That's right, 91.7 WMSE can be all yours. Well, not all yours. But you can have a part of it. Kind of.
The non-commercial radio station at the Milwaukee School of Engineering launches an eBay auction inviting listeners to bid on various components of the station. The winners will have their names and photos displayed beside the items for a year -- and since it's a leap year, that's 366 days.
So, what's for "sale"? At "auction" is a mixed bag of objects, ranging from those vital to the operation of the radio station (the transmitter tower, the Studio A microphone) to the underappreciated (the big yellow ladder allowing DJs to reach the records on the top shelf, the "on-air" light) all the way to the staff's obscure inside jokes (a rubber monkey that has mysteriously just always been in the office and a shrine dedicated to awful promotional items).
"Sure, this is a fundraiser to keep the station going," says station manager Tom Crawford. "But it's also a great way to get the listeners involved in what happens behind the scenes. WMSE is about much more than what goes out over the airwaves, and we always love showcasing the room where bands play live, the broadcast studio, and, of course, our impressive collection of ‘Kinder Egg' toys."
The auction kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 a.m. and goes through Friday, Feb. 15. You can read all about the lucrative bidding items here. And you can place your bids here.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
