Letters
to the editor
Kbeach GM speaks out on issue
Last
Wednesday, one of the journalists from the
On-line Forty-Niner wrote an article titled
“Former Kbeach DJ loses show.” As the general
manager of Kbeach, I would like to share
some of my concerns about the article and
issue at hand.
First off, as a public relations minor,
I have learned a lot about news. One important
aspect is that news should be given to its
audience in some sort of timely manner.
My question to you is where was the journalist
two months ago when the issue had been resolved
with the media board?
Secondly, I understand that to develop a
well-rounded story, the journalist needed
to speak with different people on the issue.
However, one important perspective on the
issue was missed: mine. Since the journalist
was told by Student Media Advisor John Trapper,
exactly who was involved in the issue and
where to find the individuals, I do not
understand why there were no attempts to
contact either myself or Kbeach Business
Operations Manager Neil Rivas.
Interesting enough, Production Director
Ray Hernandez, who was quoted in the article,
was not involved at all in the Gerry Wachovsky
issue. Hernandez came on board the Kbeach
staff in late August, after the management
team had already come to a decision.
Lastly, my deepest concern with the recently
published article lies with the real reason
Wachovsky was cancelled. As many times as
this was stressed to Wachovsky, we did not
cancel his show because we were out to censor
him but in essence help him to stylize a
dynamic show. I stand by the First Amendment
full-heartedly and am appalled by his interpretation
of the matter.
My first duty as general manager is to decide
what is best for Kbeach and what factors
will lead it to a great success. The decision
was made that Wachovsky’s show was not of
quality and hence was actually harming the
success of Kbeach. Last semester, Kbeach
DJs actually observed students leaving the
central courtyard of the student union where
Wachovsky’s show could be heard and hearing
comments of unhappiness from those same
students with the way the show had been
structured and developed; not the topics
discussed.
At this point, I would like to say that
I still agree with the decision made by
the media board. Wachovsky will be allowed
to come back to Kbeach in spring however;
pre-recording his show will be a must throughout
the semester. Then, in fall 2003 he will
be able to continue his live shows as discussed
before.
I want to wish Wachovsky good luck in all
his endeavors in radio because I know of
his great potential and his dedication to
the industry. For future reference, one
thing that Kbeach stresses on is that we
are always looking for a team player. Unfortunately,
the outreach by Wachovsky to be noticed
once again for this issue shows otherwise
on his part.
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