The Compass - May, 1987
pages
WRVS, ECSU are hosts
Media conference celebrates anniversary
,, by Lavette Washington
-staff writer
WRVS—FM held a Media
Conference April 3rd and 4th
to celebrate its first anniver-
. sary. As part of the cele-
bration, two panel dis-
. cussions were held. The
morning session was titled
J “The Future of Radio Broad-
. casting; Automation vs. Hu
manization.” The afternoon
session was entitled, “A Ca-
reer in the Record Industry:
What You Should Know.”
Panelists for the morning
session were Mr. Ken Webb,
WBLS—FM/Webb Commu
nications; Mr. Hunt Thomas,
I General Manager of WCNC—
AM; Mr. David C. Linton,
I General Manager of WRVS—
jFM, and Ms. Early Foster,
j Hostess of “What’s Nu,” a
j progressive music program.
I With the increase in auto-
j mation, the media in radio
[has moved from local per-
j sonal media to that of an im-
j,personal national media,
according to Linton.
Webb said he looks at the
j. changes as challenges in-
1 stead of as roadblocks. Webb
said that some people will be
replaced by automation, but
stations will still need to be
staffed.
“I see the growth of more
^ ownership in the future of
J broadcasting,” Webb said.
“A whole new area, manage
ment and ownership, is open
ing up.”
Webb said that new techno
logies are an aid to program
ming because computers of
fer more means to research
music and the impact of cer
tain formats in different
areas. He also added that sa
tellites have enabled small
stations to afford certain syn
dicated programs.
Thomas said he hates to see
automation and satellite sta
tions coming, saying he’s al
ways been a Disc Jockey.
Thomas said that large AM
stations will suffer because of
syndicated programs. How
ever, he believes small town
AM stations will survive be
cause of community involve
ment.
Foster said she believes au
tomation is not good for the
disc jockey because it takes
away spontaneity. She said
she believes syndicated pro
grams are sterile. “They
sound made up,” she said.
She also added that there is a
need for the human element.
“We leave mistakes in our
show because it makes it
more believable,” she added.
Linton said he believe auto
mation means that the types
of jobs in radio will change.
He also believes automation
is a challenge and can offer
opportunities if you don’t look
at it as an obstacle. Linton
added that automation allows
you to program a show ahead,
giving you an opportunity to
work on other things.
Panelists for the afternoon
session were: Mr. Ernie Sin-
leton. Vice President/MCA
Records; Mr. Leroy Little,
Vice President, Urban Con
temporary Music/Polygram
Records; Ms. Gwen Franklin,
National Promotional Direc
tor/A&M Records; Mr. Deke
DeBerry, National Promotio
nal Director/CFM Records;
and Mr. Richard Mack, Pres
ident/CAT A WBA Records.
Mack said that you can
achieve anything you want in
the record business if you
have the motivation, although
most people in the record
business today have college
degrees. Mack is now in
volved in importing records
from and importing them to
China. CATAWBA currently
has the only contract with
China. Mack says you need
the guts to make that dollar,
and you do that by being sure
of yourself.
Leroy Little said that pro
motion' and marketing are an
art form. He also said you
have to love what you are
doing and you need to be able
to sell yourself. Little added
that you have to learn to get
along with all types of person
alities.
Little said he critiques ev
ery product they sell. His re
search is based on: what age
groups the record will appeal
to; what geographical loca
tion will like it first; what
type of format a station has;
whether the station is in a rat
ing period; and what time of
year it is.
Little added that record
promotion looks like an easy
job, but it isn’t. “You’re al
ways on call on this job,” he
said.
Franklin said that there is a
place for black people in the
record business. She cited the
statistic that black artists are
responsible for 25—35 percent
of the 4.4 billion dollars the in
dustry made in 1985.
She said that promotion is a
wonderful business but you
have to get past the glitter.
She recommended getting a
job in a record store to try
and get a start. She also rec
ommended taking psychology
courses to learn how to influ
ence and persuade people.
DeBerry said that in the re
cord business, “many of us
emphasize the show more
than the business.” DeBerry
also said that it takes time to
make it in the business. He
recommended “doing your
own thing” and taking the
pressure off yourself.
Singleton said that a good
education is helpful in the re
cord promotion business. He
also stressed that “street edu
cation” or common sense
would help. The ability to
communicate with people is
also important, according to
Singleton. Another important
quality is the ability to adapt
and adjust.
These two sessions gave the
conference participants a
first-hand look at what they
can possibly expect in the fu
ture. The panel members ex
pressed their thanks for the
conference and believed it
was a fruitful experience.
(Top-from left) WRVS staff member Ed Oakley, A&M
representative Gwen Franklin, WBLS-FM staff member
Ken Webb, and WRVS staff member Paula Sutton. (Bot-
tom-from left) Gwen Franklin and WRVS staff member
Darius Morris.
Black awareness grows with A.S.C.U.A.
jby Monique Thomas
I staff writer
If As Black History aware
ness grows, an ECSU group of
students are striving for year-
round Black awareness, not
just in the month of Feb
ruary.
!• A.S.C.U.A. pronounced
li(Ask-ewa) stands for “Afri-
scan Students Concerned for
the Unification of Africa.”
