MORGANTOWN — Since 1982, WVU’s college radio station, U92 WWVU-FM, has prepared students for broadcast careers while introducing Morgantown to new music.
Now, the radio station has outgrown what Broadcast Advisor Alex Wiederspiel, a U92 alum, called its ancestral home in the Mountainlair and has started raising funds to relocate to the first floor of the Daily Athenaeum, about a block-and-a-half away on Prospect Street.
Wiederspiel said first-time visitors to the Mountainlair station could be forgiven if they confused it with a sardine can. The new space will be exponentially larger, he said. There will be just shy of 1,700 square feet with offices, a communal area, studios, and new broadcast equipment, according to the fundraising page.
In the first four days, the fundraiser reached 60 percent of its $10,000 goal, raising just over $6,000. The original hope was to raise the $10,000 in six to seven weeks, Wiederspiel said. The campaign was sent to alumni and spread through social media.
“We’re asking for as little as $9.17, ’cause our radio dial is 91.7,” Wiederspiel said.
In addition to building renovations, the technology at U92 will receive upgrades, including a new control board, he said. The current board has been in studio A — the primary broadcasting studio — since the station was started 37 years ago, and is entirely analog.
“This is more than just about broadcast,” Wiederspiel said. “This is about turning U92 into a station that’s capable of training today’s broadcasters and the future broadcasters of the 21st century.”
A 21st century broadcaster needs to be able to do a little bit of everything — the days of a single job in media, such as a cameraman, are gone, Wiederspiel explained.
Working at U92 gives students real-world experience and Wiederspiel said he hopes to collaborate with the Reed College of Media to reinforce what’s taught in the classroom.
In addition to a disc jockey staff, U92 has a news staff and sports staff. News staff members perform hourly live news updates, host a weekly hour-long live discussion called Feedback and find stories to report on. Sports staff members can practice their skills calling games including hockey, women’s soccer and women’s basketball, Wiederspiel said.
That real world experience is attractive to employers, Eric Minor, the media school’s director of student careers and opportunities said.
Anyone who mentions an interest in broadcasting, even visiting high school seniors thinking about attending WVU, get a recommendation to volunteer at U92, Minor said. While job shadows last for hours and internships last a summer, U92’s 24/7 format over a college career offers much more practical experience and shows a dedication to the craft.
“I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise,” Jim Guiliano, host of the syndicated morning talk show Jimmy G in the morning at 93.9 Carolina Country out of Myrtle Beach, S.C., said of not making WVU’s baseball team as a walk-on his freshman year.
After not making the team, Guiliano scrambled to get involved on campus and landed at the radio — which he credits with giving him the experience needed to get his first radio job and giving him an opportunity to find himself.
“[U92] was all around perfect,” Guiliano said. “You really get to find out who you are. You can find your personality and voice as a broadcaster.”
Guiliano was the station’s program director — the highest student position — for two years. During his first year of leadership junior year, the station won most improved college radio station at the College Music Journal awards before winning college radio station of the year the next year.
“I’ve been a lot of places throughout the country and run into different stations and it’s not the same,” Guiliano said. “What we do at U92 is unique, passionate, a great learning experience and a great example of how radio is performed in the real world.
People who want to donate can find a link to the donation page on any of the station’s social media accounts.
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