{"id":231633,"date":"2025-10-17T13:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/231633\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T13:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:55:17","slug":"what-went-down-at-wcsb-89-3fm-a-voice-from-inside-cleveland-states-axed-student-radio-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/231633\/","title":{"rendered":"What went down at WCSB 89.3FM: a voice from inside Cleveland State\u2019s axed student radio station"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio\u2014 On Oct. 3, the familiar buzz of WCSB 89.3 FM at Cleveland State University<\/a> gave way to the smooth jazz sounds of Ideastream Public Media\u2019s JazzNEO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an instant, on national College Radio Day<\/a>, nearly 50 years of student- and community-run programming\u2014not to mention broadcast legacy\u2014vanished from Cleveland\u2019s airwaves. <\/p>\n

In a hasty online meeting, university president Laura Bloomberg and Tachelle Banks, vice president of student belonging, revealed a \u201cmutual decision\u201d between CSU and Ideastream to the WCSB community.<\/p>\n

There was little explanation, no warning and no time for questions.<\/p>\n

How does one get a front-row seat for such a bombshell? Well, as a CSU alumnus and associate programmer of WCSB for almost four years \u2014 my DJ handle-anagram-alias \u201cPietrek Archaen\u201d had a show Mondays 6-9 a.m. \u2014 I was actually invited to the 11:30 a.m. call where news of the station\u2019s demise arrived. <\/p>\n

During the meeting, the WCSB signal dropped. Before noon, students were being escorted from the building by campus police, the station\u2019s website and stream went offline and something announced as a \u201cservice,\u201d took its place<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An institution went dark. <\/p>\n

A letter went out to campus explaining that CSU\u2019s board of trustees and Ideastream\u2019s executive board approved what Bloomberg called a \u201cpromising new partnership.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe station will retain its call letters, and CSU will continue to maintain the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license for the station,\u201d Bloomberg wrote.<\/p>\n

Pulling the plug<\/p>\n

For half a century, the old WCSB (now going by \u201cXCSB\u201d as it remains in limbo\/transition) had been more than a student organization. It was a community radio hub, a beacon of Cleveland\u2019s underground\u2014a place where punk sat beside jazz, talk shows mingled with esoteric late-night programs and underserved found voice.<\/p>\n

\"ClevelandA story trumpeting WCSB’s 45-year anniversary on Cleveland State University’s homepage also appeared to be missing following the announcement.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

Programs for Polish, Hungarian, Arabic, German, Slovenian and Latin American audiences flourished. Students, artists and outsiders found a home there. And now, without warning, it was all gone.<\/p>\n

The change came through an operating agreement between CSU and Ideastream, the regional NPR affiliate. Cleveland.com\/The Plain Dealer reporter Laura Hancock delved into the \u201cwhy\u201d CSU would do this without receiving a dime. It\u2019s a perplexing calculus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the surface, leadership pitched it as a \u201cpartnership\u201d that would offer \u201ccareer opportunities\u201d for students, with few details.<\/p>\n

Ideastream framed it as expanding the reach of its 24\/7 jazz stream. <\/p>\n

Weeks earlier, that organization received a $1 million personal gift from Char and Chuck Fowler<\/a> (of the eponymous foundation) to bolster jazz initiatives.<\/p>\n

Both institutions have been past beneficiaries<\/a> of the Fowlers, who were 2020 Cleveland Arts Prize winners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What no one seemed prepared for was the backlash.<\/p>\n

Planned in darkness?<\/p>\n

Supporters say the format change was handled without transparency<\/a>. There was no consultation with alumni, staff, or community\u2014just a press release, a conference call and flipped switches. <\/p>\n

\""DecadesCollections of WCSB staffers and events adorn the walls and collections of ephemera at 3100 Chester Ave., which once housed Cleveland State University’s radio station. They are memories of a simpler time in the station’s now ended 49-year history.Courtesy of WCSB<\/p>\n

By the weekend, decades of sweat equity from students and volunteers had been reduced to a line item in a partnership agreement.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Oct. 7, a silent protest drew 250 students, alumni and community members to CSU\u2019s Student Center Plaza in the rain. <\/p>\n

A week later, Bloomberg and Ideastream CEO Kevin Martin appeared on Ideastream\u2019s \u201cThe Sound of Ideas\u201d in an attempt to explain the move.<\/p>\n

What followed was an excruciatingly painful game of \u201ccorporate speak bingo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bloomberg and Martin stuck to said talking points\u2014\u201cstudent opportunities,\u201d \u201cexpanded reach,\u201d \u201ccommunity benefit\u201d\u2014but offered few specifics. <\/p>\n

Along the way, Martin bizarrely invoked the murder of George Floyd as a catalyst for Ideastream\u2019s intern pay system \u2014 a moment tethered to nothing in particular \u2013 and kept referring to a \u201cstudy\u201d from which the merger decision and format change was made. <\/p>\n

No data from the study was shared during the hour.<\/p>\n

Callers asked pointed questions. Answers were evasive, repetitive. Nobody outside CSU\u2019s upper administration seemed to know ahead of time and nobody inside either institution could articulate why a merger was necessary.<\/p>\n

