WSOU-FM

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89.5FM WSOU

Broadcast area	South Orange, New Jersey
Slogan	"The Loudest Rock"
First air date	1948
Frequency	89.5 MHz
Format	Modern Active Rock
Power	2.4 KW
Class	A
Owner	Seton Hall University
Website	http://www.wsou.net

WSOU is a non-commercial, college radio station, located at 89.5 MHz FM. The station broadcasts from the campus of Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. It is a student run station with General Manager Mark Maben at helm as a full time faculty member. Mr. Maben took over for Michael Collazo in 2004, after Collazo was arrested for embezzling more than $200,000 from the station.

WSOU will be broadcasting in HD-RADIO starting this Fall.

Contents 1 Programming 2 History 3 Famous Alumni 4 Station Management 5 External links

[edit] Programming

The station currently broadcasts a modern/active rock format, featuring heavy metal, punk, emo, ska, alternative, hardcore and post-hardcore, and other types of rock-based music. WSOU was one of the fist radio stations to bring punk rock onto the airwaives in 1978 when they played artists such as Arthur Comix, The Damned, The Saints, Crass, The Ramones and Johnny Thunders.

Some of the specialty shows WSOU hosts are Pirated Advance, a show where a new album is played in its entirety prior to release, Club Sessions (dance, club mix), Over Ya Head (hip-hop), Blurred Visions, Campus Buzz (indie, college rock, & alternative), Punk University (punk and hardcore), Vintage 80's, That "Other" 70s Show, Under the Stars (Emo, Screamo, Post-Hardcore, Scene Music), No Man's Land (Female Fronted Artists) and Street Patrol which plays unsigned, underground artists from the area. In Fall 2005, Out of Babylon was added to its programming, bringing Christian music on the airwaves of WSOU. University President Msgr. Robert Sheeran was one of the show's first guests.

On Saturday mornings and on Sundays, community shows are broadcast, including the Irish Celtic Heritage Hour with Joe Brennan Vogel, the Armenian Hour with Vartan Abdo, the Arab Caravan, the Pirate News Desk and the long-running Polish Polka Party. In addition, WSOU features broadcasts of Seton Hall sports such as soccer, basketball and baseball. One of the popular and long-running shows on WSOU is Hall Line, a call-in show after each men's basketball broadcast. Also on Sundays are the weekly sports shows, From The Stands and Pirate Primetime. Another new addition to WSOU is their new "celebrity gossip" show, Paparazzi Radio.

[edit] History

Throughout the 1980's and 1990's, hard rock was WSOU's signature format. The popularity of this style of music during that time made WSOU the nation's most listened to college radio station.^{[citation needed]} The careers of such acts as Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, Guns N' Roses, Biohazard, as well as Mucky Pup, Carnivore, Crisis, Candiria, Hatebreed and others were either launched on, or expanded by, the exposure gained by having their songs played in the NYC market.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2002, WSOU was forced by Seton Hall University to alter their heavy metal format, citing the lyrics of the metal genre had become "inconsistent" with the mission of the faith-based school. They still played rock, but bands such as Slayer and Celtic Frost needed to be taken out of rotation. With the cooperation of the school, WSOU is now able to play heavier music again, however some of it is only allowed at night.

On July 12th, 2006, Newsday reported an ugly chapter in WSOU's history: "A former director of Seton Hall University's radio station admitted embezzling more than $550,000 over a 13-year period, and faces five years in prison. Michael Collazo pleaded guilty to theft. Collazo's scheme involved embezzling more than $236,000 in underwriting money, and the unauthorized leasing of WSOU's two radio sub-frequencies. The scheme ran from 1991 until 2004, when Collazo was fired."

[edit] Famous Alumni

• Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Jim Hunter
• ESPN anchorman Bob Ley
• New Jersey Devils radio play-by-play voice Matt Loughlin
• Fox News anchor Donna Fiducia

Long-time New York traffic reporters:

• Joe Nolan
• Pete Tauriello
• Bernie Wagenblast

[edit] Station Management

• General Manager - Mark Maben
• Chief Engineer - Frank Scafidi
• Station Manager - Aleksandra Tasic
• Promotions Director - Stephanie Wightman
• News Director - Lauren Schultz
• Program Director - Jen O’Brien
• Music Director - Scott Egelberg
• Sports Director - Brian Ciano
• Technical Operations Director - Ian Rygiel

[edit] External links

• Official website of 89.5 FM WSOU
• Official website of Seton Hall University