Newark Public Radio, WBGO was the brainchild of an urban think tank whose members came together in Newark in the 1970s to effect change after the rebellion of 1967. Marshalling an extraordinary group of city activists, and with the help of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they established the first public radio station in New Jersey in 1979. Bob Ottenhoff was among that group of founders and became WBGO's inaugural General Manager.
Thank you so much for coming tonight to WBGO’s Champions of Jazz Gala and being a part of this wonderful event.
I may have been primarily responsible for founding and leading WBGO through its early years, but it would not have been possible without the generous contributions from people just like you. Over the decades, thousands of people have contributed their money, time and energy to keep WBGO thriving. The station simply could not exist without you.
Forty years ago, we started WBGO with a simple but powerful concept: building a community of people that love jazz. Although times have changed, our basic values remain the same: appreciation for artistic creation and musicians, a respect of jazz in all its traditions and diversity, and an acknowledgement that the vibrancy of the WBGO community depends on all of us doing our part.
I’ll be honest: it wasn’t easy starting a radio station from scratch. We had to acquire an FCC broadcast license, had to create a new nonprofit corporation, and needed to attract a group of courageous board members before we could even get started. Our initial approaches to funders were met with skepticism since there were well over 100 radio stations already in the area and we had no programming and no facilities. But, as the saying goes, bumpy roads can lead to beautiful places. Inch by inch we moved on – hiring a team, live concerts throughout the metropolitan area, 24-hour jazzathons, fascinating conversations with jazz legends and new arrivals, and eventually going to a full-time broadcast schedule. All made possible by generous, loyal listener contributions. Here we are forty years later and I’m proud to say WBGO is one of the most listened-to jazz radio stations in the world.
Tonight, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from one of the first people hired to help build this musical treasure – Dorthaan Kirk. Her knowledge of jazz and contacts with the jazz community were indispensable to our early success. But it was her infectious optimism and joyful attitude that really made the difference. And so it went with all of the early staff – they were, to a person, full of damn-the-torpedoes optimism and irresistible enthusiasm, paired with deep jazz and broadcast skills. We had no doubt that we could beat the odds!
Today’s challenges for WBGO are much different but no less formidable. The public has more music choices and the music industry has been turned upside down. Every year brings a new technology and a new gadget that threatens to overturn old norms and traditions. Listening to music is more personal than ever and at the same time universal, thanks to the global reach of the internet.
The recipe for WBGO’s next forty years is found in the history of jazz itself. We need to continue to pay respect to the rich history and traditions of jazz but be open to new streams of music and to new ways of delivering the music. Forty years from now, WBGO will be completely the same in its principles and traditions and completely new in ways we can’t even imagine.
Here’s to WBGO’s bright future – and its strong community.
-Bob Ottenhoff