (folk, jazz, rock, and classical) take over the station for a week to do special programming as a fund-raiser.

So in preparation to asking our audience for money, we first disrupt their routine. So if you're used to listening to jazz from 10-12 weekdays, there will be a week when it will be replaced by folk music, a second week when it will rock music, and a third week when classical will be played during that time. What are the chances you'll stay tuned during those three weeks?

Right. Our music programming has four distinct audiences. So we start our fundraising efforts each drive by alienating three of them.

Now these marathons usually feature some great and imaginative programming within the featured genre. Just look at this week's schedule! (click on image to enlarge). Lots of live, in-studio performances, some really interesting explorations of folk and world music... and then there's Wednesday morning.

Weekday mornings 6-9 WTJU does classical music. The Monday and Tuesday shows are primarily acoustic, and although not classical, should be fairly easy to listen to in the morning hours. Wednesday, though, we'll be doing three hours of yodelling -- and asking for money. 

Our radio club roots are showing. Programming is all about context. It's not just what you present, but when. What will get people to listen long enough to hear our fundraising message and persuade them to positively respond with a pledge? I'm not sure these questions were asked when this grid was assembled. Because when it comes to Wednesday, I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

Ah, well. I'll be there, nonetheless, answering the phone -- should it ring. I'll provide an update later on the results of the drive.

Ken's Jeopardy Adventure

Short version:

The weekend before last, the Jeopardy contestant search was in Charlottesville, and I took the contestant test on a whim. I qualified!

Long version:

I'm one of those people who watches Jeopardy and shouts out the correct answers all the time, so when the Jeopardy contestant search came to town I thought "what the heck," and went to try out. They were set up on Saturday at a local auto dealership. I walked in, sat down, and they handed me a 10-question test. Easy stuff, and I sailed right through in a couple of minutes. Handed it over to the guy running the test, he glanced at it and handed me a couple of sheets of paper.

"You did great -- come back tomorrow tomorrow to the Omni Hotel downtown at 11:30."

"What? I've got a race in Richmond in the morning."

"What kind of race?"

"A duathlon."

"Is that some kind of shooting race or something?"

"No. Run, bike, run. Kind of like a triathlon, only drier."

"Can you win money there?"

"Me? No, I'm not a pro."

"You can win money on Jeopardy -- you'll do well -- try to make it."

So, there I was on Saturday night -- not only getting my gear ready for the race, but packing a sports coat, shirt, and tie (the test invite for Sunday said to come dressed as you would if you were on TV). If I got the race done in about 2:30 and drove straight back, I might make it to the hotel by 11:30.

Race over, I hustled back to my car and hit the highway, zooming up I-64 back to Charlottesville. A quick change of clothes at a rest area and a dab of deodorant, and there I was, at the hotel at 11:25. A crowd of about 125 or so of us was ushered into a ballroom and sat down at tables. After a quick intro, and a video from Alex Trebeck, we took a 50 question written test. Eight seconds for each question, then on to the next. Pretty easy stuff, mainly. The tests were taken up to be graded, and a young lady on the Jeopardy crew took questions from the audience. Amazing how many people want to know what Alex Trebek is like in person.

Here comes the big moment. They start reading out names -- I've made the cut! The losers are ushered out, and the 20-25 survivors gather at the front of the room. A few forms to fill out, and a quick sample game and interview (our screen test, in effect) and I'm done.

Now the wait -- I'm in the contestant pool for 18 months. If they call me, I fly out to LA and give it a shot in person. No guarantees I'll actually make it onto the show, but I'm already starting to study -- I think I'll brush up on Shakespeare first.

- Ken