WVUR-FM

WVUR-FM
City of license Valparaiso, Indiana
Broadcast area 6 miles
Branding "The Source 95 WVUR"
Slogan On Air, Online, On Campus
Frequency 95.1 MHz
First air date September 25, 1966
Format College radio
ERP 36 watts
HAAT 38 meters (125 ft)
Class 236D
Facility ID 69776
Transmitter coordinates 41°27′57″N 87°02′29″W / 41.46583°N 87.04139°W
Callsign meaning W
Valparaiso
University
Radio
Owner Valparaiso University
(The Lutheran University Assoc., Inc)
Webcast audiocast.valpo.edu/wvursports
Website www.valpo.edu/student/wvur/

WVUR-FM, The Source 95 is the student-run college radio station of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. It broadcasts at 95.1 MHz FM and streams online at WVUR's website. The station features a wide range of students, staff, and faculty members who contribute to the station. Each semester more than 100 students participate with the Source on a regular basis, making it one of the largest organizations on campus. The Source plays indie and alternative rock, but many students have specialty shows in which they play their own mix. WVUR Sports is an integral part of the station. Hundreds of VU Athletics games are broadcast each year on the air and online. Newscenter 95 is the newest development at the station with increased coverage of VU events and activities as well as podcast contributions.

Programming and promotion

The Source 95 is an entirely student-operated variety station. Its primary programming is music, which includes a standard rotation based on a combination of standard alternative fare and the CMJ Top 200/Indie/College Radio format, other genre-specific shows, and free-form shows during evenings and weekends. The station also includes talk with The Morning Show and news and weather with periodic updates throughout all programming, as well as The Evening Source news show. Programming also includes more than 100 sports broadcasts per year. WVUR Sports broadcasts Valparaiso University sporting events live on the air and on the WVUR online webcast.

Awards

The station won Indiana Association of Student Broadcasters awards in recent years, including Radio School of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

History

WVUR-FM Service Area Map

Development

In May 1949, a group of students submitted a proposal to the Valparaiso University Board of Directors to build an educational FM radio station in the basement of Guild Hall. However, after ten years without progress, VU law school student Jack Lawson led a committee to plan a radio station. With the help of DePauw University radio station WGRE, the committee obtained information necessary to found a radio station. After experimenting in November 1959 with a closed-circuit station nicknamed WPRX reaching only Wehrenberg Hall, President O. P. Kretzmann addressed the student body at 11 p.m. on November 11, 1960, on 600 AM. The low-power station broadcast out of Benton Hall and reached all but one dormitory. WVUR's first six years included transmission via telephone cables, and in 1966 WVUR became the first FM station in the city of Valparaiso, operating on frequency 89.5.[1]

FM Radio

Permission was granted in February 1961 to construct a non-commercial educational FM station. Due to legal concerns, the station was turned over from the students to the administration. Though this move sparked heavy opposition, the transition began during the 1965–1966 academic year. On September 25, 1966, the FCC granted a license to WVUR-FM 89.5 MHz The Voice, making it the first radio station in the city of Valparaiso. The studio was still located in Benton Hall and included a new lounge nicknamed The Penthouse. The studios relocated to Heimlich Hall during the 1970–1971 academic year and moved again to the Journalism Center on January 11, 1978. On September 24, 1982, a new tower was constructed atop Brandt Hall, which brought increased wattage and the station's current frequency and name: WVUR 95.1 FM The Source.

Modernization

In August 1998, WVUR relocated to Schnabel Hall. In 1999, the station began web streaming sporting events. During the 2001–2002 academic year, the station upgraded to a computer automated system and commenced broadcasting 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, including during all academic breaks. The station also began taking requests by phone at 219-464-6673.

In 2006, WVUR began publishing podcasts and media from concerts on its website. On January 16, 2007, the station added a modern rock/alternative format to complement the current CMJ Indie rotation. Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race was the first official song to play in the new format.

In 2012, WVUR started to stream its full broadcast online 24/7, expanding the sports-only web stream to include music, talk, and all other programming. The Source officially began full streaming at 9:51 a.m. on May 2, 2012. The first song officially played both on the air and online in this new era was Foster The People's Don't Stop (Color on the Walls).

SourceStock

WVUR began an annual concert event in 2004 called SourceStock. The yearly tradition is held in September and has been headlined by national acts at both the Valparaiso University Student Union and the Athletics-Recreation Center. In 2014, the staff of WVUR decided to forgo one major concert, and instead create a few smaller shows throughout the school year that were capable of drawing in a realistic crowd. The title "SourceStock" was dropped, and the shows were simply advertised as "The Source 95 Presents."

2014 -- Moonrise Nation // 2015 --

2013 -- Delta Spirit (feat. Leagues)

2012 -- Company of Thieves (feat. Harrison Hudson, Vitrolum Republic)

2011 -- Ra Ra Riot (feat. Vitrolum Republic, Mine All Mine)

2010 -- We The Kings (feat. Mine All Mine, Dreams of University)

2009 -- The Academy Is... (feat. Sing It Loud, Dreams of University)

2008 -- Relient K (feat. Company of Thieves, The Sapiens)

2007 -- Mae (feat. Baby Teeth, The Redwalls)

2006 -- Plain White T's (feat. Baby Teeth, Nate & His Kite)

2005 -- Allister

2004 -- Lucky Boys Confusion (feat. Dog and Everything, Root Junction, Hogwash)

Alumni

References

  1. ↑ Valparaiso University Timeline at the Wayback Machine (archived October 19, 2014)

External links

Coordinates: 41°27′57″N 87°02′29″W / 41.4659°N 87.0414°W