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David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and in 2025, we are celebrating our 60th anniversary as a radio station and community service organization. I'm David Fair, and through the year, we're going to bring you conversations about who we are and how we've survived and thrived over the past six decades. For the majority of our 60 years, we have relied on listener contributions to fund the people and the programs you hear over the years. In fact, all of our live and local programs you hear on WEMU now are funded directly from the money you donate. It is truly a partnership we cherish. So, we thought today we would take you on the journey of one such person who, over the years, has gone from listener to donor to WEMU Community Champion. That gentleman's name is Dennis Burke, and Dennis is here to share his story. And we are most grateful for your time!
Dennis Burke: Thank you, David! Happy to be here!
David Fair: Well, let's start here. How did you first find or become aware of WEMU?
Dennis Burke: Well, the way I first found WEMU was kind of by accident and was to avoid a week-long pledge drive at WUOM, your partner university station, just to the west. I grew up in a family that was kind of technologically oriented, and my uncle and my dad had grown up listening on radio in central Indiana. And it was still a very active part of my grandparents' households to have the big old tube AM radios turned on. And we had no TV, dating myself here a little bit, until I was probably in early elementary school. So, in the town I lived in, Fort Wayne, Indiana, we had a big broadcast station, WOWO. But because my father and my mom had spent time in Ann Arbor when they were young starting a family, we started listening to WJR. So, when I came to University of Michigan, I brought along a radio. My parents made sure that was in the car when I came in.
David Fair: Right.
Dennis Burke: And I started listening to WUOM. But I would occasionally, especially when pledge drives were going, I would cheat, and I would look around for something else to listen to since I was kind enjoying National Public Radio at the time and sort of getting hooked on FM. And I sort of stumbled across WEMU.
David Fair: What kept you coming back?
Dennis Burke: Well, as I listened to it more and more, I started liking the jazz. I liked DJs and the announcers like yourself, David, that were on. And I liked a lot of the programming. And I like the format of local news, jazz and blues. And as your fellow station to the west slowly migrated away from having music and, of course, live, local events, they used to carry the football games and basketball games and do local news, WEMU kept it up. And I felt that it was very important, since I traveled a lot for my career, to try to stay in touch with what was going on in the community I lived.
David Fair: I want to talk to you a little bit about where you were with your family and career because when you have a busy, work-a-day life and you're trying to find balance with family responsibilities, if you are going to add something to what you're willing to give time, there has to be a value added for it to be worth your while. What value did you derive from listening to WEMU?
Dennis Burke: Well, that's an interesting question to ask, because when you travel a lot, like I did in my career, and I wasn't around my hometown, Ann Arbor, where I had a house and a family, it became more and more important to me to find out and kind of keep in touch and have my finger on the pulse, so to speak, of what was going on in the community that I knew someday I would be retired and live in. And WEMU started filling the bill more and more. I got hooked on Cinema Chat with Russ Collins.
David Fair: We all love Russ Collins!
Dennis Burke: Yes! I love the Issues of the Environment! I love the On the Ground Ypsi! And it's really a way for somebody in this community to have and trust that there are individuals that are sort of filtering through everything that's going on, and they are presenting to you in a very entertaining and informative way, what is important, what's really going on in your community. And not just from the standpoint of governmental stuff, but it's also social stuff. It's also entertainment.
David Fair: There's a balance in our lives.
Dennis Burke: There is a balance. And I've been exposed to stuff in my life, and I can honestly say WEMU has, in many ways, made my life better!
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and we're talking with listener and WEMU Community Champion donor Dennis Burke as we mark 60 years of broadcasting in 2025. You are not alone in trying to avoid pledge drives or fundraisers when they're on the air. So, I'm curious as to at what juncture or perhaps what was the incentive to move from being a WEMU listener to turning into making that first donation and becoming a donor.
Dennis Burke: Well, first of all, I think i finally got to the point where--
David Fair: You couldn't avoid us?
