On Campus
Rutgers’ WRSU-FM – 60 years on the air and thriving
Managing the mix of music broadcast on at WRSU-FM 88.7, Rutgers’ student-operated radio station – one of the first of its kind in the country – is a world away from the coursework that junior Katie Hughes takes as a genetics major.
“It’s like a puzzle, fitting the pieces together, creating something that people will respond to,” says Hughes, the station’s program director. “I love it when a caller asks about a song they liked that they never heard before and might not have heard if I didn’t play it.”
People have been predicting the demise of radio since the first television broadcast. But despite the arrival of MP3 players and iPhone music videos, a glimpse inside WRSU’s studio on the New Brunswick Campus indicates that radio is very much alive. Nearly 100 students are involved in every facet of the station, from on-air positions – such as DJs, sportscasters, and news reporters – to background roles, like engineering and fundraising.
Timothy Espar, WRSU’s broadcast administrator and a faculty member with the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies has worked with students at the station since 1990.
“Our primary interest is giving students a chance to get experience at a local station,” he says. “But we also rely on the community. We’ve had people from the New Brunswick community on the air for 20 to 25 years.”
Weekly community specialty programs include Dev Joshi’s “Glimpses of India,” Lou Rallo’s “Big Beat,” John Cooper’s “Jazz From the Hub,” Josh Shron’s “Israel Hour,” Alvin Fair’s “African Kaleidoscope,” and many more.
WRSU went on the air on April 26, 1948, broadcasting from a dormitory basement. The station, funded by a student activity fee and local businesses, switched from AM to FM in 1974, and during the succeeding 60 years, it has evolved into a 24 hour-a-day station with a 25 mile listening radius. Approximately 10,000 people are tuning in at any given time to listen to a diverse mix of music, news, and sports programming.
General manager Dan Mulcahey recently finished his third year with WRSU. A junior with a communications major, Mulcahey started as a WRSU DJ in his first-year at Rutgers. He describes radio as an emotional and nostalgic medium in a way that television is not.
“A song on the radio can trigger a memory. You connect with DJs and talk show hosts, and can call them and interact in a way you can’t with TV news people,” he says. When Mulcahey arrived at Rutgers, he jumped at the chance to be on the other side of the mic for WRSU. “I’d get up at 5 a.m. for my morning program,” he says. “The chance to share music and my commentary with so many people made it absolutely worth it.”
Last year as promotions director, Mulcahey launched a yearlong campus publicity drive. He boosted underwriting, held “Stump the DJ” contests, and distributed promotional items, including small beach balls with the station logo to be tossed around at the stadium during football season. “The administration wasn’t too thrilled with it,” Mulcahey admits. “But the fans had fun, and we got our name out there.”
Camaraderie and teamwork are integral to WRSU’s success, and both are evident at the weekly meetings of the station’s music department. Staffers listen to new music and put together selections for the playlist. “Sometimes we laugh at how bad the demos are,” says program director Hughes. “Other times, we’re blown away by a great new song.”
DJs select half of their music from the station playlist and whatever they like for the other half, allowing them to put a personal stamp on their shows. In contrast to most commercial stations, WRSU features a variety of genres, from rock to reggae to country as well as music from different countries and cultures. The playlist is constantly changing but always includes bands just starting out.
In addition to being a commercial-free source of new music, WRSU also is a lifeline for Scarlet Knight fans, with live broadcasts of football and men’s and women’s basketball games, followed by post-game call-in shows. In 2003, WRSU began streaming live, enabling alumni around the world to follow their favorite college team and stay connected to their alma mater.
Renovations are under way at the College Avenue studio. New broadcast equipment will be installed over the summer, including a state-of-the-art digital console. The station has been setting aside funds for years to finance the upgrades, which will make WRSU technologically competitive with any commercial studio.
The improvements are instrumental in moving the station toward its next goal: high-definition (HD) broadcasting. HD radio enables a station to broadcast a much higher quality than current FM signals, with multiple stations on the same frequency.
“We were one of the first college stations in the 20th century and among the first to broadcast in FM in the 70s,” Mulcahey says. “We want to be one of the first to broadcast in HD in the 21st century. “We’re not there yet, but it’s a major goal.”
Even as WRSU looks to the future, it cherishes its history. There is an extensive WRSU alumni network, including many who returned for the station’s 60th anniversary celebration April 12. Retired WCBS anchor Harvey Hauptman (RC’51) served as master of ceremonies at the event, which included a special alumni broadcast.
About 40 alumni were packed into the studio. The original station manager, Charles Brookwell (RC’49), even joined the broadcast via telephone. “It was totally cramped and sweltering hot,” Mulcahey says. “Everyone was telling crazy stories and laughing about their WRSU days. The energy in the room was just incredible.”
Espar was inspired to hear how much the experience at WRSU has meant to alumni. “Whether or not they went on to careers in radio,” he says, “the station was a meaningful part of their lives.”