WAVM is a high school radio

High school radio

High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...

 station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 broadcasting from Maynard High School in Maynard, Massachusetts

Maynard, Massachusetts

Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 10,106.- History :Maynard, located on the Assabet River, was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1871. Prior to that it was known as 'Assabet Village' but was legally...

. Station programming provides the local area with news and church service broadcasts among other types of programming. Founded in 1973

1973 in radio

The year 1973 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*15 October – Dutch public-broadcasting station Hilversum 3 begins round-the-clock transmission....

, WAVM has aided the careers of several of the school's successful alumni.

FCC Controversy

For several years WAVM petitioned the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 to increase the power of its signal from 10 watts to 500 watts. Per FCC regulations, and a tentative decision, the station's frequency was now available for bidding from other broadcasting companies, one of those companies being Living Proof Inc., a Christian broadcasting

Christian radio

Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...

 network headquartered in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 that distributes programming to its affiliates via satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

, with minimal local programming.

Another interested party was WUMB (91.9), the radio station of the University of Massachusetts Boston

University of Massachusetts Boston

The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...

. WAVM entered into an agreement with WUMB to jointly own the frequency and their partnership has since been appealing the FCC's decision.

Congressional Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Marty Meehan

Marty Meehan

Martin Thomas "Marty" Meehan is an American attorney and politician from the state of Massachusetts. He is the current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a position he assumed on July 1, 2007...

 and Senators

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 and Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

 have all contributed their support to WAVM in the form of letters to the FCC, and the station's plight has attracted national attention.

The station was sent deeper into turmoil when station founder and faculty administrator Joseph Magno was arrested and charged with sexual assault

Sexual assault

Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....

 in January 2006. Magno died in January 2007 of an apparent heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

, just before his trial could begin.

The FCC and all other parties involved have come to an agreement. WAVM has increased power from 10 to 500 watts and maintains its partnership with WUMB under a share-time agreement. WUMB's license for 91.7 was assigned the call sign WUMG. Both stations will use the same transmitter facilities located behind Maynard High School, however each will have their own license. Living Proof Inc. of California assigned their permit for 91.7 to Horizon Christian Fellowship on June 30, 2010.. Their competing application, while still on 91.7, will employ a very directional transmitting antenna to protect the signal from WAVM & WUMG's.

Telethon

Every year WAVM hosts a telethon which donates money to the needy in the areas getting the Beacon newspaper. Taking place over one weekend in December, this is a 40 hour event, meaning that there are students working every hour of the night and day. There are normally six- seven telethon hosts, who stay up for the full forty hours.

This telethon earns money for the poor and needy many ways. They have each staff member accumulate at least 100 dollars in donations and pledges in order to stay overnight. An auction takes place up until one hour before the end of the telethon, with hundreds of items being bid on. Every donation of 25 dollars or more goes up on the Donor Board.

Popular acts that tend to reappear are a colonial marching band, Christmas Carol singing, and Mrs. Clause reading a story to children.

The Grand Finale takes place at noon on Sunday, where the hosts thank the sponsors, donors, and parent volunteers, and reveal the grand total, which they are always striving to get higher than the previous year. The Telethon raises an average of $40,000 a year for needy families of surrounding communities so that they can have a proper Christmas.

External links

• WAVM official site
• Living Proof, Inc. - The California-based broadcaster that challenged WAVM's license