WALT in the news

Last week, The Davidsonian published a staff editorial about WALT. In response, Wes, Taylor and I submitted a letter to the editor. Unfortunately, we were informed that our letter was too long, so I had to cut it down a little. Hopefully, that version will appear in Wednesday's paper. Below, however, for you loyal WALT blog readers, is the unedited version. We'd love to hear your comments, so leave them below!

To the Editor,

The WALT executive board appreciates the attention that the The Davidsonian brought to the radio station last week with its staff editorial. However, we would like to clarify some of the points the article made, and to correct some others.

First, the editorial stated that only “five percent of the campus population” listens to WALT. This is incorrect; roughly five percent of the campus population produces radio shows as DJs. Indeed, the editorial itself made clear that WALT has had a daily average of about 200 unique online listeners this semester. Last September, 47% of our 1,640 online listeners were on-campus. While technical limitations prevent us from determining exactly how many students listen during a given period, these figures indicate that the number far exceeds five percent.

Second, the editorial’s criticism of WALT’s self-promotional activities shows a general misunderstanding of the station’s philosophy as a student organization. We find that students don’t tune to WALT as they would to a commercially-viable, 24/7 radio station; rather, they listen to specific shows on WALT (which has become even more convenient with the advent of podcasting). Ultimately, WALT is a shell organization for a variety of products, and not a product itself. If we provide the opportunity for DJs to reach their target audience, we consider ourselves successful.

To that effect, we actively promote our website, blog, podcasts, and online stream through Crier ads, mailbox fliers, and Facebook ads. We encourage our DJs to advertise their own shows as they see fit. Some want the whole campus to listen live, while some want only their close friends and family to download their podcasts. The e-board wants to encourage every student who has an interest to become a DJ, and so we leave it to them to determine how much exposure they have on campus.

Four years ago, WALT was a station of roughly 30 DJs with a weak AM-signal and zero campus presence. Today, with over 70 DJs, we continue to broadcast on 1610am but now offer live on-campus streaming and podcasts that are accessible worldwide. Additionally, we financed and produced two successful freestyle rap battles, two benefit CDs of Davidson artists, and we are currently planning our fourth annual Battle of the Bands for later this Spring. While we recognize that we can still improve as a station, perspective is important: we’ve come a long way in just four years.

Again, we want to thank The Davidsonian for drawing attention to WALT with their editorial. We also want to take this opportunity to thank the student body for listening, and encourage them to continue exploring the diverse content that is produced by their peers every week at www.listentowalt.com.

--The WALT Executive Board