Cleveland State gives up WCSB radio station to Ideastream for free. Why?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -Cleveland State University handed the operations of its student radio station to Ideastream without receiving a dime, documents show.

However, CSU President Laura Bloomberg gets a seat on Ideastream’s Board of Trustees. And CSU, while continuing to hold the Federal Communications Commission license for WCSB 89.3, will no longer be responsible for the costs of maintaining and repairing the station’s equipment. Any capital investment in the station would be made by Ideastream. CSU will get some publicity on some mandated promotional announcements.

CSU provided Cleveland.com | The Plain Dealer two documents on request, which outline the terms of the deal with Ideastream: A Program and Service Operating Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding.

Bloomberg and Ideastream Public Media President and CEO Kevin Martin signed the documents Oct. 3 – the day the station transfer occurred.

WCSB 89.3 is now JazzNEO. The analog signal airs jazz 24/7. JazzNEO had previously only been an HD channel.

Under CSU, WCSB 89.3 was a student- and community-run station, featuring diverse genres of music and talk.

The station transfer has proved to be controversial, with students and others in the community protesting the decision. CSU has maintained there will be student opportunities through Ideastream at the new station.

The documents indicate planning for the transfer began weeks before the Oct. 3 switch. But when Cleveland.com | The Plain Dealer requested all correspondence between representatives from CSU and Ideastream regarding the radio station discussions, CSU’s legal department denied the request, saying it was “overly broad and ambiguous.”

The university only provided the two documents upon receiving a different records request.

The documents say that on Oct.3, Ideastream was to begin its programming via a “flash cut,” meaning that at 11 a.m. that day, the station’s signal stopped originating from the WCSB Broadcast Operations Center in the Cole Center at 3100 Chester Ave. in Cleveland. The radio signal then immediately originated from Ideastream’s studio in Cleveland’s Idea Center, 1375 Euclid Ave.

The initial term of the agreement between CSU and Ideastream is set at eight years. The term can be automatically renewed for an additional two, five-year terms, unless one of the parties provides written notice at least 18 months prior to the term’s expiration that they want to end the agreement, the documents said.

However, the documents also provide Ideastream a right to purchase the station throughout the term of the agreement and one year after it.

“Ideastream will have the right to purchase the Station, including all the assets used or useful in the operation thereof, by matching any bona fide offer received by (CSU) from a third party that is acceptable to (CSU,)” the Program Service and Operating Agreement says.

Within 30 days of receiving the outside offer, CSU must notify Ideastream of the offer in a document called an Offer Notice, and disclose the offeror’s identity and the offer’s terms.

“Ideastream will notify (CSU) within sixty days following receipt of the Offer Notice whether Ideastream elects to purchase the Offered Assets pursuant to the terms of the Offer Notice,” the document states. “To be valid, an Acceptance Notice must be accompanied by a wire or cashier’s or certified check for the amount of the earnest money deposit set forth in the Offer Notice, if applicable.”

If Ideastream’s offer is valid and aligned with the outside offer, then CSU will sell the station to it, if the FCC consents.

The documents state that Ideastream is responsible for the salaries, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation payments and other compensation of the professionals who work at the jazz station. It also must pay for the costs of program acquisition and production.

The documents focus on the fine details of the station, and little is said about offering students opportunities to develop skills for the broadcast workforce.

“Ideastream will prioritize paid and for-credit internships, classroom-level projects and other opportunities for students enrolled at (CSU’s) School of Communication and other colleges within CSU,” the Memorandum of Understanding says. “Ideastream will work cooperatively with (CSU) to provide student internships and classroom-level special projects in journalism, television, and radio production, marketing and graphic design.”

The documents don’t specify how many of these opportunities should be available or how many students will get internships and jobs each semester.

The Memorandum of Understanding says that over the next eight years, Ideastream must air approximately 1,000 announcements stating that CSU is the station’s licensee and underwriter on WCSB, classical station WCLV and television station WVIZ.

Ideastream is to air another 1,000 joint messages from the Ideastream and CSU, recognizing their joint strategic collaborations. The promotional work can be created by CSU’s film school with direction and assistance from Ideastream staff.

Other joint promotional work can include Ideastream broadcasting on the air or on digital or social media platforms, work by CSU music students and faculty.

Mary Frances McGowan contributed to this report.

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