The resurrection of a campus radio station is once again a topic of discussion for the Student Media Board. The SMB and former employees of the station closed WLOZ last January, and any new radio station would essentially be a whole new project, which means it would not carry the same name or frequency of the old station.

“The problem with (WLOZ was) that it lacked management, focus, funding and mission. It (needed) to be (more) self-sufficient,” said Bill DiNome, student media coordinator.

But despite the obstacles, freshmen Roey Rosenblith and Thomas Oberleiton are still trying to find a way to reopen a radio station affiliated with the UNCW campus. “What we wanted to do was keep the DJ and radio part the same and make management more business-like,” Rosenblith said. “The hard part will be buying back (a) frequency.”

However, the obstacle could be big, since there are currently no commercial frequencies available in the market. The new project would be forced to move to a Low Power Frequency, if any was attained at all. However, LPFs also face a cloud of legislative doubt with regard to their continued availability.

“You have to look at the availability of frequency in this market,” DiNome said. “Outside of the few stations that are on the FCC web site, there’s nothing available.” The Federal Communications Commission has laws that prevent the use of frequencies surrounding a frequency that is already in use. In Wilmington, people are only allowed one radio station for every third channel so that there is no interference. The university also offers no classes aimed strictly at radio broadcasting, so training for an on-campus station would be minimal as well.

“(Any university sponsored project) that you do with the university should be tied in really closely to some academic program,” DiNome said. If Rosenblith and Oberleiton could locate a frequency, the problem of a lack of funding remains. The creation of a radio station would require money for the licensing fee, frequency costs and equipment. “The only way to support the radio station (long-term) is through advertising, which you can’t do with a non-profit station,” DiNome said. “It has to be underwriting.” While there are no hard numbers yet for how much start-up costs would run due to the wide ranges in lawyer fees, permit costs and equipment, East Carolina University budgets over $60,000 a year to there campus station simply to cover operating costs. With a new project the start-up and operating costs would obviously be higher, but lack of an available frequency in addition to lack of funds makes a sole university- backed venture unlikely.

“One thing we can do is create an new corporation, start it off campus and consider ourselves a UNCW affiliate,” Rosenblith said. Though no decision has been made thus far on the future of a radio station, Rosenblith and Oberleiton plan to present a letter of intent to the board at the next SMB meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6.