A brief notice on WFMU in New Jersey’s Beware of the Blog blog indicates that the feature is going into what could be called a deep hiatus.
“After ten fun-filled years, we’re packing up shop here at WFMU’s Beware of the Blog,” the post says. “Many thanks to the dozens of volunteer authors who put in so much time and love into their posts and articles, and thanks to the commenters and trolls who almost feel like part of our dysfunctional family.”
But: “We will keep every single post up here for all of eternity, and someday, WFMU may resume online publishing. First we need to find an admin though, something we haven’t had here for many years, which is part of the reason that we are shutting it down.”
In 2014 I spoke to WFMU general manager Ken Freedman about BOTB at an ‘FMU fan gathering in San Francisco. Freedman mentioned giving the feature a break back then—copyright liability and staffing issues for the sound/art laden repository furling his brow. I sympathize, although like lots of folks, I’ve always loved Beware. Among my favorite posts: a collection of reel-to-reel letters from an Army surgeon to his wife during the Korean War, a wonderful assemblage of anti-hippy songs, and various pages dedicated to the musings of the Vladimir Putin Action Hero Club, or whatever exactly it is.
For a decade Beware of the Blog has showed how a community radio station can use the ‘Net to expand its creative reach. You could see its influence elsewhere, such as at blog rich San Francisco online streamer Radio Valencia.
So I hope that ‘FMU finds that admin eventually, but the operation is quite busy with other stuff right now. In the meantime, I’m going to catch up on all the great posts I may have missed.
