The University of Oregon's sponsored radio station KWAX-FM has come under scrutiny as of late for not featuring live curated music playlists on its broadcasts. The reason for this, though, is strangely a well-kept secret.
The classical station is a mainstay for classical broadcasting in the Oregon area, specifically from Salem to Canyonville and from Bend to Florence. But lately, it has remained off-air due to in-house studio changes and inventory mishaps. The station very recently, though, went live again and with a person manning the station and playlist.
That on-air personality is nationally-recognized Music Director Peter Van de Graaff, who explained the decision to stay off the air for weeks was an internal problem. That decision, however, had a large impact on its listenership, who aired their grievances on blogs and even in the well-known local paper The Oregonian.
Van de Graaff took into consideration that the station's listeners, who fund the studio and who are not allowed by FCC regulations to be prohibited from visiting the station during its hours of operation, were expecting answers to the recent events. Though, Van de Graaff, also, didn't provide much of an insight into the ordeal.
He said on air, "We had to take some time to inventory equipment and also to make some fixes to our current location. We've done that and we're back on the air."
But questions still remain, and if inventory and an aging studio are the cause for disruption, then it should be clear as to the circumstances surrounding their inability to return back to the airwaves more quickly.
With speculation flying in all directions, it was also recently revealed (sort of) that the U of O campus patrol broke into the station in hopes of detaining their top suspect on a discovered "Bowl of..." List. That name is, you couldn't have guessed it, Justin Bieber.
The "Bowl of..." List in question is a concoction from the U of O patrol in which deputies were required to contribute to the list names of people, likenesses and ideas that the patrol station found to be annoying or, simply, offensive.
No, this is not a joke, this was a real report in The Oregonian and it's hard to make sense of it even from a journalistic perspective. Nonetheless, it's a story that's been circulating.
Whatever the reason may be, KWAX is back on the air and Van de Graaff will be hosting from this day forward. Lucky for listeners, the playlists will receive the proper curation as they have before.
Check out an old KWAX interview for the time being below.
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