2008 Woodie Awards
The Silence of the Gopher
Goucher Radio Shut Down
Erin Felarca
Issue date: 4/7/04 Section: News
Just after noon on Wednesday March 31, Goucher Student Radio (GSR) Director of Programming, Corrine Chain '06, sent out an e-mail to the GSR DJs, stating that the radio station would be shut down until further notice.
Soon after, an e-mail from Nehal Mehta '06, GSR Director of Operations, confirmed Chain's announcement. Mehta reported that during her regular inspection of the station on Wednesday morning, something was awry; the keys to the station were "sticky." Upon further investigation, Mehta, and faculty advisor, Oliver Janney, went to the station and opened the main board to find it saturated with liquid. Janney stressed that any damage to the console is significant because, "the console serves as the hub of the station, routing every piece of equipment's audio signal to the proper place at the proper level."
Mehta noted in an e-mail to the DJs, "...some liquids have a smell to them... It was beer."
According to Janney, a drink spill is the worst thing that can happen in a broadcast studio. "The beer found in the console managed to drip through the base of the steel frame of the board. In non-technical terms, the liquid had time to drip slowly into every nook and cranny possible... Had we known what had happened right away, we could have immediately disconnected power, reducing the risk of a short [electronic circuit failure] immensely, removed only the affected piece and been back on air the same day."
While there have been minor infractions in the past of the station's policy of not eating or consuming any type of beverage in the studio, damage to this degree is unprecedented since the station's inception in the fall of 2001.
Guy Raymond, lecturer in Communications and advisor to the Goucher TV station noted that "The reason we asked all the DJs and their guests not to bring liquids into the radio studio wasn't to be party poopers, but rather it's the fact that liquids and electronic equipment don't mix. Period. We are now experiencing the 'technical difficulties' that go hand in hand with spillage and electronic equipment."
Soon after, an e-mail from Nehal Mehta '06, GSR Director of Operations, confirmed Chain's announcement. Mehta reported that during her regular inspection of the station on Wednesday morning, something was awry; the keys to the station were "sticky." Upon further investigation, Mehta, and faculty advisor, Oliver Janney, went to the station and opened the main board to find it saturated with liquid. Janney stressed that any damage to the console is significant because, "the console serves as the hub of the station, routing every piece of equipment's audio signal to the proper place at the proper level."
Mehta noted in an e-mail to the DJs, "...some liquids have a smell to them... It was beer."
According to Janney, a drink spill is the worst thing that can happen in a broadcast studio. "The beer found in the console managed to drip through the base of the steel frame of the board. In non-technical terms, the liquid had time to drip slowly into every nook and cranny possible... Had we known what had happened right away, we could have immediately disconnected power, reducing the risk of a short [electronic circuit failure] immensely, removed only the affected piece and been back on air the same day."
While there have been minor infractions in the past of the station's policy of not eating or consuming any type of beverage in the studio, damage to this degree is unprecedented since the station's inception in the fall of 2001.
Guy Raymond, lecturer in Communications and advisor to the Goucher TV station noted that "The reason we asked all the DJs and their guests not to bring liquids into the radio studio wasn't to be party poopers, but rather it's the fact that liquids and electronic equipment don't mix. Period. We are now experiencing the 'technical difficulties' that go hand in hand with spillage and electronic equipment."
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