Update on Canadian Station CKMS's Budget Woes

A few weeks ago I wrote about Canadian college radio station CKMS (University of Waterloo), which is losing 90% of its funding after students voted to end a $5.50 per term fee. The station recently held a meeting with students about the future of the station and sadly more station members than students showed up! Imprint Online provides a recap of that session. According to the article:

"The student body voted 2280 – 1081 to remove the $5.50 per term fee which provided 90 per cent of CKMS’s funding. The vote could reflect students’ potential issues with the radio station, such as the relatively low broadcast signal strength or the distance to the CKMS office from the main campus. To combat these issues, [CKMS General Manager] Majury has a number of ideas in place to improve the visibility and accesibility of the station for students, including the repositioning of the antenna to higher ground in an attempt to improve signal quality and reception in the tougher to reach spots on campus, and to avoid problems of losing the station’s signal behind large buildings.

The internet is an option for the underfunded broadcaster. The station already operates an online streaming feed through its website, but Majury hopes to encourage its volunteers to start releasing podcasts, a wise move for a campus blanketed with iPods and MP3 players instead of old-fashioned radios."

Ah, the old-fashioned radio as relic on college campuses...or is it?

On their website, CKMS clears up some misconceptions about the fee referendum and is also seeking letters of support from listeners. They point out:

"The actual vulnerability of campus radio is exemplified by the actions of this particular student government but even this can become a positive evolution in the protection of valuable local media resources."