WCBUI WCBU2 I ListenI Pledge Now I Inside WCBUIVolunteer IMembershipIUnderwritingIArts CalendarIStaffI Home

Weather Forecasts | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Inside WCBU

Earlier this year , I attended a retreat with many of my public radio management colleagues to look at the future of public radio in a new technological environment. We spent a lot of time focusing on the audience: who is listening now, who will be listening five and ten years from now, and how will we as public radio broadcasters best serve this audience?

In this conference, we were talking about you, the listener. The beauty of public radio is that we are able to focus on the listener, not the advertiser. As long as we maintain that focus, WCBU and other public stations around the country will grow and thrive.

We are a loosely organized community of stations, producers and networks that serve a significant audience. We have a deep sense of a shared mission and personal commitment, and we should be able to serve our existing audience and a larger, future audience more profoundly.

We will do that with new technology and old fashioned ethics, including ethics governing journalism, music, fundraising and business practices. Connecting people personally, socially, and based on their active and esoteric interests fills a real need. My experience is that you, a member of a very unique audience, wants to engage with like-minded people within not just our central Illinois community, but across state and international boundaries. Public radio listeners also want to better understand people who are different. We as public broadcasters can be facilitators in that role. The need for local news and entertainment programming of high quality will be a constant concern and goal for WCBU staff. We will continue to be engaged and involved.

Technology will open new doors for WCBU and the audience. I’ve talked about the potential of HD Radio on this page in the past, but we are implementing new technology in the day to day tools we use to make WCBU’s operation more efficient. New digital satellite program delivery systems from NPR have arrived and are now in use, combined with new digital storage and automation systems. We implemented new and improved web streaming to make it easier for you to hear us anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

WCBU is also podcasting. You can now subscribe to a number of locally produced news and public affairs programs, including Outside the Horseshoe with Jonathan Ahl, Out and About, a weekly look at cultural events in the area with Suzette Boulais and Nathan Irwin, and WCBU News stories and features. Learn more by clicking on the Podcast icon on our home page.

WCBU continues to win awards, and provides the best service possible as Jonathan Ahl, Tanya Koonce and Denise Molina are recognized by their peers for quality work from the Associated Press and the Radio-Television News Director’s Association.

More importantly we appreciate the recognition of you, our members. Thank you for contributing, and thank you for allowing us to serve you.

Thank you.

Thomas Hunt
Executive Director

WCBU 89.9 • Bradley University • 1501 West Bradley Avenue, Peoria, IL 61625
(309) 677-3690 • Fax (309) 677-3462• E-mail: wcbu@bradley.edu
- Back to the top -

If you have questions or concerns with this Website, please e-mail lpolnitz@bradley.edu