While community radio stations rarely enjoy times of financial stability, Tampa’s own WMNF always seemed to face its fiscal difficulties with willful aplomb. The station kept commercials at bay with a steady wave of fundraising events and donation drives, surviving on the charity of its loyal legion of listeners and the efforts of a mostly-volunteer staff, not to mention plenty of support from the local music community.
Unfortunately, the 31-year-old station has fallen prey to the same deteriorating economic conditions that have afflicted the media industry worldwide. Last Tuesday, facing a projected budget deficit of $60,000 to $90,000, the station abruptly laid off one full-time and two part-time staffers: receptionist Julie Scheid, special events coordinator and decades-long ‘MNF employee Linda "Linda Lu" Reisinger, and Music Director and scene stalwart Lee “Flee” Courtney.
Station Manager Jim Bennett determined who to let go, but beyond the financial reasons, he doesn’t seem to have a clear answer as to why he picked these particular three. “There’s no good decision, there’s no right decision. It’s what we had to do,” Bennett told me in a phone call Wednesday afternoon. “They’re all loyal and very valuable beyond the job description and also intrinsic to the values and history of WMNF. But we’re in a really bad place right now.”
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.