WHPK’s future, though not as dire, is still “up in the air”

Block Club Chicago has a small update from Noah Glasgow on the WHPK funding situation, in part:

A series of appeals from WHPK leadership — backed by hundreds of student, alumni and neighbor signatures — reached University Dean Melina Hale, who agreed to grant WHPK the $17,000 dollars it needed to replace a failing mixing board.

But that money is just a stopgap measure, said Alex Tao, the new program director and former treasurer. The station’s future is still “up in the air,” he said.

Most urgently, the station needs to raise $11,000 dollars by April to replace a dying transmitter, according to a maintenance timeline produced by [Len] Watson and shared with Block Club.

(My July post on WHPK’s funding crisis links to Chicago Reader and Block Club reporting.)

WHPK’s website has details on how to make donations or sponsor shows or time to keep the station on the air. The station deserves both support from the community and a better funding model from the University of Chicago. Alumni and others should continue to keep up the pressure.