Camden County College explores sale of longtime FM station

Camden County College may sell the broadcast license for its longtime college radio station, 91.5 WDBK-FM.

The Federal Communications Commission license for the station is listed on the popular government liquidation website GovDeals.com for $150,000.

College Vice President William Thompson called the sale an "exploratory process." The auction ends Thursday, and the posting had received no bids as of late Tuesday afternoon.

"It really boils down to the value of that signal and (whether) it can be better utilized by someone else," Thompson said.

Assistant professor of communications Drew Jacobs said the faculty has resisted the sale, adding the station plays an important role in the climate of the college.

"We passed a resolution protesting the plan," said Jacobs, who ran the college station in the early 2000s.

"Having the ability to put FM radio experience on a resume is huge in today's job market."

The potential sale comes on the heels of the college's decision to begin streaming the radio station online starting this fall. Thompson hopes linking the station to the website will increase its reach to a potentially worldwide audience.

"The current signal goes to the street and maybe Wawa on a clear day," Thompson said. "So what we want is the ability to go broader."

WDBK is a 100-watt, noncommercial radio station and has broadcast 24/7 from a studio on the Blackwood campus since 1977, according to the college's website.

The station is staffed by Camden County College students and reaches about 120,000 people in the Gloucester Township area.

Programming consists of live radio shows during the fall and spring semesters, mostly in the morning and late afternoon. Taped shows air at night.

But since the station's format is "free form," listeners are given a wide variety of music, from local bands to oldies and hip-hop.

Jessica Bogie, a 2012 CCC graduate, said she was disappointed to hear the station may lose its FM broadcasting abilities.

"It was my only real outlet as a communications major other than the college newspaper," said Bogie, who hosted an oldies program.

"It's sad that they want to get rid of it and go online; I don't see why they just don't do both."

Radio consultant Edward "Ted" Schober predicts the license will be purchased by a local religious group or another nonprofit looking to extend its reach.

"It has some value," said Schober, who owns Radio Techniques in Haddon Heights. "I could see it going for about $100,000."

Though Thompson stressed the college is just testing the waters with the sale, he did say the school is at a crossroads, with a need to replace some of the station's aging infrastructure, such as the antenna and transmitters.

"Times are tough for education; financial issues are always a consideration," Thompson said. "But we are balancing it; we always want to make sure our students have the maximum experience they can."

Greg Weston, president of College Broadcaster Inc., said the decision to sell off a radio station is often linked to financial concerns.

"Support for college radio, especially at public institutions, has been waning since 2008," Weston said.

"As budgets get tighter and tighter, the decisions that have to be made get tougher."

But Weston added college radio stations have worked to shed their anti-establishment image to become viable assets to their home universities.

"It's been a wake-up call for many radio stations," Weston said.

Reach Phil Dunn at (856) 486-2456 or pdunn@courierpostonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @philmdunn.