Troubled Nassau Weekly looks to WPRB

Talks have been ongoing between the student leadership of both organizations: the Nass’ three editors-in-chief, Colin Pfeiffer ’09, Uzoamaka Maduka ’09 and Chris Schlegel ’09, and WPRB station manager William Sullivan ’09 and news director Sebastian Jones ’09.

Decisions have yet to be finalized and approved, but WPRB graduate board chairman William Rosenblatt ’83 has called the proposal an “intriguing idea.”

“I’m excited that the undergraduate board is pursuing creative ideas to make the station stronger,” he said.

Rosenblatt said that the WPRB board of trustees has not yet discussed the issue with the University. “The discussions are very preliminary,” he said. “It’s at the concept stage … We don’t even know if such a deal is possible.”

Though the organizations initially referred to the arrangement in terms of WPRB purchasing or acquiring the Nass, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said that WPRB cannot “acquire” the publication in a financial transaction because both are student organizations.

Though “WPRB is different from other student groups because it has an FCC [Federal Communications Commission] license ... it is a student group,” Dunne said. He added that both organizations have at some point in time received funding from the University.

Dunne confirmed that he had spoken to the student leadership of both groups about the potential arrangement and said that, as he understands it, “they will be merging business relations.”

Schlegel said in an interview that “the technical things have not been hashed out,” adding that WPRB was responsible for figuring out the specific details of the new arrangement. He said that WPRB had originally approached the Nass about this proposal.

Under the current terms being discussed, the Nass will retain editorial control over its content.

“Their creativity needs to be given the independence it deserves,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to let them do what they do best.”

A statement issued by the Nass’ editors outlined a number of changes that would be made to the publication’s regular content following the merger, including retiring “Verbatim” — a section of the publication that lists humorous exchanges between individuals overheard on campus — because “many advertisers have … expressed concerns that unnecessarily provocative and/or personally-motivated submissions could prompt civil action on the part of University students.”

A number of problems made it necessary for the Nass to consider the potential merger.

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The Nass’ statement said that there was a “fundamental staff schism” between Nass staffers who are members of Terrace Club and those who are members of Ivy Club. “Meetings once held in the Terrace library have had, on occasion, to be moved to 1901 Hall, a neutral location,” the statement explained.

The publication has also suffered more specific personnel problems, including the dismissal of several members whose “performance had been hampered by excessive consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs,” the statement added.

The Nass has also been struggling with debt and last semester reached out to its alumni for funding. The statement said that the publication has $8,000 in outstanding debt.

The tentative arrangement would give WPRB complete control over the business side of the publication. The acquisition will help WPRB fulfill its mission to be a business-training organization for undergraduates, Sullivan said.

“While we have the financial resources to do so, we haven’t had the kind of on-campus presence that we need,” he added.

There are tentative plans for the station to assume a portion of the Nass’ debt. According to the statement, the publication hopes to pay off a portion of this debt on its own through fundraising and selling off physical property.

It is unclear how combining Nass and WPRB business functions would affect the station’s financial status.

Rosenblatt said that there has not been significant discussion about finances but added that WPRB received a statement on the Nass’ finances from the University on Wednesday. The publication’s budget is smaller than WPRB’s, he added.

In a fall 2007 fundraising drive, WPRB collected more than $40,000 to help maintain its operating budget after facing declining advertising revenue.

The station faced the possibility of selling its broadcast license or broadcasting only on the internet, but the drive was successful, overreaching the station’s initial $25,000 target.