Claire's Organizational Rhetoric

Social/public issue: WMLU 91.3 FM does a good job at recruiting new members throughout the years. Students with majors in Communication Studies are a primary target because these are skills they could use in future jobs. However, you may have noticed the lack of Longwood students featured in the Bandfest video. It was mainly members of the station having fun at work. One reason for this is that the artists we had were barely recognizable. Cruz Production is a DJ group made up of now Longwood Alums, Riverside Lights is a cover band the events committee just happened to stumble across, and Young Rising Sons is a small up-and-coming alternative band, that only a few people have heard of. WMLU 91.3 FM struggles to come up with the finances to book artists that most students would enjoy. By not booking popular acts, the Longwood students tend to not trust WMLU 91.3 to put on an exciting concert for Spring Weekend. With a history of smaller acts, the students at Longwood could look at Bandfest and WMLU as a whole as for amateurs.

Method: I used ideology critique methods to analyze these artifacts and the organization as a whole. The two artifacts emphasize what ideas and benefits come with joining this organization. The Bandfest video shows the audiences how WMLU 91.3 expects their members to take on leadership roles and use real-world techniques to put on a successful concert. In addition, the second video is an example of how Longwood uses both the Communication Studies department and the WMLU station to prepare their students for their dream job (if that were to be a radio personality). The second video, featuring the WMLU General Manager Shannon Blunt, advertises how the radio station helps students find their passion and helps them learn skills used in the real world which will make them better prepared after graduation. Both of these artifacts reveal the main purpose of this organization and how it’s ideas are put into action.

Interest: WMLU 91.3 FM is really just interested in promoting their brand and trying to be more credible. If a student sees the video about Bandfest and wants to be apart of the event planning process, all they have to do it wait for the end of the video to see what organization is behind it. It is an example of the many opportunities WMLU offers to its members. The second video ties in both the station and the Communication Studies department. With more masterminds behind events like Bandfest, the surer the organization is that the Longwood students will enjoy it. WMLU can be expected to use other forms of rhetoric to emphasize how the station benefits Longwood students in becoming citizen leaders and more prepared for future jobs in their fields.

Audience: While the primary audience is communication studies majors at Longwood, WMLU 91.3 is open to all Longwood students. The organization has students of all kinds of majors other than communication studies. Amination design, music, psychology, physics, and computer science are some examples. WMLU offers a place for everyone. They are not exclusive to communication studies majors only. From the Bandfest video, you wouldn’t be able to tell, but some of the members working Bandfest were not communication studies majors. It takes some extensive research because radio is normally associated with communication studies, but again, the station is welcoming to everyone.

Assumptions: After experiencing the Involvement Fair from the other side, I observed that a lot of students are under the impression that if you are part of the radio station that you have to be on the air. I assumed the same thing when I was a freshman before I even joined the station. While student shows are highly encouraged, it is not a requirement to have one. The only requirement WMLU has when regarding membership is that students sign up and participate in at least one committee and pay the $20 membership fee. Another common assumption about WMLU is that they don’t like to play the music students want to hear. WMLU 91.3 represents Longwood University, therefore they cannot play music that contains explicit language. In addition, a lot of students don’t realize that WMLU is in charge of the bands that come to Bandfest, not the Longwood. WMLU has the privilege of choosing the bands that will perform for their fellow peers during the infamous Spring Weekend.

Visual Rhetoric: The visual rhetoric used in both of these artifacts highlight the student-run station as a fun, easy-going, welcoming organization ready to give their members the skills to be part of a radio station in the real world. They emphasize how the station gives them tools and skills that make them more confident and help them become citizen leaders in the Longwood community.

Interests: Both of these artifacts target any Longwood student who is interested in having their own radio show or simply just looking to join an organization on campus.

Approach: My hope is that my readers will be more informed and appreciate college organizations. A lot of hard work is put into this station. Since it is completely run by students, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears is put in to make it seem professional and worth paying attention too, even at a professional level. There are rules and guidelines that members must follow and the heads of the station take it very seriously as if it was the real deal. WMLU takes a lot of pride in preparing their members for the real-life radio experience and being professional enough to be able to start their broadcasting careers early.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/wmlu913/

One of the main situations WMLU 91.3 faces is budgeting. The student-run organization has fees that cover the station, airwaves, events, and DJ equipment. In order to get their brand out there, the must go through Longwood University and the Student Government Organization (SGA) for financial assistance. Organization members pay a $20 membership fee at the beginning of the year, but that only covers PR gear like T-shirts and permission to use the station and broadcast your own radio show. WMLU 91.3 is responsible for putting on performances like Bandfest for the spring weekend. In preparation, committee members meet up to decide what kind of bands the students at Longwood would enjoy seeing perform. The list then goes to a booking agent who reports the cost of each performer and reliability (if they’ll be able to fit Bandfest into their tour schedule). However, WMLU struggles to come up with the finances to get a headliner that would draw a huge crowd. They are not the only organization on campus, of course, so Longwood University and the SGA have to be careful about how they distribute the money. In addition, since the station can’t always draw in a huge crowd for Bandfest, it is seen as an unpopular even among students, therefore it is given less financial attention. In addition to Bandfest in the spring, WMLU 91.3 puts on a Fall event to promote the station. This event is normally not as grand as Bbandfest (mainly because of the budget) and is more low key and chill.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/wmlu913/

