General Manager Jonathan Flynn '00 will head up the new Dartmouth Broadcasting directorate, which was announced last Thursday.
The directorate takes over next term and will be responsible for running the College's two radio stations, WFRD 99.3 FM and WDCR 1340 AM.
Flynn will succeed current General Manager Brent Laffoon '98 in the position of general manager, which is in charge of operations for both radio stations, including sales, maintenance and news. Flynn previously served as the stations' news director.
Flynn, a history major from Pleasantville, N.Y., now plans to pursue a career in broadcasting, even though he had no experience before coming to Dartmouth.
"I like the fact that there's always something going on," Flynn said of the radio. "We're two stations, not just one."
During his tenure, Flynn would like to continue the "upswing" he sees both stations having.
"Right now our listenership is going up and there's consistent momentum," Flynn said.
Outside of class and the radio station, Flynn is active in the Aquinas House and works at Kiewit Computation Center, but said he "basically lives in Robinson."
Laffoon said he is confident Flynn will succeed as general manger. "Jon's well-organized and very visible at the station," Laffoon said. "He works well with people and communicates well."
Ryan Krauch '01 was appointed the new FM programming director after serving as both a DJ and assistant programming director at 99 Rock. The FM programming director oversees the daily operations of the station as well as its special events and promotions.
The AM programming director will be William Finnegan '00. He said that throughout his year in the position, he will be looking for "new and creative things to get students listening" and involved.
Robert Ristagno '00, the financial director, will be overseeing Dartmouth Broadcasting's budget of approximately $400,000.
Sean Byrnes '00 will be serving a second term as technical director. He is responsible for maintaining, repairing and purchasing equipment.
Timothy Wright '01 will be taking on the job of news director, who works with both stations to coordinate the news segments.
For his second year, Paul Schoenhard '00 will be the production director, who is responsible for all commercial air products run on both the AM and FM stations.
During his second term, Schoenhard said he would like to work on recruiting new staff and organizing the production studio.
Training Director Mark Mullinix '00 will be responsible for training and coordinating all on- and off-air staff. Mullinix said he likes the engineering side of radio production because it is a "tangible form of success."
He said his goal for the directorate is to increase the consistency of air quality.
Ryan Jones '00 will be filling a new position -- marketing and alumni development, which was previously held by two different students. Alumni development entails contacting alumni who were active at the stations when they were students at the College.
Jones said he will be looking to better correlate advertisers with listeners.
The directorate will be complete when a new sports director is appointed. The current directorate did not receive any applications for the position.
Dartmouth Broadcasting members said they were surprised by the lack of women and minorities appointed to the directorate. Only two women applied for a position.
Laffoon said the applicant pool's homogeneity was "unfortunate," but that it "was not something you can control." He said the lack of diversity on the directorate is not the result of a lack of diversity in Dartmouth Broadcasting's staff.
Although both noted the directorate's homogenous makeup as a negative factor, neither Laffoon nor Flynn said they felt it will hinder the directorate's success.
"We'd like to be more diverse," Flynn said. "The problem's not in the selection process but that for whatever reason, people are not applying within the station."
Laffoon said the relative youth of the directorate is an "odd strength." He said the new directorate is "all excited about the station, and they've all proven to have commitment to the station."
