Dana Whitehair, Delmarva Public Radio’s new GM, has made some programming changes at WSCL-FM Salisbury MD and WSDL-FM Ocean City, MD, reports the Cape Gazette. This, after the stations’ sale went through late last month from Salisbury University Foundation Inc. to Salisbury University, saving them from being sold or shuttered.
In August, the university hired Whitehair to fill the GM position, which had been vacant for more than year. He previously worked at Classical music stations in Rochester, NY, and Charleston, SC, and UT Austin’s KUT-FM.
He told the paper that the changes will save money and attract new listeners. WSCL airs classical and “adult popular music”; WSDL airs Rhythm and News, a mix of classic and new rock, indie, acoustic and alternative music.
“I didn’t come here to fail. We’re looking at the long-term health of Delmarva Public Radio,” he told a small group of Lewes Friends of Delmarva Public Radio who met in October at Lewes, DE Public Library.
Salisbury University’s Caruthers Hall, the building that houses the stations, is slated for demolition to make room for a new library. “Over the next year or so it’s all going to be changed. We’re taking advantage of this and everything from our microphones to our consoles, to recording equipment, the satellite dish, the microwave system that sends the signal from the radio station out to the transmitter and the transmitters will be new,” the paper quoted him as saying. The station will also transition from analog to digital.
To save money, Whitehair said DPR is airing fewer NPR and BBC programs. The station is keeping NPR shows such as “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” however.
WSDL now features new info/news shows such as the “TED Radio Hour,” “Sound Medicine,” “Living on Earth,” and “eTown,” featuring environmental news and top musical performers, said the story.
New music programs include “World Café,” “Mountain Stage,” “The Midnight Special,” and “Saturday Night With Robin,” a locally produced show featuring rock, indie, acoustic and alternative music.
See the Cape Gazette story here.
