WUSC

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WUSC
Broadcast area	Columbia, South Carolina
Branding	WUSC-FM
Slogan	Left of the dial, right in your ear
First air date	1947
Frequency	90.5 MHz
Format	Free-Format
ERP	2,500 watts
Callsign meaning	University of South Carolina
Owner	University of South Carolina
Website	wusc.sc.edu

WUSC-FM is a student-run radio station operating at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.

1 Content
2 History
- 2.1 The 1995 shutdown
3 External links

[edit] Content

WUSC-FM is a free-format educational station, allowing the DJs virtually free rein in their selections. Some DJs have specialty shows, handling one genre such as soundtracks, hip-hop music, or electronic music. Station policy prohibits playing music in rotation on any other local station, or on the Top 40 charts in the past 40 years. (This rule is sometimes ignored for special events, such as all-Beatles weekends or weekends devoted to the music of the 1980s.) The station is owned and operated by the University of South Carolina.

A vast majority of the DJs at WUSC are current students at the university. However, the station allows faculty, staff, and WUSC alumni to host shows as well. One particular show, Red Bank Bar and Grill, has been aired off and on since 1978. It is currently the only show that is three hours long year-round; during the fall and spring semesters, shows are two hours long and air once per week. During summer and some academic breaks, shows become three hours long.

Each DJ is responsible for the content of their show, and several of the shows have unique names and themes. Names in the Spring 2006 semester include "Bitch Stole My Fish", "Concordia Discourse", "Billfred in the Niiiiiightiiiiiiiiime!" (which airs on Friday mornings), and "Ska is for Suckers".

Some notable shows over the years have included Locals Only (a current show featuring bands from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia), the Red Bank Bar and Grill (an alternative country program), The Weekend Kicker (on Friday afternoons) and Blast From the Past (the first "oldies" show in the Columbia market). Some notable DJ's have included Orlando (from the early 1970's), Uncle Gram (host of the Red Bank Bar and Grill), Clair DeLune (host of the Blues Moon), Brent "Studdog" Riley (a long time alumni DJ), and Mark Bryan (guitarist for the band Hootie and the Blowfish).

[edit] History

WUSC began as an AM station broadcasting at 730 kHz in 1947. In 1958, it was allocated the frequency of 89.9 MHz. However, its first broadcast as WUSC-FM was not until January 17, 1977, on 91.9 MHz. In 1982, with an increase in power to 3,000 W from its original ten, WUSC moved to its current frequency of 90.5 MHz. The station also streams its signal over the Internet. In June of 2006, WUSC-FM upgraded to a new high-definition digital transmitter which cost $70,000. The new signal provides CD-quality digital audio and also improves reception in fringe areas. The new transmitter includes a data channel for station name, names of songs and artists, plus other information. It also makes it possible for WUSC to broadcast several channels of audio simultaneously.

On March 26, 2007, WUSC sponsored an event where the world record for simultaneous yo-yoing was broken. The total number of people participating in the event was 932.

[edit] The 1995 shutdown

In 1995, WUSC was shut down and its executive staff fired. The incident came after Chris Carroll, who was USC's Director of Student Media at the time, levied several allegations against the station, such as the station's license being "flagged" by the FCC for revocation because of the airing of a song by the band Pansy Division, as well as several secondary violations. (The staff later learned that this, among several other allegations by Carroll, was unfounded.)

Several members of the WUSC executive staff responded by publicly criticizing Carroll and the University administration through WUSC, The Gamecock student newspaper and other local media outlets. As a result, the executive staff was removed by University President John Palms, and the station was operated solely by Carroll.

The station remained off the air for a brief period before resuming under new leadership and DJs selected by the Board of Student Publications. (A few DJs returned to the station from before, but many were either not invited to return or left in protest.) Before the new executive staff was selected, the DJ's were allowed to play what they wanted, resulting in Top 40 music being aired on the station. However, once in power, the new staff returned to the prior music policy. But the damage had been done, and the station was also dropped as a reporter to CMJ, which charts college radio airplay.

Since Carroll's departure in 1997, the station has moved back towards its alternative/underground format, which had the station listed in some music journals as one of the top five college stations in the United States.