But it does not only deal with
Africa, but involves Black
^Americans, and their role in
Society along with worldly is-
isues. A.S.C.U.A. is somewhat
"Jeing misjudged by those who
feel that it is a means of being
anti-white. It is not a factor of
being anti-white but being
pro-black. The group pro
vides a way for all students to
become more knowledgeable
of their roots as African
Americans, and the outlook
for their future. In order to
have a productive future
according to A.S.C.U.A.
members, you must be aware
of your past.
A.S.C.U.A. was founded by
Dr. Michael Williams, a pro
fessor in the Sociology De
partment at ECSU, in the
month of February. The origi
nal members or co-founders
are Gary (Hollis) Rann, Carl
Jones, Abdul Grahan, and An
tonio McDaniel.
“To awaken the brothers
and sisters to show that they
are more important than just
one month out of the year.”
Abdul says is his purpose for
getting involved.
In the 1970’s, there was a
program backed by the
N.A.A.C.P. on the campus of
ECSU called “Aware.” This
program did such things as
getting Blacks to work at the
local Food Lion when at the
time no Blacks were hired.
According to Jones, the
“Aware” program eventually
dissolved because people be
came tired, frustrated, and
apathetic, such as the way
they have with the Civil
Rights Movements. In order
to keep A.S.C.U.A. alive and
strong, Rann said, “We the
students have to be strong .
There is a need for persever
ance and an emphasis on par
ticipation.”
The A.S.C.U.A. program
normally meets every Tues
day and Thursday from 6:30
until whenever the dis
cussions end. Normal atten
dance consists of 10 to 30 peo
ple at every meeting but
fluctuates because of the lack
of communication.
The programs given by
A.S.C.U.A. consist of topics
such as, “The System of
Aparthied,” “Insight of Ter
rorists or Freedom Fight
ers,” “The Desolvement of
Black Institutions,” and “The
New ECSU Scholarship Bill,”
“The Importance of Black
Women, and Black Leaders
such as Malcolm X, Marcus
Garvey, and Kwame' Nkru-
mah.”
“The A.S.C.U.A. program
will benefit the students be
cause as Africans, we all need
a full understanding of
whence we came. Students
should feel comfortable say
ing they are African, and be
proud of it. A.S.C.U.A. is a
means of enlightening our
culture.” states McDaniel.
Marcus Garvey once
said, “A man without any true
history and knowledge of
himself is like a tree without
any roots. Meaning we can’t
grow as a whole without
knowing the history of our
selves and our motherland.”
The co-founders of
A.S.C.U.A. would like all stu
dents, regardless of race, re
ligion, or creed, to attend the
meetings to raise the level of
communication among the
student body.
Why are teachers leaving
Nancy Porter
staff writer
This year new teachers will
enter their classrooms with
great enthusiasm and high
expectations for the subjects
and students they will be tea
ching. However, statistics
show that many will experi
ence “burnout” and leave the
profession they have trained
so long and hard to enter.
According to Dr. Lois
jreen, Chairman of the
2CSU Department of Psy-
:hology, the two most impor-
ant things required of a tea-
:her are a knowledge of the
subject matter and an enjoy
ment of teaching it. An in
structor should also be able to
idmit when he or she does not
snow the answer or is wrong.
Sreen believes that teachers
should be accessible to stu-
lents and able to relate to
each student in the class.
Little things, even eye con
tact, can affect the commu
nication between student and
teacher, says Green.
If that’s all needed for suc
cess, then what about the
“burnout” in the teaching
profession? Why are teachers
leaving the teaching profes
sion?
The ECSU Secondary Edu
cation class last semester
viewed a video titled, “To
Save Our Schools”. The film
examined the challenges in
the public school system to
day. In the film:
A 25-year veteran history
teacher said he would not con
sider going into the teaching
profession today if starting
his career over.
A new kindergarten tea
cher feels that her rooms are
overcrowded, students are re
sistant, pay is too low, and the
public education system is de
clining. Administrative pa
perwork, according to the
teacher, takes priority over
teaching the kids.
In Los Angeles, there is a
shortage of math and science
teachers and not enough sub
stitutes to fill the depleting
ranks. Classes and grade lev
els are combined to keep the
system working.
their
Teachers are leaving the
profession for many reasons,
including lack of student mo
tivation in the classroom. Ex
perts say this lack of motiva-
tion may stem from
unsupervised home activ
ities, student’s part-time
jobs, television, and even teen
pregnancy.
The “latch key children
syndrome,” is resulting in un
supervised afternoon sessions
for children who watch too
Jobs ?
much television and don’t do
homework. The result is that
the student is not getting any
academic support and super
vision at home. This lack of
supervision hinders the tea
cher’s efforts in the class
room.
Classroom performance is
also affected by modern dis
tractions in the lifestyle of to
day’s teenager.
Paying for a car, gas, and
auto insurance coverage is a
concern for many students.
Add to this the cost of stereo
equipment, music and
clothes, and students may
work 25 to 40 hours a week
while in school before they
graduate.
A major aim of American
education is to have a literate
society. National statistics re
veal that many students grad
uating from high schools
across our nation are func
tionally ilhterate.
“A teacher affects eternity;
he can never tell where his influence stops.”
l-fenry Adams