WMUC-FM

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WMUC-FM

Broadcast area	College Park, MD
First air date	1937
Frequency	88.1 MHz
Format	Free-form
Callsign meaning	Maryland University Communications
Owner	University of Maryland, College Park

WMUC 88.1fm is a 10 watt independent student run radio station located above the South Campus Dining Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. It is one of the oldest college radio stations in the country. The official station ID is WMUC-FM College Park.

Contents 1 Broadcast Coverage 2 Programming 2.1 Format 2.2 Live music 2.3 Sports and News 3 History 4 Staff 4.1 Elected staff 4.2 Non-elected staff 5 External links

[edit] Broadcast Coverage

WMUC can be heard in parts of Washington, DC, Silver Spring, Bethesda, College Park, Hyattsville and many of the surrounding communities, as well as on the internet at wmucradio.com.

[edit] Programming

The programming lineup at WMUC changes every semester based on which DJ's requested another show and how many new DJ's have signed up for shows. Primetime slots are allocated based on seniority and how much volunteer work the DJ has done at the station. Some shows have had the same timeslot for over 5 years. The programming decisions are made by the Program Director, who is one of 5 elected executive staff officers to serve a 1 year term from the beginning of January to the end of December of that year.

[edit] Format

WMUC adheres to a freeform format where student and community DJ's are allowed to play any song of any musical genre they please, granted that the songs they play don't violate FCC rules. By the license granted to the station (class D educational license), DJ's are allowed to play songs with curse words from the times of 10pm to 6am as long as they are preceded by a warning of the obscene nature of the song. The station strives to have continuous programming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. WMUC has an impressive music collection, with over 8,000 CDs available for playing as well one of the largest record libraries on the East Coast estimated at 30,000 rare and out of print records.

[edit] Live music

WMUC has a weekly live music program called Third Rail Radio (named after the electrically charged third rail of the DC Metro system) which airs every Sunday evening from 6-9pm. In addition to broadcasting the live show, the station records the performance and provides the artists with a copy for free as well maintaining an archive of all past performances. In late 2004 a compilation CD was put together of some of the bands that played on the radio program. Many bands that are now popular played on Third Rail in their early careers such as The Get Up Kids, Braid, Atom and His Package, Crispus Attucks, Blur, Elliott Smith, Jawbox, Frodus, Q and Not U (whose drummer, John Davis, fills in periodically), Dianogah, Ned Oldham, Rainer Maria, Windy and Carl, The Microphones, TullyCraft, Rites of Spring, Japan Air, Bishop Allen, The One AM Radio, Killard Killmore, The Double, Meneguar, An Albatross, We Are Scientists, The Joggers, Dr. Dog, MONO, Calvin Johnson, Art Alexakis of Everclear, and many others.

[edit] Sports and News

WMUC also has an active sports department and in the past had a flourishing news departament that was integrated with the Radio Television and Film department. Sports hosts do talk radio shows on a dedicated internet server (www.wmucsports.com) as well as provide on-air play-by-play and color analysis of Maryland sporting events. News is now coordinated by the Philip Merril School of Journalism.

[edit] History

1937 - CBS donated the equipment for the University of Maryland's radio station, and the Speech Department began offering coursework in radio broadcast--one of the first programs of its kind. WMUC goes on the air as a news and information station.

1943 - WMUC's studios were moved into a now non-existent dorm, but were soon disconnected when most of the staff joined the Armed Forces in World War II.

1947 - WMUC re-formed and took up residence in the Speech building. In 1950 WMUC moved to a shower stall in the basement of Calvert Hall, an all-male dorm. Female staff members had to sneak in.

1953 - WMUC made its first long-distance remote broadcast from Raleigh, NC covering Maryland's games in the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament. WMUC was relocated to the old Journalism building -- which is now a South Campus parking lot.

1958 - WMUC interviewed Louis Armstrong after his performance in Cole Field House. The Federal Communications Commission sent WMUC a letter stating that the station had to go off the air because it was not complying with FCC regulations by broadcasting beyond its allowable range. The FCC promptly turned WMUC off.

1963 - The University of Maryland's Capitol Improvement Committee supported the installation of a new carrier-current system to expand WMUC's broadcasting capabilities. Also, the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System recognized WMUC with its All-American College Radio Station Award for a station whose listenership exceeds 5,000.