WMLU targets a more enabling audience. Enabling audiences “are composed of those people who allow the organization to operate,” (Hoffman, Rhetoric, 65) which is quite common in colleges and universities. When the station is asked to DJ events on campus, Longwood requires the lyrics and message in each song to be clean. This concept alone is a rhetorical strategy used by the university in order to make the campus seem friendly and professional. You never know who could be walking around campus that day and you would want to make a good impression. By respecting this rule, WMLU 91.3 is given more credibility and respect by the university. This allows WMLU to be high on the list of organizations the school needs to put more effort into in order to promote the Longwood and persuade students to come. In addition, the Communication Studies department is one of the largest fields on campus, and that is because the technology is up-to-date and it gives students a hands-on experience for future occupations. If the station were to abuse the high-end DJ equipment or violate the rules regarding clean song lyrics, then the university would have the right to take away those privileges and not help finance the organization.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/wmlu913/

Increasing the budget would help the organization solve their problems in a big way. This organization promotes their brand solely by entertainment. The station’s main use of rhetoric depends on their high-tech equipment and high-quality musical performances. In order to expand the organization, they require more money from the university to put on high-quality performances the student body demands. Without an increased budget, WMLU 91.3 is stuck in this rut of few members performing multiple tasks at once or even having to decline opportunities because of lack of financial support and members. If given the finances to properly execute the organization, more Longwood students can be made aware of communication studies opportunities and can be better prepared to be citizen leaders after they graduate. In addition, members of WMLU 91.3 care about the quality of their events. They want to put on the best fall event or Bandfest possible for Longwood students and the community to enjoy. With little money for these events, it could come across to Longwood students that WMLU 91.3 doesn’t care about what they want or the quality of music they want to be played. With many rules and restrictions, it can be very frustrating for members of the station to please their audience and boost their credibility.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/wmlu913/

Budgeting is a huge rhetorical situation that is common in many organizations regardless of size. It can be known that the more money an organization has, the more they can promote their message and increase the quality of their advertisement method. Keeping with the theme of radio organizations, stations like BBC Radio 1, has a large budget system, which allows them to promote high-quality content and a large quantity of it. However, smaller, local radio stations, have a harder time expanding their airwaves and consistently gaining viewers, because they can’t afford to always have celebrity guest stars in the station promoting their newest album. In addition, they would not have the finances for enough advertisement to make their station known to a wider audience.  

WMLU 91.3 has many forms of rhetoric to promote their brand and their message. For this post, I will be focusing on the official WMLU 91.3 website.

(This screenshot come from the wmlu.org)

WMLU 91.3 is a student-run radio station at Longwood University. This allows students on campus to get involved in an organization on campus and obtain skills needed to be in the radio industry at a professional level. With many smaller committees within the station, WMLU makes it easy for students to get involved and become part of something bigger than themselves.

On the website you can find links regarding the station including show schedules, sport updates, PSA Requests (these PSA’s will be read on the live air), DJ requests (different organizations can request the WMLU DJ committee to come and play music at their event), The station’s history, and how to join. Beneath is a picture slideshow of members participating in the many WMLU events. This allows the viewers to visually see the community aspect the station has to offer. There slogan “Keeping the beat since 1981”emphasizes that this station has been a huge part of the Longwood campus offering good vibes and promoting the love of music. Their logo is the infamous Longwood Rotunda symbol wearing a pair of headphones. This is a fun twist that merges both the tradition of Longwood and the creativity of the station.

The WMLU 91.3 website offers a modern, hip atmosphere for college students to get involved with the campus and explore the world of radio production. The color scheme is primarily various shades of blue and white. These colors represent Longwood University, but also offer a calm and chill vibes from the organization. The station has also mentioned their six consecutive years of winning VAB Awards. Some of these awards such as the “Best Promotion for a Sponsored Event” in 2011, has increased their credibility and professionalism as a station.

For my Analysis of Organizational Rhetoric Paper, I am proposing to do research on WMLU 91.3, the radio station for Longwood University. I am choosing this organization because I am apart of it and have an inside look of how the Public Relations committee uses rhetoric to persuade other Longwood students to join the station or tune in to student shows. In addition, WMLU partners with Third Street Brewery every other Wednesday for Trivia Night. This helps persuade Farmville residents to tune in and expands their audience.

WMLU strives to reach out to Longwood students to join the organization, but for the radio station as a whole, their main goal is to reach the Farmville community and expand their brand to surrounding counties in Virginia.

Understanding WMLU’s rhetoric is beneficial because there are radio stations everywhere. By understanding the basic rhetoric techniques for a college radio station, you already have your foot in the door for more professional radio stations. In addition, it is good for the students themselves to practice rhetoric techniques on their own so they are more prepared in real-world scenarios.

As a current and very active member of WMLU 91.3, I already have preliminary observations about the station’s overall message. WMLU encourages Longwood students to become self-made leaders. They offer students a platform to find their voice and be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves. WMLU has inspired me to not wait for opportunities to happen, but to make them happen myself. In the PR committee, we are encouraged to create the designs for our T-shirts and buttons. In the events committee, we reach out to managers and book the performers for Bandfest. It is truly a student-run organization and they offer great leadership skills.

WMLU is an American non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve the community of Farmville, Virginia. The station is owned and operated by Longwood University. Any type of promotion you see on Longwood campus or throughout Farmville is solely done by the students who are part of the organization. They are a nonprofit organization and the people who are in WMLU are their for the experience and love for the radio industry. Their work is driven by a passion for the station and they take pride in their work.