Radio station WUTC-FM will change next year to an all-talk format of network programming during the day as part of changes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga station to cut expenses and university costs.
The local affiliate of National Public Radio will shift to an automated format throughout the day on Jan. 2, dropping its daytime music programming and some of its paid local news operations to help cut three on-air jobs from the station's previous eight-person staff.
"If you look at our ratings for the past several years, our music programs have not been performing as well during the day and that has been to the detriment of our talk programs like 'All Things Considered' and 'Morning Edition,'" said Bryan Lane, station manager for WUTC. "There are not many formats that work well when you switch from talk to music back to talk. The goal is to make all of our programming talk during the day and offer music at night."
The staff cuts at the NPR affiliate also were made to help limit the ongoing support the university has had to provide WUTC, which the university began in 1979 and houses in its its Cadek Hall on the UTC campus. Over the past three years, UTC has given the station more than $200,000 in financial support each year, but Lane said the university wants to limit its contributions to keeping the station on air.
"It's been an effort since I got here to help bring the station into a more financially self-sufficient operating mode so the school can use those $200,000 a year of funds for other programs on campus," Lane said. "WUTC is still a great link for the university with the community and we will continue those efforts."
WUTC-FM still will air music from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day, moving Richard Winham's music program to 7-10 p.m. each weekday.
There also are no changes planned at the WUTC-FM HD2 station, which will continue to play a variety of music.
"I think with more consistent programming on the station during the day, we should be better in attracting audiences and serving the public," Lane said. "The push in the future is to have more public content by getting more students and the public involved."
WUTC has been the primary affiliate of National Public Radio in Chattanooga since 1995 when Southern Adventist University in Collegedale gave up its NPR programming affiliation, in part over concerns of not offering popular NPR programs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday during the Adventist observance of the Sabbath.
WSMC switched to primarily classical music at that time.
Contact staff writer Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.