By Joshua Robison / The Jambar
During the month of October, public radio station WYSU 88.5 FM is hosting its biannual support month with the theme of “Together for the long run.” During this time, WYSU puts greater emphasis on its need for financial support and increasing its listener base within the community.
Around the Youngstown State University campus and the Warren-Youngstown area, a 6-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Gary Sexton, director of WYSU, was placed at various locations, such as the John J. McDonough Museum of Art, Cedar’s West End, the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Westside Bowl and Culturehouse Coffee Co.
WYSU’s radio station has been active for 56 years and continues to look for support to keep the station running. With recent cuts in federal funding to public media, support month has a greater purpose.
WYSU mainly relies on the support of generous donations, and the efforts and donations of the station’s members, which the station promotes through activities such as the cardboard cutouts.
Not only has Cardboard Gary traveled across the Mahoning Valley, but Sexton himself participated in the Hainesport Endurance Run on Oct. 11-13 in Hainesport, New Jersey.
During the race, WYSU listeners and contributors had the chance to donate various amounts of money for every mile that Sexton ran. All the proceeds went back to the radio station.
Since Sexton will be retiring at the end of the year, he said he wanted to finish his 36-year-long career at WYSU with something big.
“Since this year is my final year as director, I’ll be retiring at the end of December. I thought, well, [I am] going to get one last run,” Sexton said.
Sexton said the cardboard cutout allowed him to promote the radio station in the community through businesses. Although Sexton was not actively with WYSU audiences, he was still trying to make an impact.
“When you’re a radio station, you have a great resource to reach out to your audience. You have your airwaves, but you’re not physically out anywhere else,” Sexton said. “This is just taking a step further and getting us out into different businesses [and] different events in the community.”
During support month, Anne Vallas, coordinator for WYSU, said the radio station strives to target younger audiences and bring in a new generation of listeners.
“We really wanted to target younger audience demographics as we move forward,” Vallas said. “We thought that a great way to do that would be to go into these places such as Cedar’s [and] Westside Bowl, where the young arts community is.”
With the target focus, Vallas said WYSU has seen an increase in donors and contributors from younger demographics. Vallas also said she feels that connecting with younger generations is key to the success of WYSU.
“We need to make sure that younger generations are aware of us,” Vallas said. “That’s more of starting that long term effort now.”
For more information, to donate, become a member or listen to its daily broadcast, those interested can visit wysu.org or listen on the radio at 88.5 FM.