Thursday, October 16, 2008

WSTB Rally

UPDATE 10/16/08 2:30 PM: A temporary placeholder page is now up at the main website for WSTB's "AlterNation" weekday format, with this notice:

Sadly, this situation is out of the control of the many volunteers and staff that have worked hard over the years to provide you with the music and programming you've come to enjoy.

The site encourages listeners to make their feelings known to the Streetsboro school district and its board members, and provides links to contact information for those in the district.

It closes with a message to supporters:

We love you. Thank you for your support. We're really sorry that your radio "fix" has been taken away, we really hope to bring it back to you. We hate to ask you for more support after all of this, but you've always been there for us in the past and we're sure you'll make your opinion known.

Our original item is below...

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With Streetsboro Public Schools station WSTB/88.9 still off the air, even despite the apparent resolution of a controversy over pictures found on station computers, we have word of a quickly-organized rally tonight meant to support the station.

WSTB's "Sunday Oldies Jukebox" has put up the notice on its web page...

Former and current staffers, school facility, and supporters of radio station WSTB are expected at a rally scheduled for Thursday, October 16th at 6:00 PM at the at Streetsboro City Park Pavillion.

The purpose of the rally is to set the record straight on events that led up to Streetsboro High School officials shutting down the station. The shutdown resulted in the disruption of broadcasting by the Alternation and sister station, the Sunday Oldies Jukebox.

The public is invited to the rally. Please come, get the facts, and show your support.

We don't know any more than that, so it'll be interesting to see what develops.

The notice is not posted on the "AlterNation" web site for good reason, as the site has been down since WSTB's computers were taken on Monday night. That site is currently landing on a blank page...

14 comments:

Chuck Matthews Blog said...

A "rally" is needed for this? Seems a bit extreme, no?

Unknown said...

Rock889.com will have content posted shortly.

YEKIMI said...

hmm, tried to access the website, looks like it has been taken down.

YEKIMI said...

I meant the "placeholder" website...either that or the link is bad.

Unknown said...

If you are unable to access rock889.com, be patient or reboot your computer. The DNS takes a little time to roll over, as we've had to move the site to a new server. Sorry for the confusion, it's there. Just text.

Anonymous said...

The only FACT I need to know is when will my favorite radio station of ALL time be back on the air, and who do we need to petition or contact??

Anonymous said...

My understanding is that the station was shut down because student safety was a concern. If that is the case then I applaud them for doing so, I love the station but student safety has to take priority. I'll be back to listening as soon as they are back on the air. Love those "OLDIES"

Michael Dane said...

Student safety is not the issue.
The issue is two photos that were
on a computer. They were taken at
a party in Columbus and feature
Dan and Ben. Dan is the computer
whiz at WSTB and Ben is one of
the other guys that keeps the computers going. Ben was a student
at the time of the pictures and
the school administration was
afraid that Ben might have beem
drinking alcohol. Ben was 18 at
the time.
I know both Dan and Ben, they are
both good, solid and honorable
young men. And no one ever would
do anything to endanger a student.
This really is a tempest in a teapot and I hope that it does
not come back to bite the school
board, the administration and
others in the bottom.
Unfortunately this is what happens with zero tolerance type
policies, it makes a small mess
bigger.

Anonymous said...

Somehow the fact that an adult staff member took a student out of town to a party does not comfort me. If this were a male teacher and a female student (18 or otherwise) the public and Fox 8 would be demanding an immediate and thorough investigation.

Michael Dane said...

It should ease your mind that
Ben had parental permission to
go to Columbus for the party.

To be honest, my opinion is
that if it happened outside of
school hours and outside of
school jurisdiction, it's not
their business.

Anonymous said...

Sorry but if it involves a staff member who has authority over a student it does concern me. While the facts may be innocent this is ethically wrong. I will restate my original comparison, if this was an 18 year old girl and a 24 year old teacher everyone would be up in arms.

parent111 said...

The last time i checked, i do believe the age in which you can make your own decisions as an adult is 18.

Cazaz08 said...

to petition or contact go to www.rock889.com and info is there(a temporary site is up)

Unknown said...

who ever parent88 is, they are an idiot. The fact is that these were two male adults. The reason people would be up in arms if the student was female, is that it would seem that they are in a sexual relationship. This seams far from it. Students and teachers have in the past and continue to develop friendships. That is a good thing. Teenagers need a poasitive influence in their lives in addition to parents. In any case, he had parental consent. He was 18 so technicly he didn't need it, but they got it anyway. This whole situation is out of hand, and I think it is crap. I love the alternation. It's my favorite station. Any news as to when it will be back?