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Will We Let WMVY Go Off the Air?

A few things to consider before we allow WMVY to be lost forever. WMVY's role in the community is more than that of just a simple radio station. Do you agree?

 

Following a national trend of small radio stations closing, sad news came out this week that the island's beloved, WMVY, will be yet another victim of the failing economy. As of January WMVY's signal will be sold to WBUR, Boston's NPR station. While NPR has many fans in the Cape and Island's area, it will not be able to fill the void left by WMVY.

Upon learning that the station is insolvent, it isn't hard to understand why the parent company, Aritaur Communications, had to make this difficult decision. However unlike the closing of a Starbucks or a Best Buy, what will be lost here can not be replaced by yet another coffee shop or computer store.  There are thousands of people that love this station and I have many clients that covet their beloved WMVY both while here and then via the web when they go home. They explain to me that besides just really enjoying the eclectic play lists and on-air interviews, they love that the station keeps them connected to their beloved island.  By keeping them up to date on the latest news, weather and area activities, they feel like they are able to maintain their connections here til they come again.

Losing WMVY will be yet  one more vestige of yesteryear we will have lost.  It is a station that marched to its own drum and resisted the need to be loud and obnoxious just to remain relevant. It never had to as it always was. We will lose that gentle voice that we all relied on to help us know how to plan our days. They would advise us if the Steamship was running on schedule or if our kids were to get a snow day.  And, then there is the fundraising that the station sponsored, the local events they would announce; and, the fairs they would promote that would help get people out to support their neighbors which in turn would help year rounders in the arts and theatrical fields make enough to keep creating and make a living through their craft.  Or, on a more general basis to serve as a familiar town crier  to herald in the beginning and end of seasons with news of picnics, fireworks, parades, festivals and Christmas Fairs so that we could all come out as a community to enjoy ourselves.

So, if WMVY shuts down we will all be diminished in some way by it's absence. Just as when a fierce storm comes through and takes away yet another 5 or 10 feet  of shoreline,  the landscape is  forever altered. And, in a time where so little of what we all use to know and love seems to exist anymore, can we afford to lose just one more thing? In a world where mainstream media has become a compilation of  plastic, cookie cutter, Jersey shore, U Tube, forms of crap can we  really afford such a loss?

Whether this happens or not is in your hands. If you care about tradition and community and want to try to help save WMVY I encourage you to go to their website and sign on to commit money to do so. It doesn't have to be a lot and it won't be collected unless the total amount raised will be enough to get the job done. And,  it will be tax deductible which is another great thing considering the fiscal cliff looming ahead of us. Send your message to Barbara, PJ and the gang by showing your support of their efforts to save something that is important to the island. Visit their website and add your voice to the conversation -

                http://www.friendsofmvyradio.org/homepage3.php

This post is contributed by a community member. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Patch Media Corporation. Everyone is welcome to submit a post to Patch. If you'd like to post a blog, go here to get started.

Michael West December 12, 2012 at 02:42 PM
Jean, thanks for the reminder of how WMVY matters, and it does. I truly hope it can survive as a streaming media "broadcast," and maybe find another home on the dial. Not that I don't value YouTube. I do. I watch YouTube videos every single day, and it is a wonderful source of information and entertainment. But we already have WCAI, our local Cape and Islands radio station. Do we really need WBUR? I think this is just another campaign in the WGBH versus WBUR media battle for public radio listeners, and it is a shame that BIG public radio would have to step on a local radio station so it could wave its flag a little higher than the next. Something tells me WMVY will survive in one form or another, as it maters to too many people, but that won't happen without funds. Donate to the Island's not-for-profit radio presence, WMVY!

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