1964 - Bill Seaby, Paul Palmer, and Allen Batton (all WMUC volunteers) interviewed The Beatles in DC and managed to get John Lennon to read several WMUC promo's though Lennon was warned not to do so because it would show "favoritism". The promos were used extensively until 1970 when the station's format changed from Top 40 to freeform. WMUC also interviewed Apollo astronaut Gus Grissom, members of Peter, Paul and Mary, Phyllis Diller, Chubby Checker, the Four Seasons, Jimmy Dean, Fats Domino, and Bill Cosby. The Intercollegiate Broadcast System voted WMUC the #1 college radio station.

1973 - Two former WMUC DJs (Dan Mayer, Jerry Cesak) along with another University Student (Greg McMurry) took the concept of WMUC's Carrier Current broadcasting system and set up WOCR, a "pirate" radio station in Ocean City, Maryland. The station operated on AM 650 and was closed down by the FCC within that same year.

1975 - Four WMUC DJs (Seth Greenstein, Rich Hodge, Steve Mazurowski, and Greg Smith) set the World Collegiate Disc-Jockeying Record for 101 continuous hours of broadcasting.

1979 - After a five-year wait, the FCC finally granted WMUC a license to broadcast on FM at 88.1 MHz where it still is today. WMUC continued to broadcast via carrier-current on AM 650.

1999 - WMUC management officially abandoned operation of AM 650. While AM existed, the station had two separate formats: top 40 on AM, and freeform on FM.

2002 - After a long run, the WMUC Alumni Association ceased regular meetings. Members remain in contact and invite fellow alumni to join in such contact.

2006 - In February, local NPR affiliate WYPR claimed it had received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to push aside the "low-wattage student station at the University of Maryland, College Park that already occupies WYPR's signal on 88.1 FM," thereby forcing WMUC to, effectively, broadcast exclusively online.

Due to the location of WAMU in Washington, DC at 88.5 MHz, and WYPR in Baltimore at 88.1, WMUC is not permitted to increase its presence in the area. Thus the main force of increasing listenernship, since the advent of online streaming, has been the WMUC website. No final resolution has been reached on this matter as of December 2006, but WMUC is actively fighting to retain its position on the airwaves.

[edit] Staff

The all-volunteer staff at WMUC is made up of students, alumni, and community members. There are several elected positions in the organization which hold weight with the student government at the University of Maryland, alongside other elected positions which are solely for delegation of authority within the station. Elections are held at the end of every fall semester, with newly-elected officials taking office at the beginning of the spring semester.

[edit] Elected staff

• General Manager - The General Manager (GM) oversees all station operations and is the main point of contact for official business. The GM works with the Operations Manager and Chief Engineer to ensure that the station continues to run smoothly and complies with FCC regulations.
• Operations Manager - The Operations Manager handles the majority of the day-to-day duties at the station. One of the primary responsibilities is to manage station logs and handle violations of station policies. Works closely with the General Manager.
• Chief Engineer - The Chief Engineer (CE) is in charge of station equipment, which includes the DJ booth, broadcast equipment, and recording studio. The CE manages a team of engineers, which work on live shows and recording sessions.
• Business Manager - Responsible for all financial information of the station, such as budgeting and purchasing.
• Program Director - Manages the hiring of new DJs and creates the show schedules for every semester.

[edit] Non-elected staff

• Music Director - Reviews new CDs, creates weekly charts from DJ playlists to submit to CMJ, files and organizes new CDs in the DJ booth.
• Third Rail DJ's - In charge of Third Rail Radio; also handle booking and coordination for bands on the show.
• Promotions Director - Organizes promotional events and promotes ongoing projects at the station.

Also usually involved in organizing the semesterly "coffee house"/open mikes at WMUC.

• Zine Editor - Editor-in-chief of the semesterly independent zine, which contains interviews, reviews, lists, photography, and music-related articles written by members of the WMUC community. Responsible for editing, publishing, and promoting the free zine.
• Art Director - Develops flyers and other artwork for the station
• System Admin - Maintains the station website and MP3 streaming servers, as well as the general network throughout the facility
• Record Librarian - Organizes and maintains the extensive record library. Generally chooses a selection of records each week and places them in the DJ booth for DJ's to play.
• Sports Director - Manages the sports department, main point of contact between Sports and general station staff

[edit] External links

• WMUC website
• WMUC Sports website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WMUC-FM