A Cleveland State University student is suing the institution over the handoff of its student-run radio station WCSB to Ideastream Public Media. The lawsuit marks the latest turn in the months-long public tensions between the university and the station’s supporters.
Current student and former station manager Alison Bomgardner is one of three plaintiffs in the civil case. She is joined by Friends of XCSB, billed in the suit as a nonprofit that “promotes and protects independent broadcasting in Cleveland.”
WCSB is also listed as a plaintiff. Brian Bardwell, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, says that’s because WCSB “is, and always has been, a group of students” – despite Cleveland State continuing to hold the station’s license with the Federal Communications Commission.
Court records show the group filed the complaint in Cuyahoga County on Jan. 12 (read it in full below). News of the lawsuit was first reported by the 216 Scoop newsletter.
In the 13-page lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the university’s board of trustees violated Ohio’s public meeting laws by not publicly discussing the radio station deal during board meetings. They also claim the university refused to provide relevant public records related to the agreement, among other allegations.
The plaintiffs want the court to force the university to release those documents. They also want an order to sever the deal between Ideastream and Cleveland State along with an undisclosed amount of damages.
In addition to the university, President Laura Bloomberg and the institution’s board are also named as defendants. Cleveland State officials told Signal Cleveland they had not received the lawsuit by mid-day Monday but plan to “review and respond appropriately consistent with applicable law.”
The deal drew immediate pushback when it was announced in October of 2025, resulting in several public protests and a slew of local and national news headlines. Former WCSB student workers and community volunteers said the university gave them no advance notice before the transfer.
Lawsuit alleges former radio station workers haven’t heard about potential Ideastream internships
Ideastream now controls WCSB’s programming and operates it as a jazz music station. Cleveland State, meanwhile, keeps the station’s license with the Federal Communications Commission.
No money is being exchanged between Cleveland State and Ideastream in the deal.
Yet, as Signal previously reported, the university will receive several perks. They include a seat for its president on the station’s board as well as thousands of on-air mentions across the city’s public media radio and television stations over the life of the eight-year deal.
The agreement also calls for giving an undisclosed number of Ideastream internships to Cleveland State students. In October, Bloomberg told Signal the partnership would offer a chance to expand students’ access to “true professional growth opportunities.”
But the lawsuit alleges that’s not happening.
“As of this filing, WCSB has not heard a word from Ideastream inviting its students to internships or suggesting it has any intention of fulfilling that portion of the agreement,” plaintiffs wrote.
Cleveland State officials have not yet responded to Signal’s questions about how the university is sharing information about those opportunities or if any current students are interning at the station this semester.