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Start Free Trial NowTitle: WOSU puts bid on auction action
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Sunday, April 29,1984/®he Columbus Bisputch/03 WOSU puts bid on auction action By Jeff Borden Dispatch Tabmioa Reporter When the. gavel goes down Sunday for the first auction in the history of WOSU-TV (Chan nel 34), even those people who’ve labored on it for more than a year aren’t sure what will hap pen. What they are certain of is the importance of the event to the future of the public televi sion station. Channel 34 needs to make $400,000 on the hundreds of items donated for sale to pay for new and continuing pro gramming. “I’m concerned that people won’t like the idea of watching the auction instead of their reg ular programs,” noted general manager Dale Ousts. “But I’m so concerned that we might not be there at all that we’re willing to take that risk. If we don’t do this, we might not be here to kick around.” PERHAPS THAT’S an over statement, but the station’s need for private sector funding has increased as government fund ing has declined over the past few years. The auction is the latest wrinkle in those efforts to raise more local money. Dozens of other public TV stations aleady use the auctions, and Channel 34 staffers and auc tion volunteers have studied how those operations perform. Still, just about everyone at the sta tion is leery of what’s going to happen. “In my opinion, this is going to be the best first auction ever,” Ouzts said. “But we’re going to have problems. They’ll be sur mountable, but there will be problems.” The auction will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday and run until mid night. Hours on Monday through Friday will be 6 p.m. to midnight while the auction will run from 2 p.m. until midnight on Saturday, when it wraps up. ALL REGULAR program ming will be pre-empted. Timely programs such as The MacNeil/ Lehrer NewsHour or Wall Street Week will be scrapped, but other shows such as Nova or Mystery will be shown on a one-week delay. Thousands of items ranging from easily affordable to very Dozens of other public TV stations already use auctions, and Channel 34 staffers and volunteers have studied how those operations perform. expensive will be on display or shown on videotape. Bids will begin at one-half the retail value and proceed from there. Major items — those priced over $1,000 — will be offered for at least two nights. The host of the auction will move among six tables where auctioneers will give details on the items. Viewers will bid by calling a special telephone num ber superimposed on the screen. Efforts to launch the auction presented a logistical nightmare. Items had to be solicited, en tered into a computer system, appraised and stored in a sealed storage area (“We call it Stalag 34,” Ouzts said). MOST OF THE work has been done by volunteers, spear headed by auction chairwoman Judy Ross and auction manager Cricket Park. Ross started work ing on the auction about two years ago; Park joined the effort last September. Both women have practically lost track of how many hours they’ve spent preparing. “You can’t conceive of the number of jobs that need to be done,” Ross said. “I went from working 40 hours a week to 70,”. Park said. The core of 650 volunteers came from the ranks of the Friends of WOSU, made up of individuals who pledge money to the WOSU stations. Even from among that group, however, the grueling work of planning the auction took its toll. Asked about her biggest ob stacle, Ross explained, “We lost eight to 10 of our major commit tee chairmen. It was very diffi cult to train people, only to have them quit two months later.' That put us in a lurch over and Dispatch photo by Tim Revell Judy Ross, left, and Cricket Park with auction items over again, but that won't be a problem next year.” VOLUNTEERS were al lowed to find their own niche. Some were great salespeople on the telephone, but rotten when making visits to corporate of fices. Others were excellent in face-to-face meetings, but poor for telephone solicitations. “Our motto became, ‘If it’s not fun. you’re not doing it right,”’ Ross said. The volunteers were spectac ularly successful. Among the items up for grabs are a 1983 DeLorean automobile and a South Pacific cruise. ' Ross explained, “The quality of involved people was very, very high. I’m into volunteering and it’s very hard to find volunteers who approach it professionally. This event has attracted a large number of people who are pro fessional volunteers.” Park said she was impressed “just watching it all come to gether. Seven months ago I didn’t know what an auction was, but I’ve watched it go from total chaos to a focused effort.. The volunteers’ effort really touches me.” Whether the station reaches the lofty goal of $400,000 re mains to Vie seen, hut Ouzts is convinced the station is moving in the proper direction with Auction 34. “People are always telling us we should try something differ ent to raise money.” he said. “That’s what we’re doing.”
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Clipped 3 months ago
- Columbus Dispatch
- Columbus, Ohio
- Apr, 29 1984 - Page 55