Wednesday, April 15, 2009

SUPPORT FOR "EVERY WOMON" SHOW ON WAIF 88.3 FM (CINCINNATI, OH)


Hello, Ladies.

We rarely post here [on www.GoGirls.com email forum] but often read your threads and share some of your news on our radio show. In the past on 2 occasions we solicited this list for artists to submit their CDs for on air exposure and dedicated 3 separate 2 hour shows to 'Go Girls Members Showcase'. I believe is what we called it. Perhaps some of you recall sending your CDs to be played on the show. We appreciated receiving all of your discs and playing them over the past 3 years.

"Every Womon" was started 30 years ago during the 1st wave feminist movement focusing on women's music as well as women in the news and womens issues for discussion. Every Womon airs on 88.3fm in Cincinnati, Ohio each Saturday from 1-3pm ET, the station ID is WAIF. WAIF is a volunteer station that was built on diversity some 30+ years ago. Every Womon is almost as old as the station itself and one of the longest running women's music shows in America. All of our DJs are female musicians themselves and put many hours into designing their show each week to expose new artists and provide in studio interviews and performances.

"Every Womon" is in danger of being taken off of the air.

Over the past 5 years, the board at the station have been carefully killing the diversity and filling all of the spots with Gospel music. I was recently informed that due to our producer leaving Every Womon that we are under the gun and our slot has been opened to anyone to sign up for that time and a Gospel show stated 'there is no Gospel on Saturdays, we want that spot'. This very diverse station now plays Gospel everyday except for Saturday and on most days they air more than 1 Gospel show. I have nothing against Gospel of course but for a diverse station where each show is unique, there is something wrong with this scenario and it is very sad.

The DJs of Every Womon have spent many hours over the past several weeks filling out paperwork, reapplying to keep the show on the air, and providing anything they ask of us as dilligently as possible to cross all T's and dot all I's to make sure that we are not at fault or negligent and that our show stays strong.

With that being said, I need your help. I am turning to you ladies as an artist myself because without networking and unity women's music would not be as strong as it is today and this network is quite fabulous as I read the threads each week. A women's music show that is 30 years old SHOULD NOT be removed from the air when there are 6 fabulous DJ's providing an excellent show each week and eager to keep it alive. We volunteer many hours to this cause each month for the sake of spreading women's music and we hope to continue to for another 30 years.

When I go in this weekend to do my show, I will be informed that we are now in our pledge drive and must ask for member renewals and new sign ups throughout my show as we do during our memberthons twice a year. I have been told by a source on the board that this is our final step, if we do not bring in more than a handful of sign ups as we usually do that the show is not carrying its weight at the station and could very well be cut regardless of all of the actions my team has taken this past month to save the show.

Would any of you be interested in joining the station at a basic membership level of $25? I understand that you are unable to listen to the station (now that they have gotten rid of the live stream) and a membership would have no benefit for you personally, but the true benefit is to keep the show living so we can continue to tell the story of women through music for many generations to come. I hate the thought of soliciting people for money, but in fact, I am not. I am soliciting for names and addresses :) no money is needed at this time, the station would send you a slip in the mail stating to complete your membership you can mail a check back in etc...so, in essence if you change your mind you can always just throw that away.

$25 is the basic membership level at which you receive literature in the mail the WAIF Alert and you can vote on board members in september if you want to. If you want to donate higher levels of money ($50 and up) we have premium gifts that are sent in correspondence to the amount you donate. Donations are tax deductable.

This is the final road for Every Womon and we continue to fight to keep the show alive. If you want to join us in this fight by being a member of the station and showing that yes women's music is important to listeners, please email me at everywomon@yahoo.com - I just need your name, address, and the amount you would want to donate ($25 basic membership, any larger amount would receive a premium gift).

Thank you for reading this lengthy post and keep doing what you do best!

-- DJ Lauren (the new producer of Every Womon and DJ of 5 years)


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