Dennis Burke: Well, I was listening to you regularly. And I started to really kind of enjoy the way your pledge drives were versus your competitor's pledge drives to the west. I liked the local celebrities, Ken Fischer and Russ Collins being on, some of the governmental leaders coming on and being part of the pledge drive. So, I started listening when the pledge drives run and enjoying some of things I heard during the pledge drives. And I figured Connie and I, that's my wife Connie, we're at a point in our lives where we could afford to maybe contribute a little. So, it started out sort of just give them something because I listen a lot. And at some point, I began to realize, as I said before, that this radio station has changed the way I have spent my life and really improved it in many ways. I've been so exposed to things I probably would have never found or been aware of and enjoy, that I began to realize if we're not supporting it, and we're not giving what we can give to keep it on the air and keep it doing what it's doing, and expose our children and all the members of our community to it, all you have to do is just tune in and listen. It's great! I mean, it does change people's lives! And I can say for the better!
David Fair: Through the course of our on-air fundraisers, we often talk about the difference a first donation can make, that it can create a sense of ownership and that WEMU goes from being that radio station I listen to to being my radio station. I certainly don't want to put words in your mouth and your experience may be different from that, but did you start to listen any differently once you became a partner and investor?
Dennis Burke: You know, I've always enjoyed what I'm hearing. And as I listen, there are times when I think to myself, "Gee, this is a great segment," such as Issues in the Environment. And I've gotten more and more environmentally active. I'm now chairing an environmental action group with the local rotary. And so, that's sort of brought me into the environmentalism and the importance of the Huron River and the Great Lakes being close to a quarter of the world's freshwater supply. So, yes, it has changed my life, and I realize that it needs to keep going forward and being a good asset and a valuable asset to the community. And I need to contribute to that. Connie and I support it.
David Fair: I don't want to be too personal, and you certainly don't have to answer if you choose not to. But do you remember how much that first donation to WEMU was for?
Dennis Burke: Oh, it might have been as small as, like, say, $25.
David Fair: There's no such thing as a small donation.
Dennis Burke: There's no such thing as a small donation, and they've grown over the years. And I kind of like calling in now that I know some of the staff and the station manager, Molly, and give them a bit of a hard time saying, "Hey, I'm here to donate!" And, of course, I always tease a little bit about what the donation gifts might be. And I like going to the events for the consistent donors that occur and meeting other donors. And just seeing that the station continues to be staffed, and it's still on the air, and I can look at you and your studio, and I see a bunch of records on the wall.
David Fair: We still play records!
Dennis Burke: You still play records! Well, they're coming back!
David Fair: Indeed, they are!
Dennis Burke: They are! Yeah, that analog sound! You know, it's a much richer sound!
David Fair: Well, again, we're celebrating our 60th anniversary this year, and donors like you are exactly the reason why. Whenever someone does make a donation to WEMU during our fundraisers, we always ask, "Would you like to make a comment?" Well, what we've found is that if we would just let listeners and donors make the argument for us, WEMU wouldn't have to work nearly as hard to raise money. The community expresses itself so well when it comes to why they're donating to WEMU. So, as our time together, Dennis, comes to an end, would you like to make a closing argument for being a donor and investor and partner in WEMU?
Dennis Burke: Yeah, I can say a couple things here. I think, first of all, I'd like to just express my thanks to everybody here at WEMU for the past 60 years and for the 30 to 40 listening years I've had. And I think it's very important for everybody to consider keeping this radio station live and well in our community. And we need to think about what it's gonna take to shepherd it forward and keep it doing a great job for the generations that come.
David Fair: I'd like to thank you for the time, Dennis, and your ongoing investment! A thanks to you and Connie for that! We are most grateful you continue to make a difference!
Dennis Burke: Well, let's go listen to some news, jazz and blues!
David Fair: I'm all for it!
Dennis Burke: I am too!
David Fair: That is Dennis Burke, WEMU listener and Community Champion donor. Dennis and all who contribute to WEMU make the award-winning work we do possible. In fact, it resulted in a dozen awards at the April 5th Michigan Association of Broadcasters Excellence in Broadcasting Ceremony. That includes awards for station excellence and, for a third consecutive year, Station of the Year! It's proof that making a donation makes a difference in our ability to serve. The contribution you make today provides the award-winning content you'll hear tomorrow and through the rest of the year. To listen to this interview again and to access the archive of our 60th anniversary conversations, visit our website at wemu.org. This is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU FM Ypsilanti.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
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