By James Connolly

Several unsubstantiated ru- mours, about C.I.M.N. being out of;money and behind unable to

: buy-new music were bothering me. Last Sunday, aftér the staff meet- ing, I talked with Bill Harwood, station manager. I asked him about the financial and other aspects of the radio station.

First of all, the budget proposed to the student union for the year

1985-86 was for $16,000; Even- tually, the station and the $.U. agreed on a'figure of $14,000. Ten thousand dollars of that money would come directly from the stu- dent union. The other $4,000 was the projected earnings for adver- tising on the radio. Last year, the advertising managers brought in about $3,000 to C.I.M.N. That was enough to keep the budget in line. This year however, ‘‘we got practically none, very little in fact,’’ said Bill Harwood. I asked him to estimate the amount of advertising sold so far this year. His estimate was a couple of hundred dollars, not even close to $3,000 or the projected $4,000.

Still I persisted, $10,000 is a lot of money. Is it all used? Yes it is. Last summer, Bill and others worked on improving the station. One of the major improvements came when the master control

< room was carpeted. ‘This greatly reduces the excess noise and gives a better sound quality. Another improvement being sought after is inside windows. This extra layer of glass would eliminate the wind sounds on windy days. Not only was the money spent on improv- ing the building but some neces- sary equipment was also pur- chased. Last fall, C.1.M.N. pur- chased a $2,600 cartridge player to add to the master control room. This is a top quality piece of equipment which would now cost the station $3,500 to purchase; they saved $900. With this new cart player, two carts can be played in sequence. According to Bill, ‘‘This increases our adver- tising capabilities 100 fold.”

At C.I.M.N. the equipment has to be of the best quality. Some of the budget goes towards main- taining the equipment end keeping up the standards. Currently C.I.M.N. is an F.M. Cable station broadcasting on F.M. 102.3 Bill explained that the poor quality of sound from the cable is due to the frequency of the signal going to Island Cablevision. This fequency was chose by Cablevision and the C.1.M.N. technician was not con- sulted at the time the frequency was chosen. To improve the cable

Where did all the money go?

quality, the station would have to replace the transmitter crystals at a cost of three to four hundred dollars. Along with these’ costs, about $50 per week was set aside for new albums, and there were also salaries to be paid to the Manager, Assistant Manager, Music Director, and News Direc- tor. Without the advertised money the budget ran out just before Christmas.

Now there are only two paid positions, Music Director and Assistant Manager, Bill volunteers his time and work. Shane Mac- Dougall, the News Editor, has lost his paying position because as of February 1, there will be no more news from the Broadcast News system (which cost the station about $200 per month). Shane is now volunteering his time and is working on an arrangement be- tween C.I.M.N. and the Holland College School of Journalism. Weather forecasts will be pro- vided by the Environment Canada weather office (the same place B.N. sets the weather forecast), and. sports will come from in- terested students on campus. Bill terms the resulting news broadcast as “closer to home ... the news they [you the students] want to hear.

Okay, you may say, there’s the radio station, but what purpose does it serve other than to enter- tain us? According to Bill, “It’s a great educational facility. People go from here to other radio sta- tions and media professions.”’ At the Campus Radio Conference held at U.N.B. Fredericton, C.IL.M.N. was complemented as being one of the best radio stations with great possibilities and a future in Canada at the university level.

What is the outlook for C.I.M.N.? Well if the staff has anything to do about it, and it does, the outlook is very good. ‘Things were a bit shaky, but as Bill said, ‘‘Sometimes it takes a crisis before something gets done. I hope it continues throughout next year.’’ Last semester, there were plenty of openings for shifts on the air. Stuart McWilliams, the assistant manager, was respons- ible for filling in for any shifts that weren’t taken. This semester, almost all the shifts are gone. While I was talking to Bill, there were 8 shifts left out of a total of 56 available. That in itself is amazing. When I concluded the interview, there were only 3 shifts left that weren’t permanently filled. Bill explained the increase in membership with a satisfied

smile saying, ‘People are pulling together. [They have] a goal, an aim.””

C.I.M.N. is not without plans for the future, Bill told me that all of the “‘plans are long term for C.I.M.N.”” Right now, the ex- Penses are two telephone lines and two employees. This money is coming from the F.M. fund, a long term plan to convert the radio station to “real F.M.” I

wondered if there would no more new music? Bill responded by explaining that there is a new advertising manager, and that ads are coming in already. This new revenue will go to things like

records. Last week in fact, the music for the Provocative Pub was supplied by “The Best Alter- native” another name for

C.I.M.N. The station also plans on supplying music for some other

pubs. In other words, the money

may not be pouring in, but it |

certainly is coming. On one point Bill Harwood was emphatic, “Listeners need not worry, we will still be oh the air, getting new albums, all the latest.”” With all the recent improvements, listeners are sure to be pleased with C.I.M.N., P.E.I.’s Best Alter- native because the crisis is over and the station is getting back , on course. fe

Income

Student Union fees Panther Lounge Interest Income Sundry Income Video Income

Expenses Barn ~ Fuel Barn - Repairs & Maintenance Blue Cross

# cum Radio crs Conferences Donations Executive Salaries Insurance Expenses Interest & Bank Charges Office Phone Professional Fees Salaries Travel

Gem

Wages Mas Party Yearbook 1985 Yearbook 1986 Fallfest Orientation Social ‘Total Expenses Incame

Brackets ( ) indicates opposite

January 30, 1986

U.P.E.1.S.U.

Statement of Revenue & Expenses For periods ending Oct., Nov., and Dec.,

October November

$116,998.00

December

$116,998.00 $116,998.00

1985

Budget

$127,750.00

(1,074.05) (7,118.33) (5,752.87). 5,000.00 545.65 573.39 3,039.14 3,813.00 598.64 857.64 979.64 1,000.00 860.00 1,030.00 __1,220.00 1,200.00

$117,928.24 $112,340.00 $116,483.91 $138,763.00

$ 766.46 $ 766.46 $ 1,372.80 $ 6,100.00

4,233.19 4,558.19 5,605.48 8,090.00 (28,627.10) (27,812.82) (27,746.31) 8 9,162.19 10,439.01 - 11,448.11 10, 480.00 ( 6,685.60) (6,685.60) (6,685.60) 8 (3,028.31) (2,672.97) (2,255.60) 244.00 280.00 310.00 1,634.00 * 3,700.00 4,009.19 4,915.47 5,822.91 11,300.90 2,925.00 3,455.00 3,985.00 6,414.00 508.86 626.06 721.24 1,006.00 2,295.52 2,710.47 3,000.43 4,000.00 2,243.14 2,843.14 2,843.14 4,209.00 9 9 3,145.00 3,700.00 22,144.36 26,302.20 30,008.42 48,379.24 1,929.03 2,133.93 2,133.93 2,100.00 4,714.15 6,380.01 9,616.54 13, 688.00 2,182.19 3,221.04 4,085.72 11,752.45 9 200.00 300.00 9 (1,086.97) (1,291.97) (1,426.97) 9 (21,462.26) (21,233.63) (20,697.24) (5,150.90) 2,316.00 608.70 498.70 9 (5,978.58) (4,756.82) (4,756.82) 9

5,122.74 6,276.80 6,057.80 2,590.00

$ (620.80)

$ 11,292.67 $ 30,524.62

$128,409.69

$128,549.04 $101,047.33 § 95,959.28 §_10,353.21

(i.e. Revenue is an expense)

(expense is a revenue)

- THE NETTED GEM