WRSU-FM
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| WRSU-FM | |
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| City of license | New Brunswick, New Jersey |
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| Broadcast area | Middlesex-Somerset-Union |
| Slogan | New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Music |
| Frequency | 88.7 FM (MHz) |
| First air date | January 27, 1974 |
| Format | Non-commercial campus radio |
| ERP | 1,350 watts |
| Callsign meaning | Rutgers the State University |
| Owner | Rutgers University |
| Webcast | http://www.nj.com/wrsu |
| Website | http://wrsu.rutgers.edu |
WRSU-FM is a noncommercial college radio station serving Rutgers University, broadcasting at 88.7 MHz FM from New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is a student-run public radio station that has a variety of shows hosted by students and community members. Its main offices are located on the College Avenue Campus.
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[edit] History
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- WRSU-AM
WRSU first went on the air on April 26, 1948. In its earliest inception, WRSU was an AM Carrier Current Station that broadcasted from the basement of a Rutgers dormitory building. During this period, it WRSU ran on the 630 AM band. The station's first General Manager and Founder was Charles Brookwell, Class of '49.
Beginning in the 1950s, the station changed frequencies and changed operating facilities, eventually leaving WRSU on the 680 AM band, with offices in the attic of a building located at 12 College Avenue. The current offices of the station began to be utilized in 1971, and are located at 126 College Avenue located in the Rutgers Student Center.
WRSU-AM ceased operation in 1976, two years after the inception of WRSU-FM
- WRSU-FM
WRSU-FM went on the air at 88.7 Megahertz with 1350 watts ERP on January 27, 1974. During the 50s and 60s, the station played current popular music, but starting in the 70s, the station underwent a conscious effort to introduce album oriented progressive/free form movement with a heavy concentration on Community Affairs. The first song ever played was Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
[edit] Philosophy
WRSU has a station playlist, but it generally consists of several hundred entire albums, and individual DJs have a large amount of control over the format of their shows. The station is strictly non-commercial, and aims for a somewhat freeform style of broadcasting.
The station is under the management of Rutgers University, and while operations are on a strictly volunteer level, and no course credit is involved, the station does seek to develop the skills of their student personnel for eventual use in the professional field.
[edit] Broadcast range
WRSU has an effective radiated power of 1350 watts, and can be heard about 15 to 20 miles North and over 20 miles South of New Brunswick.[1]
[edit] Funding and operations
WRSU receives funding from Rutgers University, and is a strictly non-commercial radio station. However, WRSU goes receive grants and underwriting from local businesses and record stores. Usually, this underwriting takes the form of a credit for the station at said record store in exchange for hourly notices broadcast on the station.
[edit] Programming
WRSU's programming is varied and constantly changing, with new shows being added each semester and some longtime mainstays having been on the station for several decades.
[edit] Music and Entertainment
WRSU requires most DJs to dedicate a certain percentage of their shows to station playlists, but said playlist is considerably long and well represented by most forms and genre of music. Genres represented on WRSU include various forms of rock (such as indie and metal), electronic music, reggae, hip-hop, gospel, and Latin American music.
NonProductive is a comedic production radio show that has aired consistently since 1996. The format focuses toward sketch comedy, satire, variety, and conversational pieces. Currently the show airs from 7pm-8pm every Monday night and is hosted by Jim Schreyer. The NonProductive brand has also extended to the New Brunswick-based internet radio station HearNewBrunswick.com, where the show is hosted by former WRSU host Samantha Little, and airs on Thursday nights from 8-10 PM.
[edit] Sports
WRSU has a long history of sports coverage, especially at the college level. The station broadcasts play-by-play coverage for all games, home and away, for Rutgers Football, Rutgers Men's Basketball, and Rutgers Women's Basketball. Also, selected Rutgers Baseball, Soccer, and Lacrosse games are broadcasted.
Knightline has served as WRSU's men's basketball and football postgame call-in show since 1974.
SportsKnight is WRSU's weekly Rutgers sports talk show, featuring interviews with the most important people surrounding Rutgers athletics, including top football recruits such as OL Anthony Davis, LB Manny Abreu, and FB Jourdon Brooks. The show invites listeners to call in or submit their comments via AOL Instant Messenger to the username WRSUSports. SportsKnight airs every Tuesday night from 8-10 PM, and is hosted by Chris Harring, Max Herman, and Max Scheiner. Recently, WRSU has added pro sports talk to as a part of SportsKnight. The show usually begins at 9 and has featured guests such as Ian Eagle and Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch.
[edit] News
WRSU broadcasts newscasts Monday-Thursday nights at 10 PM, and Wednesdays-Fridays at 12 Noon. The newscasts report on Local, National, and International news, with a focus on stories and issues facing Rutgers University.
WRSU News is in the process of becoming a fully-multimedia equipped operation. The department will focus not only on terrestrial radio broadcasts, but also providing special content like blogs, podcasts, print-form stories, and video. Their multimedia-based blog was launched in April, and features news and opinion on issues both at Rutgers and around the world.
The news department also produces KnightBeat. The program airs every Tuesday at 10 PM, featuring interviews with campus organizations and leaders, discussions of issues facing college students, and investigative stories. Jennifer Rose hosts, frequent contributors include Mike Bode and Carlamarie Monica.
Beginning in 2008, WRSU News began its all-talk show The Forum. Airing Wednesdays at 5 PM, the show centers around discussion and debate of recent news events, especially politics and the 2008 presidential race. Host Kyle Beakley is joined by rotating panelists including regulars Melissa Jones and John Thomas.
The WRSU news department also provides live coverage of Rutgers events, as well as annual election coverage. In recent years WRSU has played host to both Democratic and Republican Presidential Conventions Headquarters.
[edit] Community Affairs
WRSU broadcasts cultural and Community Affairs programming on Sundays from 12-9 PM. Currently, the station features programs showcasing the music and culture of Turkey, Israel, Greece, Pakistan, India, Ireland, Hungary and the African Diaspora, which is also covered on Wednesday nights followed by music and news from Jamaica. Spanish programming can be heard Thursdays 10 PM-Midnight and Fridays 6-10 PM.
On Tuesday afternoons a Community Affairs show geared towards the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender community is presented in the talk/ music show Generation Q. Human rights issues are also discussed on this program.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Mike Emanuel, former sports reporter, now a White House Correspondent for Fox News Channel.
- Bernard Goldberg, former WRSU news director, reported for CBS News and currently reports for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
[edit] Online broadcasting
WRSU's broadcast can now be obtained through a streaming feed off of their website. This has dramatically increased the profile of all of the station's shows.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [http://wrsu.rutgers.edu/about.php Information on broadcast range courtesy of Daniel Schleck, WRSU Alumni Chairman (link to WRSU.org about page)
[edit] External links
- WRSU official website
- WRSU's page on StylusCity
- WRSU News Blog
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WRSU
- Radio Locator information on WRSU
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WRSU
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