However, FCC filings show the station in administrative transition as of Monday, Sept. 29, during a WCSB folk program\u2014days before the deal was said to have officially gone through.<\/p>\n

\"WCSBThe sign welcoming station members (students, volunteers) and guests to the 4th Floor studios in the Cole Center on Chester Ave.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

Cleveland.com has filed public records requests for communications between CSU and Ideastream.<\/p>\n

A college is supposed to be about students. WCSB was the best experience that these students could get. <\/p>\n

\"OctoberOf the 250 or so silent protesters at Cleveland State University on Tuesday, Oct. 7, many carried signs that said it all.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

Aftermath: self-inflicted PR wounds<\/p>\n

When Bloomberg became CSU president in 2022, she was seen as a fresh start on the heels of Harlan Sands\u2019 abrupt departure because of \u201cdifferences regarding how the university should be led in the future.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

But as CSU\u2019s financial issues mounted, news of her finalist status for the presidency of the University of Minnesota<\/a> soured the honeymoon.<\/p>\n

\"CSUThe crowd that gathered on the University Center plaza (mostly) honored the “silent” part of the protest. But the signs spoke volumes, particularly in condemning the decision and its makers.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

After Bloomberg\u2019s announcement on Oct. 3, alumni, DJs and listeners flooded social media outlets to decried the moves. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is appalling,\u201d wrote alumna and Emmy-winner Luanne Bole-Becker<\/a> on Facebook. <\/p>\n

\u201c[Husband\/longtime Cleveland media personality] Bob<\/a> and I were part of the team that put WCSB on the air in 1976. To give no notice, no respect to the students, the community programming, the long history and tradition of a cherished and vital part of Cleveland is disturbing. Shame on you, both Cleveland State and Ideastream, for this shoddy behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not an isolated incident<\/p>\n

As shocking as it feels locally, what happened to WCSB fits a national trend: slow absorption of college radio stations by public\/NPR affiliates.<\/p>\n

CSU is the third American university in the last month-plus<\/a> to remove students from their own station.<\/p>\n

Last month, WPSU at Penn State University announced it would be closing its NPR and PBS affiliate station, citing budget pressures from inflation, declining enrollment and state funding reductions. <\/p>\n

And Northwest Public Broadcasting at Washington State University as a licensee is downsizing, planning to cut staff and shut down its public TV station (KWSU-TV) following federal funding rescissions.<\/p>\n

\"WCSB\"Rodney Rose, Dan Lenhart and Derek Hess (l to r) at the WCSB studios after an on-air appearance. Hess, who is a world-renowned visual artist, was a longtime host at the station.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

Since the 1990s, dozens of universities have sold or leased their FM signals, citing budget pressures or \u201cstrategic partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

WCAL (St. Olaf College) was sold to Minnesota Public Radio in 2004 despite legal protests.KUSF (University of San Francisco) was abruptly pulled off air in 2011 and sold to the Classical Public Radio Network.WRAS (Georgia State) was handed to Georgia Public Broadcasting for daytime hours in 2014, negotiated without student input.KPLU (Seattle)\u2014an NPR jazz\/news powerhouse\u2014was nearly folded into KUOW before listeners raised $7 million to keep it independent.<\/p>\n

Motivations are almost always financial: universities see licenses as assets; public broadcasters see expansion opportunities.<\/p>\n

On paper, it\u2019s strategic. In reality, it\u2019s messy. And in most cases, it\u2019s not at all transparent.<\/p>\n

\"WCSBThe messaging at the WCSB Silent Protest on Tuesday, Oct. 7 said the loud part quietly. Protesters emphasized that “you can’t put students first while putting their voices last.”Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

Why this matters<\/p>\n

Officials pointed to internships at Ideastream as the \u201cnew opportunity\u201d for students. <\/p>\n

But opportunities for internships have been available to students at Ideastream with or without a station change for a very long time. What\u2019s more, podcasting and internships can\u2019t replicate the educational value of running an FCC-licensed station.<\/p>\n

Operating a station teaches real-world compliance with federal law, EAS protocols, station IDs, engineering, community programming and live troubleshooting.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no pause button in live radio. Students also learn marketing, PR, event planning, accounting and leadership. Perhaps most crucially, WCSB gave students something internships rarely do: ownership. <\/p>\n

Any student could walk in, learn, excel and eventually lead. Interns follow instructions; station staff membership make decisions. <\/p>\n

WCSB amplified diverse voices across the city. It was a megaphone and soapbox, not unlike Speakers\u2019 Corner in the northeast corner of Hyde Park in London. <\/p>\n

\"MicrophoneCleveland State University and Ideastream silenced student voices by abruptly seizing control of WCSB\u2019s independent, student-run radio station \u2014 a move that columnist Leslie Kouba sees as part of a growing and troubling trend of suppressing free speech in America.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lessons from the past<\/p>\n

