When not plugged into their iPods, Dartmouth students have been known to turn their radio dials to WFRD, known as 99Rock, for a dose of new music and entertaining student commentary. Yet Dartmouth TV, the closed campus cable network, and WDCR, the College's AM station, still operate under most students' radars and are struggling financially as a result.
However, DTV Stage Manager Alice Mathias '07 said she refuses to passively allow the station to be overshadowed by one of its radio counterparts. In addition to the station's weekly news program, Mathias said she hopes to expand DTV's presence on campus by focusing on original programming, such as "Just Off Main Street" and "The Best of Both Worlds" -- a new cooking show and a sports show respectively.
In spite of their new creative endeavors, DTV still faces challenges as a result of limited funds. DTV receives $400 through the Committee on Student Organizations, but College regulations bar them from soliciting donations or sponsorships from local businesses not affiliated with the College. Due to a lack of resources, the station has been unable to pursue some of the programming ideas suggested by students, such as a student makeover program.
"This makes it very difficult seeing that as a television station we have high monetary needs for equipment, unlike other COSO organizations that only need food for meetings," Stage Manager Darya Fuks '07 said.
In addition to its need for funding, DTV also needs students to participate in every aspect of production. "Dartmouth Television is an incredible and underexploited resource for the Dartmouth community," said Mathias, who said she hopes that students will see DTV as a viable means to gain knowledge of the entertainment industry.
Unlike DTV, Dartmouth's radio stations are able to acquire corporate sponsorships. 99Rock has taken full advantage of this and boasts 30,000 listeners per day.
But 99Rock is bound by its commercial responsibilities to broadcast a sellable product for its sponsors. Yet, WDCR has not been able to reach as broad a base of listeners as its FM counterpart.
WDCR Programming Director Pamela Cortland '06 said that 99Rock is merely filling a position for its sponsors rather than broadcasting music that it values. In contrast, the independent nature of the AM station allows student DJs to have greater control over what they want to play on their own programs.
WDCR DJ Mat Brown '05 highlighted the value of having an independent student-run college station.
"The station is really free form radio and you can do whatever the hell you want," Brown said. "We represent what Dartmouth students are interested in broadcasting on the air -- whether it be their music or their opinions."
However, former 99Rock Programming Director Eric McDonald '04 said he believes both stations add value to Dartmouth's airwaves. "The dual nature of 99Rock and WDCR is two-fold: 99Rock both teaches you professional radio and brings in money, whereas WDCR allows people to do what they want," he said.
While WDCR offers an alternative to WFDR, it depends on the revenue garnered through 99Rock's advertising. Furthermore, WFDR is simulcast onto WDCR whenever the AM station is off the air. Dartmouth Broadcasting, an umbrella organization that oversees the budgets of both stations, makes this cooperation possible.
All three student-programming outlets have to contend with students' differing D-Plans. While Summer term would seem to present a unique challenge, DTV views the summer term as an opportunity to strengthen its programming for the coming year.
"I'm thinking that the combination of video cameras and generous amounts of downtime might yield some pretty interesting programming care of the Class of 2007," Mathias said.
