ASUU is currently considering a plan to take over KUTE radio in an effort to revitalize the struggling station.
There are several problems with this plan-the first being that on a philosophical level, there is something wrong with a government entity controlling a media outlet.
True, KUTE currently receives all its funding from the Associated Students of the University of Utah, but its programming and marketing are separate from the student government. If KUTE were consolidated within ASUU, its status as an independent media source would disappear.
It needs to be acknowledged that the current ASUU administration has good intentions with its plan, and would want to take a step back once KUTE was on its feet again-but the fact is, it cannot vouch for the integrity of future administrations and how they would treat their relationship with KUTE.
Would future administrations respect the status of KUTE as a media outlet-or would they turn it into a giant propaganda machine?
At the moment, KUTE’s audience is small, with most students on campus unaware of the fact that the U even has a radio station.
ASUU’s argument for the consolidation is that, with better funding and marketing, listeners would be more inclined to tune in to KUTE Radio.
Let’s ignore the fact that ASUU struggles with successfully advertising its own events, much less those belonging to another group, and get to the real issue.
The problem with KUTE radio is that no one listens to it, mostly because it only has a broadcasting capability of about a two-mile radius. If commuter students can’t listen to KUTE in their homes in Sandy or Layton, why would they tune in when they are on campus?
Better programming and marketing will not solve this problem. KUTE needs to pursue ASUU’s suggestion of streaming online through the U’s Web site and having podcasts available to students-but KUTE needs to exercise this sort of ingenuity while remaining independent from the student government.
With any luck, these new avenues of broadcasting would lead to larger audiences, and with larger audiences would come the need for better programming and a market for potential businesses to want to buy airtime advertisement.
But the idea that ASUU could-or should-lead this improvement is wrong.
While ASUU’s desire to improve KUTE is a noble one, both parties need to realize that a government’s place is separate from the media.