If CSU and Ideastream thought this would go away quietly, they don\u2019t understand media, history or the long memories of elephant-like Clevelanders.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, the sale of KUSF drew citywide condemnation. Atlanta\u2019s WRAS deal made national headlines and tarnished GPB\u2019s reputation. Minnesota Public Radio\u2019s WCAL deal led to years of litigation.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s KPLU, the cautionary tale turned triumph. In 2015, Pacific Lutheran University announced plans to sell the beloved jazz\/news station to KUOW. <\/p>\n

Backlash was swift. Listeners formed \u201cFriends of 88.5,\u201d raised $7 million in six months and bought the station. KPLU became KNKX (\u201cKeep News, Keep Jazz\u201d), remaining independent. KUOW\u2019s reputation took a major hit it, one it never fully recovered from.<\/p>\n

Public media relies on listener trust. Alienating those listeners can lead to donor defections, negative press and lasting reputational harm\u2014or all of the above, something CSU and Ideastream are now confronting in real-time.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland\u2019sCleveland\u2019s classical music radio station WCLV-FM has been broadcasting from The Idea Center at Cleveland\u2019s Playhouse Square as part of the Ideastream public radio and TV family of stations since 2010. In 2022, it will move the more powerful frequency 90.3-FM as part of the recently announced Ideastream\/WKSU-FM 89.7 merger. (Chuck Crow\/The Plain Dealer)<\/p>\n

CHUCK CROW THE PLAIN DEALER WCLV\/FM 104.9 moved from its Warrensville Heights studios, dubbed “Radio Ranch,” to new offices in Idea Center in PlayhouseSquare in December. The classical music station is sharing quarters with Ideastream, the umbrella organization for WCPN FM\/90.3 and WVIZ Channel 25. The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer<\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t Ideastream\u2019s first consolidation, either. In 2021, it \u201cmerged\u201d with WKSU, Kent State\u2019s NPR affiliate, bringing Northeast Ohio\u2019s two biggest public stations under one umbrella. WCLV\u2019s classical format shifted frequencies, WKSU became the primary NPR station, but goodwill Ideastream had built began to erode. <\/p>\n

There were layoffs, cultural rifts and backlash to lost programming. <\/p>\n

The WCSB move is different, though\u2014it\u2019s not another public broadcaster, but a student station, cutting at the heart of student media, cultural diversity and local autonomy.<\/p>\n

\"WCSBSummer 2025, Madison Park, Lakewood, Ohio: No one in this picture could have predicted that it would be the last WCSB General Staff meeting. This picture represents the lion’s share of staff members who made WCSB go.Courtesy of WCSB<\/p>\n

For now, CSU and Ideastream are holding the line. <\/p>\n

WCSB\u2019s FM signal belongs to Ideastream for the next eight years; CSU retains the license, which means they could choose to sell it outright afterwards.<\/p>\n

Students have been pushed toward streaming and podcasting, but there\u2019s a lot more at stake.<\/p>\n

Resistance is growing. Alumni networks are mobilizing. The story is resonating nationally with anyone who\u2019s watched a college station disappear from their dial.<\/p>\n

History suggests two likely outcomes: another WRAS or KUSF\u2014fait accompli and lingering bitterness\u2014or a KPLU-style movement that forces reconsideration.<\/p>\n

CSU leaders \u201cwant WCSB to continue as a student organization,\u201d and they\u2019ve suggested the station consider building its own online streaming platform\u2014though they don\u2019t plan to assist with that process. <\/p>\n

The university\u2019s Center for Campus Engagement is also undergoing major changes that affect how student groups are funded, recognized and operated. So it\u2019s hard to tell whether or not that platitude will hold.<\/p>\n

Ideastream has no plans to maintain the station\u2019s longtime home at 3100 Chester Ave. CSU owns all the equipment and music library\u2014except for items on loan, donated materials, or items belonging to CSU\u2019s School of Music.<\/p>\n

The EAS and transmission equipment will be transferred to Ideastream. <\/p>\n

The university has said the space can be used to continue station operations through another medium\u2014but they\u2019ve also indicated CSU may not own that building (the Cole Center) within three to five years. <\/p>\n

If the station moves off-campus, its equipment and library must stay with CSU, though officials have said they may consider a buy-back arrangement.<\/p>\n

The former station currently has about $143,000 in its gifts and grants account. <\/p>\n

Station members are exploring the possibility of forming an independent nonprofit and considering legal options.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been around long enough to know Clevelanders don\u2019t let go of cultural institutions without a fight.<\/p>\n

Cleveland is still not over Art Modell moving the Cleveland Browns in the dead of night, or Sokolowski\u2019s University Inn closing. Anything cut from the \u201cby the people, for the people, of the people\u201d cloth that\u2019s meaningful in this town is never truly abandoned.<\/p>\n

That includes a pre-Oct. 3 WCSB 89.3FM.<\/p>\n

Chakerian was an employee of Cleveland State University from 2021-2023.<\/p>\n

\"ClevelandCleveland State University Student Center with Rhodes Tower in the backgroundJohn Pana, cleveland.com\"WCSBWCSB 89.3FM Cleveland.Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com<\/p>\n

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