MUNSU has recently announced that after surveying students about their use of MUNSU-run services, its executive committee unanimously voted to recommend the discontinuation of MUN’s campus and community radio station, CHMR-FM.
The motion is intended to address MUNSU’s nearly $300k deficit.
This is to be voted on at a Board meeting on April 1; however, I believe this decision to be a reckless cop-out and in direct opposition to the union’s commitment to cultivating a positive, well-rounded student experience at Memorial.
I must first acknowledge my unique position regarding this matter as Managing Editor of The Muse. I cross paths with CHMR frequently; we have a show on the station called Muse News, and I have worked with its full-time staff before as well.
Because of this, I have unique insight into CHMR’s operations and the value they provide to our campus and larger community.
This all being said, I do contend that CHMR could be doing more.
They could have better outreach, adapt to changing media consumption habits of students, and more student involvement both on campus and around St. John’s to drum up interest.
An enthusiastic, unavoidable community presence is necessary for any university organization to flourish, especially considering the steady decline in broadcast radio, but that can be extremely difficult if you don’t have the resources to do so.
I caution the MUNSU executive against voting in favour of the station’s closure, a decision that would be anti-community and based on insufficient evidence.
Insufficient survey sample
The first, and most glaring issue with MUNSU’s recommendation is their student survey.
The Membership Advisory, posted to Instagram, states that “this recommendation comes after prolonged consideration of MUNSU’s current financial and operational capacity, with an assessment of membership utilization suggesting a lower level of utilization compared to other student services.”
The survey results indicate that CHMR is the third least-used MUNSU service among students at 13.1%. However, if you zoom in, at the top of the page, you’ll see a very tiny “n=84.”
This means that only 84 students responded to the survey.
MUN’s St. John’s campus has approximately 12k students enrolled. This sample size amounts to about 0.7% of the student body at the St. John’s campus.
Basing the decision to close an entire organization on less than 1% of the campus population would be irresponsible and would not accurately reflect students’ true feelings or metrics of MUNSU service use.
Lack of funding for media
The second issue concerns the lack of funding allocated to media services.
Both The Muse and CHMR are funded through a $4 media levy included in your annual tuition, meaning that each on-campus media organization receives $2 per student per semester. This fee has not been adjusted for inflation since 2001.
For example, The Muse’s 75th Anniversary print issue was entirely funded by generous external organizations and individuals who purchased advertisements in the magazine. We did not make any money from it. Our base funding does not have the bandwidth for regular print publication, and this, combined with our now-digital culture, has spurred our heavy social media presence.
This funding must cover employee salaries and operating expenses, and leaves little, if any, left over for additional initiatives.
Outlined in MUNSU’s Constitution, the Station Manager’s salary is exempt from this and is instead paid by MUNSU’s regular budget, and the CHMR Board of Directors is welcome to apply for additional operating grants.
MUNSU’s Membership Advisory outlines that an additional $23.8k is required to “modernize the service,” however, this fails to disclose that CHMR received external grants from national community radio organizations, meaning that MUNSU would not actually incur this expense.
In addition to this, a former Station Manager retired last year, meaning that the station currently has 2 full-time staff members instead of 3, saving on salary expenses.
If MUNSU were to fund student media sufficiently and avoid scapegoating the arts to amend their own financial issues, perhaps CHMR would have the financial means for increased community outreach, programming, and marketing, or even a wider station broadcast range that extends beyond St. John’s city limits.
Taking away professional development and skill-building opportunities for students
This province is home to some genuinely incredible journalists, many of whom got their start at The Muse or CHMR. Memorial’s media organizations have long been an incubator for journalists to learn skills to aid them in their careers, especially since MUN does not have a journalism program.
Countless notable alumni have taken to social media to voice their concerns.
Newfoundlanders and International Students wanting to pursue a career in the media industry deserve to have opportunities available to them as students.
Coupled with continuous course cuts, removing more student services will potentially drive students away from choosing to attend Memorial – why pay the same tuition as another university for fewer opportunities?
The National Community and Campus Radio Association (NCRA) has over 120 members nationwide. It’s not ridiculous to expect student unions to maintain their campus’s radio station.
Closing CHMR would be an anti-community decision
If you didn’t know, CHMR-FM is a community radio station in addition to a campus one.
This means that any St. John’s resident can avail themselves of their services and start their own radio show.
While stations like HOT 99.1, OZFM and K-ROCK provide value and cultural contributions to Newfoundland and St. John’s, there is so much humanistic value in a radio station that isn’t privately owned. Most of the music played on CHMR is from independent artists, local acts, or alternative genres.
It is imperative to preserve this channel for students and community members in St. John’s to learn broadcasting skills, have a voice, a platform to discuss issues, and to share in a love for music.
Musings
As far as I know, MUNSU did not engage in productive discussion with CHMR to explore other potential options instead of closure. Reported by Abby Cole with CBC, the staff appears to have been completely blindsided by discussions that were occurring.
Surely other solutions could have been reached – perhaps MUNSU and CHMR could have worked together to at least try to increase involvement before deciding to vote on its closure.
I completely understand there are cuts that need to be made, but as a student union, MUNSU should recognize the value in facilitating community and platforming student voices.
MUNSU repeatedly criticizes the immense administrative bloat seen in Memorial’s upper administration and vehemently opposes their decisions to reduce courses, programs, and services within the university. GSU has recently come under fire for similar issues.
However, MUNSU seems to be following a similar path, reducing student services to amend their debts while voting to retain their own course reimbursement perk, which incurs an annual cost of up to $35k.
I strongly urge MUNSU executive to listen to journalists’ concerns before making this decision, be more collaborative and transparent going forward, and conduct more comprehensive surveys that accurately reflect the student body.
Got an opinion? Send your letters or opinion piece pitches to editor@themuse.ca
