Want to do more than read the news? Thanks to WMFO's new program, you can now passively take in campus and national happenings without lifting a finger.
According to Mike Dupuy, WMFO's general manager, the half-hour show, airing at 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on 91.5 FM, aims to provide more "continuity" to the freeform station. The format for the news program, though, is still in transition. "It's much less pre-produced," said Dupuy, which is to say that it is essentially the opposite of pre-written broadcasts on programs such as National Public Radio (NPR).
News director Martin Voelker said that, for now, the format of the show is left up to the producer for the night. "We give the people in charge of a particular night their discretion to decide the slant of the night's show - whether they want to use more pre-produced material or make it more of a talk show format," he said.
Dupuy believes that the more "conversational" tone of the show will interest listeners. Despite its packaging, the news will still be as real as you would get from any other media source. "Our goal is to try to balance Tufts news with more national and international news," Dupuy said.
But how successful will the WMFO news show be with campus news publications potentially competing for the spotlight? According to Dupuy, the key is in the presentation. More specifically, he and WMFO aim to take an "alternative media stance."
For example, Tufts Community Union (TCU) President David Moon co-hosts the show one night a week. Dupuy claims that this offers a more direct link to campus news figures than the Daily or other publications might provide. "As opposed to having journalists interview and report about the people in the news, we bring these people straight [to the listeners]," he said.
And the idea behind WMFO News is not just to include Tufts students. Two out of the five weekly shows are live broadcasts from sporting events that students from other colleges enjoy, as well as Tufts students. "This show contributes to community outreach - it delivers something to both the Tufts community and the general community," said Voelker.
In the future, Voelker said that WMFO hopes to go even further in including the outside community. "The hope is that we could include other communities than Tufts - maybe even going as far to report on local politics," he said. He cited such issues as the election of local governmental figures, oil prices, and local construction as possible topics.
While the number of staff for the show isn't as large as Dupuy would like, he envisions two or more people supporting the five different shows (each weekday evening), complete with "roving reporters" and sound bytes.
Voelker agreed that the lack of staff was a problem for the news show in the past. Though the students have had such a news show in mind for a few years, they have never been able to launch it due to lack of numbers. "If you want to produce something five days a week that's going to be up-to-date, you can't do it with three people," he said. "You have to have a host of people who can be on-call or assigned to a particular night. It's just too much work for a handful of people."
