UPDATED: March 5, 2018 at 11:24 p.m.

Before becoming a congressional adviser and then an investigative reporter for NBC in Washington, D.C., Scott MacFarlane was living, eating and sleeping in the studios of WAER.

“I did it from the first day I was on campus to the last day I was on campus, and I think I walked in that building every day in between,” MacFarlane said.

Nearly 20 years after graduating from Syracuse University, MacFarlane returned to the Hill last week to tell a story about the locally famous radio station. Members of the Syracuse community gathered Thursday at the WCNY Broadcast and Education Center on the Near Westside for the premiere of his documentary, “The Miracle Microphone: The Impossible History and History Makers of WAER Radio.”

MacFarlane had spent the past two and a half years researching, conceptualizing, reporting and producing to get to this point. Now, he was finally able to illustrate the impact of WAER since its beginning in 1947.

The decision to embark on the multi-year and essentially pro bono project was an easy one for MacFarlane. Being part of a public media organization like WAER plays a lifelong role far beyond that of the average extracurricular activity, he said.

“It’s hard to think of any student organization in the country that is so prolific at preparing students for the field that they’re about to enter,” MacFarlane said.

That novelty — combined with the star-studded list of WAER alumni including Dick Clark, Bob Costas and Mike Tirico — led MacFarlane to ask questions. He wanted to know why so many of the greats in communication and broadcasting filtered out of this single radio station.

“We’re in a different place physically, the sound of the station has evolved, but how come the students act just like I did?” he said. “How come the students the generation before me act just like I did?”

Matt Park, Scott MacFarlane, Laura Hand and Joe Lee (left to right) were panelists at the documentary’s premiere party at the WCNY TV Studios.
Lydia Niles | Asst. Digital Feature Editor

MacFarlane set out to capture this bond. But, at the end of the day, he didn’t want the piece to be a public relations project. He wanted to tell the whole story of the station, including the parts that weren’t picture-perfect.

In 1983, SU took over WAER and hired full-time professionals to run operations and train students, a decision that remains controversial today. About one-fourth of “The Miracle Microphone” is about the 1983 events, which evolved into a multi-year dispute, MacFarlane said.

But MacFarlane doesn’t look at the conflict in a negative light. He said the events show that the station was important enough to create conflict. It evolved from a “student-run, experimental radio station” to a professionally-run National Public Radio organization.

And now, WAER holds a “reputation of being the place to develop your skills as a sportscaster in America,” MacFarlane said.

“People go in there, and they feed off the energy,” he added. “They feed off the ambition of the other students and the professionals.”

MacFarlane found himself coming full circle while producing the documentary. He collaborated with people such as Keith Kobland, who mentored him during his time at SU.

Kobland, now a media manager for SU News Services, said MacFarlane wanted to be true to the stories he was telling. He added that students felt they were marginalized at the time of the dispute and still do to this day, and said they are “very right to feel that way.”

“The station has a rich history,” Kobland said, “and it’s not just playing music.”

Kobland was a news anchor at a local TV station where MacFarlane worked as an undergrad. He recalled MacFarlane taking the bus to work overnight shifts at Channel 5, where he produced the morning newscast.

“Scott, as a student, was my producer,” Kobland said. “It was basically him and me. I love the guy.”

MacFarlane also worked with Joe Lee, WAER’s director and general manager, who was the program director while MacFarlane was an undergrad. Lee said he feels fulfilled knowing they were able to document the station’s influence.

Since a number of the station’s staff has been there for 10, 15 and 20 years, it was important to Lee to see the station’s impact in a visual way.

“It was a bit emotional to see the final product,” Lee said.

While important to the story, MacFarlane chose not to solely focus on big-name alumni. He was able to hone in on the stories that are representative of the organization, like Lee’s.

“I am just a firm believer that WAER is unique and incredibly important,” MacFarlane said. “Not just to Newhouse and the communications program, but to the university as a whole.”

The hour-long documentary will premiere on Monday at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the location of the documentary’s premiere party was misstated. The party was held at WCNY Broadcast and Education Center on the Near Westside. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 4, 2018 at 11:25 pm

Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu