WCAS Owners, Broadcasters Reach Pact, Will Stay on Air

The staff and owners of Cambridge radio station WCAS signed an agreement Tuesday in an effort to keep the financially-troubled station on the air until April 1, when new owners are expected to take over, Melvin L. Stone, treasurer and majority stockholder of Wickus Island Broadcasting Corp., owners of the station, said yesterday.

The agreement formalizes an arrangement in effect since the station was forced to close three weeks ago, under which employees raise their own salary money and the owners pay the station's overhead.

The station closed down on January 30, when electricity and phone service were cancelled, but employees appealed to the owners to stay on the air. "The staff has an unusual committment to the format and to what the station has been doing," Stone said, adding that the owners had assumed that an official agreement would be reached in early February.

Future

The station applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in late December for permission to sell its license, Stone said, adding that he expected BOSS Communications, a Boston-based outfit, to take over.

The employees have raised over $11,000 since the January shut-down by soliciting contributions and sponsoring benefit concerts, Larry Miller, the station's programming director, said. "It will take a sustained effort to make it through six weeks," he added.

The station's financial problems stemmed from its inability to sell enough advertising, Stone said, adding that "the station's format is not commercial enough to sell ads." The 25-year-old AM station plays mostly folk music, in addition to its Cambridge-focused news broadcasts.

Cathy Moylan, a news reporter, said that the employees will continue to seek community support for the station, adding that the staff's motivation is not financial, as they are earning "next to nothing."

"I'm confident we can keep it going." she said.

Stone, who has fought the station's financial problems for five years, said that without being subsidized, the station could not survive. "It sounds great, but it doesn't work," he said.

Both owners and employees called the station's format important and unique to Cambridge. "It's important to have a small media outlet to give the other side of the news," Moylan said.