WMHB
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| WMHB 89.7FM | |
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| City of license | Waterville, Maine |
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| Broadcast area | Kennebec Valley |
| Branding | WMHB 89.7FM |
| Slogan | Noncommercial. Eclectic. Bold. |
| Frequency | 89.7 FM |
| First air date | October 15th, 1956 |
| Format | Eclectic |
| Power | 110 watts |
| Class | A |
| Callsign meaning | W Mayflower Hill Broadcasting |
| Owner | Mayflower Hill Broadcasting Corporation |
| Webcast | [1] |
| Website | [2] |
WMHB, 89.7 FM Waterville, is the radio station of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, USA. WMHB is directed, managed, and staffed entirely by students. WMHB has been on air in one form or another since 1949. WMHB can be heard in Waterville, Winslow, Oakland, Fairfield and surrounding communities.
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[edit] History of WMHB
WMHB's beginnings originate to Radio Colby, a weekly radio show aired on WTVL, a Waterville AM radio station. Beginning in 1949, Radio Colby featured Colby news, trivia, and favorite new music. Much of the same type of material that was broadcast on the radio show is now available on the "Inside Colby" podcast. Radio Colby would continue until December 1957.
Given Radio Colby's popularity, students wished to further develop campus broadcasting. In the Spring of 1955 Radio Colby went on air as 600mhz K.C. AM, a carrier current station (being a carrier current station, the call letters were arbitrary, KCAM referring to 'K Colby AM'. Students could listen in by attaching a cable from their radio to radiator pipes or ground wire of the electrical system. The station broadacst originated in the veteran's apartments (temporary housing created for the returning World War II veterans), and could be heard on the eastern side of campus including the then fraternity houses. The veterans apartments were demolished in 1957, and Radio Colby went silent.
Radio Colby came back in 1964 on 610mhz carrier current. Broadcasting from Roberts Union, the new station could be heard almost all around campus. Radio Colby began to develop from a novelty into more of a full featured radio station, featuring both news and music. This increase in development led the station to apply for a 10 watt Class D Nonommercial FM license in 1973. Radio Colby incorporated as the Mayflower Hill Broadcasting Corporation, a separate entity from Colby College and governed completely by students.
In 1984, WMHB was approved to upgrade to 110 watts erp, increasing its radius from immediate Waterville to the surrounding communities. WMHB continued as a mainly on campus feature, although community support began to grow over time.
In the mid 1990s WMHB began a new chapter in its existence. WMHB began to structure itself more like a public radio station rather than a campus club. These developments increased as time went on, leading to the beginning of internet radio streaming in January 2001. Due to royalty battles, WMHB (and all other internet radio stations) had to pull its webstream down for a time shortly after, but WMHB re-emerged its web presence in 2002.
Over time the web became a major aspect of WMHB's listenership base, attracting listeners from all over the world. Colby students also began to use the web as the main listening medium. In March 2007, WMHB was added to the iTunes radio tuner, as well as the radio tuners of Windows Media and TiVo.
[edit] WMHB Today
Today, WMHB is still broadcasting at 110 watts of effective radiated power via an omnidirectional antenna. WMHB is funded from student allocated activity money and from the support of local businesses who underwrite programs. WMHB is currently a member of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, and the College Music Journal.
Every year, WMHB hosts an annual food drive to support the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, the single largest donation the shelter receives each year.
[edit] Station Programming
Currently all station programming originates at WMHB's studio. An all volunteer producer staff brings alternative music of all genres twenty four hours a day. WMHB works with a number of promotional firms that work with new artists, and submits charts regularly to College Music Journal. During the summer, members of the Waterville community fill in for student show times.
In addition to music programming, WMHB also features some talk shows, including an alternative health show and a sports talk show.
In addition to music and talk programming, WMHB also broadcasts major sports games at Colby, including games from the football, basketball, hockey, baseball, and softball teams.
[edit] Influence
WMHB, like many other college stations, has a large influence on what music becomes mainstream. Artists like Norah Jones, Gnarls Barkley, and even Avril Lavigne began their career on the college circuit.
WMHB receives hundreds of requests for airplay every week, a staff of volunteer music directors sifts through and reviews every CD. Volunteer DJs then choose their playlists based on the reviews of the music directors. Each week, WMHB reports back to many promotional firms on the status of CDs, and also submits charts to College Music Journal.
[edit] External links
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