NEW YORK (WCBS 880)  -- I saw this item in the daily email blast from the respected radio observer Tom Taylor, of Radio-Info.com 
 
Another college decides to sell off its radio station: KHPU, Brownwood, TX

The Baptist-connected Howard Payne University says it can’t afford to be all things to all people, and “we must make difficult choices as we plan for the future.” That’s college president Lanny Hall, who’s going to turn off Abilene-area KHPU (91.7) sometime after May 10 and will eliminate the journalism, radio/TV and public relations degree programs. READ MORE>>

I was saddened to see this.  As I sit at my desk here in the WCBS newsroom and look across the room, many - if not most - of my colleagues here got their start at their college radio stations.  For me, it was KSJS-FM at San Jose State University.  I started as a sports announcer...did some disc jockeying...and then decided to concentrate on news.

The college station is where we make our dumb mistakes.  It's where we experiment and spread our wings.  In most cases, you don't have to worry about advertisers pulling their commercials if you screw up.  Oh sure, you don't want to lose the station license...but, it really is where young broadcasters are allowed to make their mistakes and learn from them.

I made a lot of mistakes.  I learned a lot from them.

But, Howard Payne University is pulling the plug on its college station.  Even worse, it will eliminate it's Journalism, Radio-TV and PR degree programs.  In a day when the public is voicing more and more distrust about the news media, shutting down a university's journalism program is a bad idea.  It will only make the problem worse.

It is, indeed, throwing out the baby with the bath water.  

I hope this move by the university doesn't discourage young people from going into journalism or other facets of radio-TV broadcasting.  It may be too late, but I plan to email Howard Payne University President Lanny Hall <lhall@hputx.edu> to respectfully ask him to reconsider.