The power of public radio: LVB talks to Christine Dempsey

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If you were a teenager in the Lehigh Valley in the ‘80s and ‘90s, chances are you listened to WLVR when you wanted to hear alternative bands. The official radio station of Lehigh University, it and all college radio were an important part of the music scene.

“I’m a firm believer in college radio,” said Christine Dempsey, senior vice president of radio for Lehigh Valley Public Media, which now oversees public radio programming at WLVR. “And back in the 80s, that’s when college radio really broke new artists.”

Dempsey herself worked at a college radio station. While a student at the City University of New York in Staten Island, she worked at WSIA, the university’s radio station. This was just the beginning of her long career in radio.

Dempsey first came to the Valley in the mid ‘90s as a program director for WDIY, the Bethlehem-based public radio station. Over the years, she has had many different roles in radio, moving her way to work as a radio executive in both Philadelphia and Atlanta. Now, with her recent return to this area, Dempsey has come full circle.

Her employer, Lehigh Valley Public Media, is home to public television station PBS39/WLVT, which announced their collaboration with Lehigh’s WLVR in October.

Lehigh Valley Business sat down with Dempsey to find out what’s ahead for WLVR. Along the way, we got to know more about Dempsey herself, including her life outside of work, and even her favorite vinyl record find.

LVB: Do you think young people are still listening to college radio?

Dempsey:  The industry has changed dramatically. You don’t have many independently owned radio stations. Today you have Cumulus and iHeart, these huge organizations, owning everything. I look at my own kids who are 18 and 14, and how do they consume media? Mostly online through YouTube.

LVB: How do you plan on attracting a younger audience?

Dempsey: It’s about content. They may not be getting their information from the little box on the kitchen counter, but they are getting it from their phones. We have a mobile app, and that’s how we can get our information out there. Radio is just a jumping off point.

Ideally I would like WLVR to be the go-to place to get the news for everyone in the Lehigh Valley.

LVB: Tell me about your first professional job in radio.

Dempsey: My first job was at WMCA, an AM station in New York.  I gave myself until I was 25 to find a job in radio and if I didn’t have it by then, I was going to give up. The job at WMCA came up with 6 months to spare. I edited audiotape with a grease pencil and actual tape. It was a very tactile experience, I loved it.

I didn’t even know what public radio was when I was at WMCA. I was going to work on the Staten Island Ferry, just like in “Working Girl.” I opened up the paper and saw that my station was sold and thought, “Ok, I’m out of a job.” A former co-worker was working at WNYC and they needed a board operator, and I was able to get the job. I eventually became the operations manager there.

LVB: You’ve worked in some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. Do you notice differences in what people want to listen to in different parts of the country?

Dempsey: Every market is different. You go into each market and need to understand what their wants and needs are. What is the white space in the market, what is it lacking?

I first got to know the Lehigh Valley 25 years ago, when I was part of the staff that developed WDIY. It was remarkable to me to see the impact that a public radio station could have in a smaller market back then. That’s what public radio should be. It should have an impact.

LVB: Here at Lehigh Valley Public Media, there are workers from multiple generations. How do you manage an Intergenerational workplace, with the differing values of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials…?

Dempsey: I think you manage it through respect. If they don’t have as many years as you do in a field, it doesn’t negate what they can bring to the table.

An intergenerational workplace is important. You have to always be learning new things, and the next generation is important for that.

LVB: Public radio is sometimes accused of bias, particularly of being “liberal media.” What do you think of that?

Dempsey: Public radio started in the ‘70s, so there is that idea that it comes from the liberal 70s. But the head of NPR at the time said, regarding his on-air reporters, “I would rather have people who sound curious rather than authoritative.”

I really do believe NPR does a very good job of showing both sides. I think there is a misconception that NPR is liberal media.

Good journalists know that their job is to be well-informed and fact-based. My job is to protect them so that they can do their jobs.

LVB: What do you love about the Lehigh Valley?

Dempsey: I loved it so much that when I moved to Atlanta I kept my house here. There’s something special about the Valley. Where we sit right now (facing the blast furnaces at Steelstacks at ArtsQuest), in good weather, I just sit out there and admire. And even for what it once was, brownfields, and now this beautiful center for the arts.

LVB: What’s your favorite show to listen to on NPR?

Dempsey: Wait, wait..don’t tell me (weekly current events comedic quiz show).

My 18 year old, I catch her laughing when I have Wait, wait on. I love the energy and the charm of the show and how it ties in to what I’ve listened to all week.

LVB: Let’s talk about your life outside of work….

Dempsey: I have two girls, 18 and 14. My 18 year old just started college in Japan.  She is studying there through Temple. My youngest is a freshman at Liberty High School in Bethlehem. I have the most fun when I am with my kids. I adore them and love to laugh with them.

One of my favorite things to do is discover old music.  I collect vinyl. It’s a treasure hunt. I’ve gotten into Jazz lately.

LVB: What has been your favorite vinyl find?

Dempsey: The Ethel Merman Disco album. It’s horrible, I love it.